Sean Keeler: Rockies even had Denver youth league coaches shaking their heads Saturday

DENVER — It was a youth league play. Only the youth leaguer sitting next to me would never have done it.

“That’s illegal,” Easton English said. The 8-year-old from Parker, Colo., then rose higher in his seat in Section 126 at Coors Field. “That is Illegal!”

Sure is. When you’re on the express train to 100-plus losses, you’re going to come up with creative ways to lose over 162 games. The Rockies managed to find a new one on Saturday against the big, bad New York Yankees.

The Local Nine gave up a 10-spot in the top of the fifth that featured three walks, seven hits, 14 batters and a viral moment from second baseman Adael Amador.

As Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt looped a single over the infield and into short right, the sublime gave way to ridiculous. At game speed, Amador appeared to lose his glove in midair as the ball went whizzing over his head. Only on replay, it didn’t look as much “lose his glove” as “fling his glove at the ball during mid-flight.”

“I haven’t talked to him about that,” Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer said after Colorado was smushed, 13-1, dropping to 9-43 in a season that’s still got 110 games left. “I’m not quite sure what that was. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Actually, young Easton already did. MLB rule 5.06 (4) (C) awards the batter and runner three bases if the fielder is adjudged to have deliberately thrown his glove at a live batted ball and said glove touches that ball. There’s no penalty if the ball is not touched or the removal is perceived to have been accidental. Amador told The Denver Post’s Corey Masisak, through an interpreter, that the glove accidentally slipped. The umpiring crew agreed.

Amador stayed in the game. Goldschmidt’s single made it 9-1 Yankees. The Bronx Bombers plated two more after that to put the game away, so the airborne glove became a moot point.

But back in Section 126, where Easton was watching the game with his family, it became another Rockies learning experience. Another perfect example of what not to do.

Easton, you see, is a center fielder with the Parker Knights 8-and-under baseball team. His father, Kevin English, is one of the Knights’ assistant coaches.

“You ever see a flying glove in Parker?” I asked Kevin.

“Never seen it,” he replied.

“You ever teach a flying glove in Parker?” I asked.

“Never would teach that,” he countered. “Don’t think it would ever come up beyond t-ball.”

English brought the crew to 20th and Bleak because it was a rare Saturday matinee and because Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was in town. He expected some jaw-dropping moments. He didn’t count on a teaching one.

“I mean, that was like 8U ball, that one,” Kevin said. “That many runs (in an inning)? That’s what youth baseball is all about.”

Come for the party deck, stay for the life lessons. The Rockies are 2-10 since firing manager Bud Black, and Colorado finishes May with the Cubs and Mets on the road.

“Everybody knows it’s not Bud’s fault,” Kevin said. “That’s a good baseball guy right there.”

Kevin knows good baseball guys. In the English family, the pastime is more than a legacy deal — it runs in the blood. Kevin’s dad, Randy, was a pitcher at Oklahoma State in the late ’70s. As a Poke, his position coach was Tom Holliday — father of Rockies legend Matt Holliday and grandpa of next-gen baseball standouts Jackson and Ethan.

“Every now and then, (my dad messages me), ‘Hey, the Rockies, they just (stink), don’t they?'” Kevin chuckled. “I’m like, ‘Yeah.'”

Yet English wants to watch the games with his son, the way his dad watched games with him. Even if it means forking over $89.99 to the team directly for streaming access, or $19.99 per month.

“I like bringing my son out because I’m trying to teach him young,” Kevin continued. “It’s a game of failure, right? … You’re going to fail more than you succeed. ‘Watch them do the little things. Watch them hustle. Watch them just do little things over and over before the play.'”

Watch them chuck a glove at a single while it’s in the air!

“It’s kind of funny, because my son never really showed a ton of interest in baseball (before this year),” said Kevin, who, yes, named his Easton after the iconic baseball equipment company.

“I never made him play. I’m not going to be like that. But this year, kind of his first year at it, we’re going pretty good.”

In fact, Dad says, their Knights had more wins (12) than the Rockies (nine) as of Saturday night. Must be the coaching.

“Are you rooting for the Rockies or Yankees?” I asked Easton.

“Yankees.”

“How come?”

“Aaron Judge.”

“What advice would you give Rockies players right now?”

“They should pretend it’s a scrimmage and have fun. Don’t worry if people are on base. Just do what you do.”

Please don’t.

“You know, (Easton) asked me, ‘Are the Rockies any good?’ It’s like, ‘They’re not that good, no. But, you know, they have been good. They have been to a World Series. Rocktober, that was fun.’

“But you just tell them, like, ‘Hey, you’re going to be on teams that aren’t always the best, right? They’re not always good, but your attitude and effort is what you can control when you go out there and you play hard, right?’ So, yeah. You know, (the Rockies) are not going to be bad forever.”

He chuckled again.

“At least, you hope not.”

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