DENVER (AP) — Kyle Freeland stepped off the mound and tipped his cap to the cheering fans and then in the direction of his family.
Just a brief pause to soak in the moment before returning right back to work.
Freeland, the left-handed pitcher who grew up going to games at Coors Field, became the Colorado Rockies’ all-time leader in innings pitched Sunday against Milwaukee.
The Denver native got Luis Rengifo to fly out in the fifth inning to take over the top spot. That first out to center put Freeland at 1,312 2/3 innings for his career and one-third ahead of Aaron Cook, the sinkerball specialist who notched 1,312 1/3 innings for Colorado from 2002-11.
Freeland received an ovation and made sure to appreciate the moment — just like former Rockies manager Bud Black once instructed.
“I kind of thought of Buddy, that he’d love for me to tip the cap,” Freeland said after the Brewers finished off a three-game sweep with a 12-4 win Sunday. “I know that he would have probably told me, ‘Hey, make sure you tip your cap to the fans out there for their support of you over the years.’ I made sure I found my family to tip my cap to them, too.”
Freeland grew up watching Cook go to work at Coors Field and trying to solve the hitter friendly park.
To be able to break a Rockies record belonging to Cook? It just makes it even more meaningful.
“Being a Denver kid, it’s kind of crazy,” said Freeland, who went five innings Sunday and allowed three runs in a no-decision. “I don’t know if it’s fully soaked in yet. It’s one of those things that I never would have thought that I’d be standing here talking to you guys about, being an all-time innings pitched leader for the Rockies.”
Freeland was taken with the eighth overall pick by Colorado in the 2014 first-year player draft. The 33-year-old made his major league debut on April 7, 2017, in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He leads the team in games started (242), quality starts (112) and now innings pitched (1,313 1/3). He's also second in strikeouts (989) and fourth in wins (66).
In April 2022, Freeland signed a five-year extension that runs through the 2026 season. He has a player option for 2027 if he logs 170 innings this season.
“What a long career he’s had,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “To set a franchise record like that, it takes a lot of durability, a lot of resilience, a lot of success. Hats off to Kyle Freeland for that huge milestone. It was a special moment.”
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