DENVER — Low key, intense and serious about his job, Trevor Story doesn’t unleash his mega-watt smile very often. So when he does, you can be certain the Rockies’ young shortstop is in a good place.
“I’m so excited for spring training,” Story said recently. “I feel good, 100 percent ready to go. It’s just very exciting to get together with these guys and go out there and win. I think we can do something special. A lot of the guys feel that way.”
Story was in a much different place last August.
He paced the dugout like a caged tiger and struggled to feel like a part of the team. His left thumb in a cast, his sensational rookie season cut short, he could only watch as the Rockies’ season soured. When his thumb injury occurred July 30, the Rockies were playing .500 baseball (52-52) and were only 4 ½ games out of the National League wild-card race.
But without Story’s power in the lineup, and with their bullpen disintegrating, the Rockies went 23-35 the rest of the way and posted their sixth consecutive losing season.
“It was tough just because we were playing so well as a team,” Story said. “Pitching was clicking, offense was clicking. We were on a little win streak too. We felt we could make our move right there. That was the toughest part of it for me, that I couldn’t be out there to help my team for the rest of the season. It just gave me incentive for (this year).”
After undergoing thumb surgery and subsequent rehabilitation, Story, 24, has been full go for more than two months.
“I feel good. I’m excited,” he said. “It was good to get all of the thumb therapy out of the way, and I’m doing all of my progressions — back to hitting and fielding every day.”
Before it was cut short, Story’s rookie season was heading toward legendary status. In 97 games, he slugged 27 home runs, setting the NL shortstop rookie record and finishing three homers short of the major-league record of 30 set by Nomar Garciaparra in 1997. Story also drove in 72 runs, batted .272 and slugged .567.
Before the injury, Story was competing with Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager for NL rookie of the year. Seager went on the win the award by a unanimous vote, but Story’s numbers stacked up well vs. Seager’s.
Even with his limited number of games, Story hit more home runs than Seager (27 to 26) and tied him in RBIs (72). Defensively, according to Fangraphs, Story finished with four defensive runs saved (DRS) to Seager’s zero. Seager, however, helped lead the Dodgers to the NL West title and hit .308.
But Story’s rookie season also revealed some flaws. He struck out in 31.3 percent of his at-bats, second among NL players with 400 or more plate appearances. His home-road splits were dramatic. Story hit .313 with a .393 on-base percentage at Coors Field vs. .235/.292 on the road. Of his 27 homers, 16 were slugged at high altitude.
Yet Story impressed with his ability to snap out of minislumps and continue his production. After the all-star break, he batted .340 with a .417 on-base percentage and .698 slugging percentage, hitting six home runs in 15 games.
“Trevor rarely showed his age or his lack of experience,” general manager Jeff Bridich said. “He always has a calm demeanor, stays within himself. … At the ultimate level that this is, the game can get fast and your mind can get going quickly and you can get distracted. That’s really never happened to Trevor.”
Now, after working out with teammates this winter at the Rockies’ complex in Scottsdale, Ariz., Story is downright toothy about the season ahead.
“Missing those two months being injured was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” he said. “To be able to get back with my teammates in spring training, and compete with them again, it’s going to be really fun.”
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