From Purple Row and throughout the MLB world, the tributes to Charlie Blackmon have flooded in all week — as it should be.
There will be a whole offseason to analyze the state of the organization, growth and failures from the 2024 season, future projections and many other storylines. For now, it’s worth dedicating a week to Chuck Nazty. It’s not common to have a player chalk up a 14-year career in the Majors, let alone with one team — not to mention an NL batting title, four All-Star appearances and two Silver Sluggers. Outside of Clayton Kershaw, who’s only pitched in seven games this year, Blackmon is the longest active tenured player with one team as he beat Mike Trout and Jose Altuve to their MLB debuts by 11 and 23 days respectively.