Rockies All-Star Hunter Goodman: A day in the life of a big-league catcher

It s Tuesday morning five days before Hunter Goodman is officially named to the National League All-Star Organization Goodman and his wife Sydney sip coffee in their downtown Denver apartment about three-quarters of a mile from Coors Field They dated for nine years ever since they were high school sweethearts growing up outside of Memphis They ve been married for almost two years so they ve learned to read each other s moods They know the toil and rhythms of a long season They usually don t talk baseball especially not in the morning That is our time together it s pretty rare that we talk about the challenge says Sydney who s been to about of the games this season usually adorned in her Rockies gear We talk about what s going on in our Netflix shows We talk about our families Goodman adds I don t want to be hanging out with Sydney and be thinking about baseball I think about that all of the time but not when I m with her But this day is a bit different Hunter is in the midst of a breakout season The Rockies catcher is riding a seven-game hitting streak in which he s slashed and he s about to return to the lineup after missing four straight games with a tight left hamstring He says he s pumped to get back behind the plate and not worried about the injury Sydney is a bit more concerned I m really nervous she says We were reading on Twitter the night before everybody saying that Hunter might go on the injured list Twitter revealed IL IL IL Little did they know that he was going to play that day but it was still nerve-wracking because you don t want him to go out there and push it too hard The life of a big league catcher is never easy of syllabus In an effort to provide a glimpse of the rigors that come with donning the tools of ignorance The Denver Post chronicled a day in the life of the Goodmans from those sips of coffee in their LoDo apartment all the way to the cold tub in the bowels of Coors Field Here s their story The pregame routine Just before p m Goodman makes the short trek to Coors It s the th day of the Rockies season and their th championship The club carries the baggage of an awful - record into the night s series-opener against the Astros The catcher s pregame routine is extensive a mix of preparation and relaxation Related Articles Renck vs Keeler When does Ethan Holliday reach Rockies And at what position Rockies Day draft tracker Colorado looks to continue current fourth-round success by picking UC Irvine right-hander Riley Kelly Rockies draft Ethan Holliday How national media graded Colorado s first-round pick Rockies pick Ethan Holliday with the fourth overall pick of MLB draft Rockies hurt by poor defense lose to Reds limp into All-Star break - Lunch a combination of protein and carbs steak and pasta on this day He often eats with left fielder Jordan Beck one of his best friends on the club Medication in the training room for his sore hamstring Before particular games he ll soak in the hot tub to ease his aches and pains but medication takes precedence nowadays A short session in the batting cage Just to get in encounter mode and get my body loose he says A half-hour session in the video room where Goodman studies videos of the Astros pitchers as well as particular of the Astros hitters As a catcher he has to pull double duty I m looking for tendencies he says We have written scouting reports but it helps to get a look at the pitchers and hitters You can sometimes pick up on things About p m Hunter goes into the weight room to stretch before heading out to the field for batting practice On days when he s catching he hits with the first group After BP Goodman meets in an office inside the Rockies clubhouse with rookie starting pitcher Chase Dollander to dissect the Astros lineup Pitching coach Darryl Scott and bullpen coach Dustin Garneau also attend the strategy session Houston is a hot crew having just posted an MLB-best - record in June The Astros are also person at the plate Dollander has never faced the Astros so he s getting a tutorial He knows that veteran Jose Altuve is dangerous and has hit well at Coors Field career average Still the competitor who consistently hurts Colorado is Mauricio Dubon who s hit for with three doubles a homer and eight RBIs in games at Coors It s a big test for Dollander who s pitched well on the road but has been beaten up at Coors posting an ERA in his first six outings the highest home ERA among any major league pitcher with at least six starts About a half-hour before the p m first pitch Dollander and Goodman throw an abbreviated bullpen We re just trying to get a feel for where I m at what I m feeling that day what s working Dollander says I feel good strong I m ready Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies talks to Chase Dollander after Dollander walked Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros during the third inning at Coors Field in Denver on Tuesday July Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post Settling in The first-pitch temperature is degrees when Goodman squats behind the plate adorned in his catching armor The helmet catcher s mask chest protector and shin guards add almost pounds to Goodman s -foot -pound frame The sweat begins to roll at once Catching is gritty dirty work but Goodman loves it There are definitely particular days that are better than others he says For the the majority part I feel like I have handled it pretty well I do a lot of things in the weight room stretching lifting going to the training room to make sure my body is fresh and feeling good So far it s been better than I expected especially being my first full season of big-league catching I came into the year kind of thinking This is going to be a grind But being ready for it has helped me a lot Dollander and Goodman have a good top of the first inning Dollander sets the Astros down in order striking out Isaac Paredes with a nasty curveball getting Jake Meyers to ground out to short and coaxing Altuve to fly out to right field Dollander throws pitches After the first inning we came back into the dugout and I noted Let s stay right here I like where I m at Dollander recalls I was painting the zone We disclosed Let s start flipping specific changeups and sliders In the bottom of the frame Goodman hitting second ambushes rookie right-hander Colton Gordon s first-pitch mph fastball sending it feet and over the center-field wall as the water fountains fire up in celebration The -footer is the longest homer of his career Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies watches the ball clear the outfield wall after hitting a homerun off of Colton Gordon of the Houston Astros during the first inning at Coors Field in Denver on Tuesday July Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post I hadn t played in four days it was my first at-bat so I was excited just to be back in the lineup he says We knew that Gordon likes to attack hitters early so I was just going up there looking for a first-pitch fastball But to be honest I was really up there just trying to see where I was timing-wise because I hadn t been there in for a insufficient days I was like All right let s just try to be on time for a first-pitch fastball I was able to put a good swing on it It felt good it felt great It s reliably nice to have an immediate impact Family affair Sydney usually sits in the Rockies family section near the dugout but because her husband s family is in town for the meeting and takes up those seats she and certain other players wives have a suite for the night Sydney goes a little bit crazy when Goodman hits the homer but also calls it surreal Hunter s never really had to sit like this before and take days off she says I m also thinking Well that s a way for him to not have to run The Astros tie the championship - in the second on Christian Walker s single but both Dollander and Goodman are feeling good about Dollander s performance That all changes in the third when the Astros figure five runs and Dollander s pickoff attempt to first base results in an error It s an ugly half inning Rockies All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman left with his wife Sydney at Coors Field Photo courtesy of Sydney Goodman Scott strolls from the dugout to the mound where he and Goodman confer with Dollander It usually starts by trying to settle the pitcher down Goodman says In Denver you can lose your breath really quick so in those mound meetings you want to make sure and give the pitcher a limited moments to relax and catch his breath Toward the end of the meeting we talk about the hitter coming up how we ll attack him and what we will throw that first pitch However on this day the consultation is of no help The killer blow is a grand slam into the right field seats by Victor Caratini Goodman calls for a - curveball but Dollander hangs the pitch and Caratini launches the ball feet at mph It was the right pitch but I fully missed my spot Dollander says It was a terrible pitch If I had buried it it would have been a swing-and-miss punchout and I would have been out of the inning Dollander s day is done after a mere innings the shortest start of his career On the basepaths The bottom of the third tests Goodman s hamstring He leads off with a four-pitch walk and advances to third on Beck s single to right field I was holding my breath Sydney says But I think he knows he can only go - Goodman knows he doesn t need to push it Honestly I was pretty timid going first to third there but it was a single through the hole and their right fielder Cam Smith wasn t charging in very aggressively so I figured I had first-to-third pretty easily says Goodman who scores on Thairo Estrada s sacrifice fly Colorado chips away at the Astros lead but trails - entering the bottom of the ninth With one out and no one on base Goodman comes in to face Houston lefty Josh Hader one of the challenge s best closers Josh Hader is a perfect for and has the majority of saves without a blown save in the majors Hader s perfect streak is the longest in club history to open a season But Goodman attacks Hader s first-pitch mph sinker sending it feet to left-center surpassing his first-inning blast as the longest homer of his career In situations like that you have to try your best to make it like it s any other at-bat Goodman says In those situations when you re trying to rally you just want to take a good at-bat get on base and keep it going But it s hard sometimes You re going to put pressure on yourself This event sets you up for that You just have to try your best to counter that Try to relax and treat it as another at-bat Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies is greeted by teammates after hitting a home run off of Josh Hader of the Houston Astros during the ninth inning of Houston s - win at Coors Field in Denver on Tuesday July Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post Could I have called a better contest Despite Goodman s two-homer championship the Rockies lose - falling to - It s been kind of frustrating sometimes for sure but you look at the past month and the games we ve been a part of and the competition we ve played Goodman tells the media after the challenge That Houston association is leading the American League or right up there at the top Playing against them and playing a good ballgame against them is a positive When the Rockies win Goodman usually enjoys a beer or two but on this night he sits and contemplates how Colorado lost again It s nice when you do something well and it felt good to hit two homers he says But at the same time you have to take a hard look at what you could have done better Could I have called a better challenge After a scant minutes of contemplation Goodman takes a cold tub about degrees followed by a long hot shower to wash away the contest Baseball is a meeting of failure so you unfailingly have to pat yourself on the back when you can he says That s my mechanism once I m in the shower to do that But after I get out of the shower I try to stop thinking about all of that stuff I change my clothes walk out of the clubhouse meet my wife and we head home for a late dinner together Hunter Goodman s All-Star credentials Hunter Goodman will represent the Rockies in the th MLB All-Star Contest on Tuesday night at Atlanta s Truist Park The -year-old is just the second Rockies catcher to make the All-Star Championship joining Elias Diaz in Diaz was named the MVP after hitting a go-ahead pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning to give the National League its first win since Goodman was selected for this year s unit by a vote of other major league players He put up particular impressive numbers in his first season as a big-league starting catcher Among those numbers Goodman ranks first or second among NL catchers in nearly every offensive category His extra-base hits homers doubles four triples are the the majority by an NL catcher before the All-Star break since Jonathan Lucroy s extra-base hits for the Brewers in His home runs and RBIs are both the most of by a Rockies catcher before the All-Star break in franchise history Of his homers have come on the road When catching he s slashed with doubles two triples home runs and RBIs in games His total RBIs lead the organization and he s hitting with runners in scoring position Patrick Saunders The Denver Post Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis