For the month of April, baseball fans became familiar with an iconic phrase by the experienced Drew Goodman. “Take a good look; you won’t see it for long! Another home run for Trevor Story!” Trevor Story became a household name overnight.
For Trevor Story, who was drafted in 2011, was held back from making his Major League debut for a number of years. When the face of the franchise Troy Tulowitzki was traded, the doors for Story finally opened. The scouts knew he could field, but the question was can he hit? Analysts found Story’s defense exceptional but thought he would need to bat to stay at shortstop. The debate would continue until he made his MLB debut, and wrote another chapter to his story.
As Trevor Story stepped up against Zack Greinke on Opening Day, no one was prepared for what would happened next. He hit a home run, which was the first of many. Over the course of the next three days, Trevor would hit six bombs, proving his spot in the lineup. He set a record for the most home runs in a rookie week.
Trevor would continue to tear throughout April. At the end of the month, Trevor piled up 10 homers. This total amount of jacks tied a rookie record for the most home runs in a month. Jose Abreu is the only other player to accomplish this record doing so in 2014.
Trevor has also shown signs of great glove work. He was seen flashing the leather making all three outs on May 7. Trevor also made a diving stop in April to punch a runner out at first.
With his hot bat and brilliant glove work, Story can join Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez as the elite hitters not only in the Rockies lineup, but in the entire league. In 2015, Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez hit 40 home runs back to back in the lineup. Arenado tied the National League home run lead with 42 and lead Major League Baseball with 130 RBIs. Nolan also received his third Gold Glove in as many years. He supported Story by hitting 10 home runs of his own in April. Carlos Gonzalez hit 40 home runs in 2015 and looks to have a repeat of 2015 in 2016.
Despite Story’s success with the long ball, he has struggled with the strikeout. As of May 7, Trevor has a league leading 45 strikeouts. If he stays on this pace, he will strike out a predicted 251 times! That would be a Major League record!
Will Story be able to keep up his playing time? He was called up because Jose Reyes was suspended 80 games due to abusing his wife at a hotel in Hawaii. The Rockies owe Reyes $22 million dollars while owing Story only $300,000. When Reyes returns, Story will have to fight for his job or be benched. So far, it is looking like he is doing a good job subbing for Jose.
Now as it stands, Trevor Story’s short career have set a plethora of records. Can he field? Can he hit to stay at his position? These questions have been answered in his short stint. As he leads the new class of young shortstops including Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, and Francisco Lindor, he also leads his team.
Opponents fear when #27 comes up to bat. They already know that if they make a tiny mistake, they could co-write another chapter of his story.
So when you are flipping through the channels on the TV, stop at the Colorado Rockies game. But when Trevor Story’s at-bat comes around, you have to take a good look because you won’t see it for long!