2019 Rockies Opening Day pitcher Kyle Freeland was born a month after the Rockies’ first game, and he was born to wear purple. As he told Paul Klee, “I’ve kind of dreamed of this since Day 1, since they drafted me . . . . What a rare opportunity I have to be a Rockies first-round pick and debut for a team I grew up watching as a kid. I want to make the best of every opportunity. There’s no place I’d rather do it than here.”
Freeland wears this commitment on his body — the Colorado-inspired “303,” “5280,” and Front Range mountains inked on his right arm.