Rockies Fest must have been weird for Jake McCarthy.
Just over two weeks ago, the Colorado Rockies traded for him, and last Saturday, he found himself in a Rockies jersey answering questions from a very Rockies crowd on a very cold day in Denver.
Still, McCarthy, like any good baseball player, showed up and did his job.
First, he appeared on a panel with other positions players during afternoon. In that panel, he was funny and shared that his walk-up song had been Kurt Angle’s WWE song; that at least it’s easy for him to turn right rather than left at the Salt River Fields Training Facility; and that he’s eager to start playing with the Rockies.
After Rockies Fest ended, he along with Hunter Goodman and Kyle Freeland met with media.
Here’s a clip from that session courtesy of Guerilla Sports:
Below are some highlights of McCarthy’s conversation with media.
On playing at Coors Field
I was initially very excited. I’m so excited. I always loved coming to play here. Obviously, it’s a beautiful park. The fans are good. But, you know, when you talk about the big outfield, the elevation, I do think that plays to my game pretty well. And I think this team, especially, too, it’s very athletic team. . . . So I’m just excited to be a part of it. Whatever that role looks like, I just want to make an impact offensively, defensively, on the base paths, and put my game on display.
On changes the Rockies are making
It’s super exciting to be a part of something new. . . . I just think a lot of people in this building are hungry, and I have a lot of respect for this organization. I’ve been here, played against the Rockies at all the levels of the minor leagues up to this point, so I’ve got a lot of respect for the coaches and players that I played against for so long. And again, I’m really excited to be a part of it, really, really happy to be a part of what’s ascending here.
On making adjustments
I honestly can’t tell you what the adjustment of life is going to be so far because I’m just going to the same building in a different door. . . . I just go a little further to go into a different gate in the building. So that’s pretty convenient spring training part of it. But I think this team has played against me a lot, so I’m sure they have a lot of evaluations, but they traded for me, and I’m really grateful for that, and I want to make them really look good in this trade. And again, I’m just grateful for an opportunity here to sort of go out and [get a] fresh start just making my own impact here and helping this team. So I keep repeating myself, but I’m just really excited.
On what he worked on during the offseason
I think getting back to what makes me go as a player, and I think it could be dynamic, and I think that means getting on base for guys like this guy to the left of me [Goodman] and playing good defense, especially in a field like this. So, I think there were parts of last season that maybe I got away from that a little bit. So again, just eager to kind of get back on track.
On getting comfortable at Coors Field
I’ll say I’ve always sort of bounced around all three outfield positions, and there’s been no communication of like, exactly what the role will be, but I’m totally okay with doing that, and I’ve always done it. I take pride in playing all three outfield positions, and then, yeah, it’s a big outfield, whether it’s left, right, center, it’s a lot of lot of room to cover. So I’m looking forward to the challenge, and I’m excited to play alongside other good defensive outfielders, and I’m excited to sort of make that a reputation of us playing the outfield really well.
On Warren Schaeffer
I just met him for the first time in person five minutes before this. But he seems like a go-getter. Seems like the right guy to put this organization going in the right direction. And, you know, I love it. I love a straightforward manager, a guy who’s just going to shoot you straight and try to win some ball games. So I think that’s the type of guy we need, and I’m excited for it.
After the session ended, McCarthy found himself surrounded by Denver media introducing themselves to him. He smiled, shook everyone’s hand, and said, “Sorry, but I’m not going to remember your names.”
It was a drinking-from-a-fire-hose kind of day, but McCarthy handled it with grace.
Now to see how it plays on the field.
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