Two teams on different trajectories gracing the record books for polar opposite reasons faced off on a Memorial Day weekend in Denver. Both teams, known for their classic pinstripe uniforms, ditched their standard duds for alternate attire, as the Bronx Bombers were in for a surprise from the former Blake Street Bombers. With special guests in the house, Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos delivered the ceremonial first pitch for the Colorado Rockies as they delivered a rare win against the New York Yankees, 3-2 last Friday night.

Trending in social media and decked out in their new City Connect uniforms, the Rockies drew much attention, as did the metro New York media market. In New York, the Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in their Eastern Conference Finals game. In Denver, the Yankees would lose at the hands of the worst team in baseball, dating back to 1901, when the modern era of baseball started.

So bad was the loss for the Yankees, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was tied for the second-largest winning percentage disparity in a loss (at least 50 games into a season) in the Expansion Era (since 1961). The Rockies’ win percentage was .160 entering the game, and the Yankees’ was .612. With the win, the Rockies improved to 14-15 all-time against the Yankees and 10-5 against the Yankees at Coors Field. It was the only win for the Rockies in their previous 10 games.

For the first-place Yankees, they had just swept the Texas Rangers on their second series of a nine-game road trip. They had 11 wins in their previous 14 games, while in Rocky’s last 14 games, they had 12 losses. In the second series of their home stand, the Rockies had just been swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in four games.

Yankees superstar Aaron Judge came into the game with the highest batting average in Major League Baseball, with a .396 average, leading the league in a staggering 17 categories. It was his first outing at Coors Field, in which he hit his first home run in Denver and scored the first run of the game after reaching on a single on his first at-bat. It was his 17th home run of the season.

Pitcher Tanner Gordon would get his first major win with the Rockies after giving up two consecutive hits to start the game, including a triple by Paul Goldschmidt and a single by Aaron Judge.

“It comes at you fast,” Gordon said. “It’s a really, really good lineup of hitters. You try to erase that as quickly as you can and have a short memory.” Aaron Judge’s 17th homer of the season, a solo shot with two out in the fifth, was the only other run Gordon surrendered to the Bronx Bombers in front of a sellout crowd of 47,211.

“I mean, they beat us tonight,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “We caught the ball, we made the plays, we gave ourselves a couple of opportunities to score some runs. We didn’t get the big hit tonight.”

Clarke Schmidt started on the mound for the Yankees and pitched through 4 2/3 innings, charged with three runs on six hits while walking two and striking out eight. He shared his thoughts on being beaten by one of the worst teams in baseball history to start a season.

“Anytime you lose, we’re pissed off,” Schmidt said after the loss. “We’re not trying to go out there and lose ballgames. And I think it shows in here, and the energy in here. Obviously, everybody’s pissed off. But you play 162 games. So you’re going to have games like this, you’re going to have nights like this where you don’t perform and you don’t get the job done. But obviously it pisses you off and I’m pissed off right now. So, yeah, it definitely pisses you off.”

Things turned around by the next day when the Yankees posted a 13-1 win over the Rockies and took the series 2-1 before the Rockies hit the road to Chicago for a series with the Cubs. Chicago leads their division at 34-21 in the NL Central. In the NL West, the Rockies are a league-worst 9-46 and the only baseball team to win 10 games.

While many reasons go into the historic collapse of the Rockies, one direct correlation is the disparity in payroll for the team compared to the top-tier teams. A direct link can be drawn from top to bottom for the baseball hierarchy and the NL West.

The defending world champion LA Dodgers lead the NL West with a  $332.2 million payroll. Second in the division is the San Diego Padres with $209.6 million. Arizona is third with $182.4 million, followed by the San Francisco Giants at $170.7 million. Coming in last is the Colorado Rockies, $125.5 million, an almost replica of the standings in the NL West. The LA Dodgers have won the NL West for 11 of 12 seasons.

The biggest investment for the Rockies is the $182 million contract for right fielder Kris Bryant, who, to date, has had no return on investment since his start in 2022. Bryant has played in 10 games so far in 2025, and out of a possible 501 games has only played in 170.

Hometown pitcher Kyle Freeland recently commented on what struggling teams are doing and what the Rockies are doing. “What they’re doing is right. What we’re doing is wrong. We’re not winning baseball games. It’s clear as day. We’re playing a brand of baseball, all around, pitching, fielding, hitting. It’s bad. Keep believing in us,” Freeland said while fighting back tears. “Keep riding.”

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