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Colorado Rockies pitcher Michael Lorenzen (24), center, speaks during a pitchers Q&A session during Rockies Fest on Saturday at Coors Field in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\nCatcher Hunter Goodman was the Rockies\u2019 best player during their terrible 2025 season. At Saturday\u2019s Fan Fest at Coors Field, he was the most candid about what needs to change in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, we had a super young team, me included,\u201d the 23-year-old Goodman said of a Rockies squad that lost 119 games and set a major league record for futility with a minus-424 run differential. \u201cI think we had a lot of people (who) were just happy to be here.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first got called up, I was just happy to be here. And you can\u2019t play like that. You\u2019ve got to walk on the field and be like, \u2018We\u2019re the best team. I\u2019m the best player on the field.\u2019 You\u2019ve got to walk on the field with a different level of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sure wasn\u2019t the case last season when the Rockies got blown out in many games and were outscored 142-53 in the first inning, putting them in deep holes early.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there were some series and some games last year where it was like we were walking onto the field as a team, looking around, and maybe guys weren\u2019t super confident,\u201d the Silver Slugger Award winner continued. \u201cSo I think, bringing a different mentality to the game would be a big step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colorado Rockies pitcher Michael Lorenzen (24), center, speaks during a pitchers Q&A session during Rockies Fest on Saturday at Coors Field in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
According to the Rockies, an estimated 5,000 fans showed up at Coors Field Saturday, braving 18-degree temperatures to mix and mingle and hear what the Rockies players and front office brass had to say about the franchise\u2019s rebuild.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everybody up here is hyper-competitive,\u201d Paul DePodesta, the new president of baseball operations, said from a stage filled with his fellow front-office personnel. \u201cI can\u2019t stand to lose. So, at least from our end, there has to be a change in the standards and expectations \u2026 for our players and for our coaches. Our players need to feel that from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, there are things that are going to be difficult, and there will be obstacles in our way. It\u2019s not going to happen easily or quickly \u2026 but we absolutely have high expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manager Warren Schaeffer, retained after serving as the interim manager for most of last season, said he believes the franchise is already turning a corner. He envisions changes coming on the field starting Feb. 12 when pitchers and catchers report to Scottsdale, Arizona, for the first day of spring training.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is to create a sustainable winner for the City of Denver,\u201d he said. \u201cThat should be non-negotiable. We are going to talk about it constantly. We are gonna work and train towards it every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat goes to setting the goals high and winning championships here. But it starts with winning every day at practice. It\u2019s one thing to say it, but you should be able see what that process looks like. It\u2019s all about the process that we\u2019re trying to create. We all believe in it, and a lot of it pertains to the people that we\u2019ve hired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward Frasier, a longtime season-ticket holder from Littleton, said he was impressed by what he heard from DePodesta and new general manager Josh Byrnes, adding that it erased some of the cynicism brought about by Colorado\u2019s three consecutive 100-loss seasons.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/TDP-L-RockiesFest-012426-TH-10_35d5f8.jpg\")
Former Colorado Rockies outfield Larry Walker, right, stands with his team of former players in a Family Feud style contest with current Rockies players during Rockies Fest on Saturday at Coors Field in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, last year was rough, no doubt. Last three years, \u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cI was kind of giving up on the team, but I like the moves they\u2019ve made. The Rockies are trying to change, giving us some hope. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland, entering his 10th season with the Rockies, said major changes were needed.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of that reset (was) the turnover of the front office, the turnover of the majority of our coaching staff,\u201d said the 32-year-old Freeland, who\u2019s entering the final year of his contract, though there is a vesting option for 2027. \u201cEvery individual is different when it comes to their own kind of reset button after a really tough season of how to flip that switch to not let that stuff happen again. I think part of that reset is getting this new regime and getting a brand new direction, new ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goodman, however, said that the reset must include memories of last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe, personally, I don\u2019t want to forget about it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt kind of lights a fire under me. It was a tough year. Nobody wants to lose that much, nobody wants that to happen. I think the guys who were, we have to look at it like, \u2018We can\u2019t let that happen again.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
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Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort sits in on a discussion about baseball operations during Rockies Fest on Saturday at Coors Field in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
Goodman, Colorado\u2019s lone All-Star, hit .278 with 31 home runs and 91 RBIs in 144 games. But he said that he\u2019s got to improve.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say one of the weaker parts of my game has been my swing decisions,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m swinging at good pitches, it goes well. And then when I\u2019m not, it (goes badly). Offensively, that\u2019s been the biggest thing for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then, also just getting really comfortable behind the dish. I mean, last year, for the whole first half, I was in fight-or-flight mode the whole game. So just trying to get to where I\u2019m comfortable behind the plate and working to get these (pitchers) throwing strikes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freeland pitched for playoff teams in his first two seasons in the majors in 2017-18, the last time the Rockies made the postseason. Now, regardless of where his career ends up, he wants to be part of the Rockies\u2019 rebirth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important for me to mold these young guys, because I want to see this organization win no matter what\u2019s going on,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd these young guys are going to be a big, big part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n