Jeff Hoffman had a rough start to his major league career in 2016, but his emergence in 2017, along with a young pitching staff has brought optimism back to Coors Field.
Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro of Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 spoke to Hoffman before Tuesday’s game against the Indians about bouncing back and forth between Triple-A and the MLB, and a promising fresh start.
The talk began with the difference between Hoffman’s game at the end of last season compared to where he is today. When pushed on where he made any changes that may have brought more success, Hoffman was at a loss.
“Nothing clicked, nothing changed; maybe I’m a little bit more confident now. Unless you have played Major League Baseball you don’t know what it’s like, and Triple-A is not close to what you experience here,” Hoffman explained. “There is no situation they can put you in in Albuquerque that can prepare you for Denver. I don’t care what the altitude is. I don’t care about any of that. It’s a different animal, and unless you have made the jump from Triple-A to the major leagues you don’t know about that.”
Hoffman cited his initial struggles with the Rockies, stating that he was able to improve based on how he was roughed up in his first few outings of 2016.
“I got my feet wet last year and I got touched. I got touched tough a couple times. In my debut I gave up six [runs],” Hoffman recalled. “You have to learn the hard way sometimes. I learned the hard way and I took those lessons to heart, and and I came out here this year and I’m pitching like I’ve been here before.”
Hoffman has been one of many bright spots in a young Rockies rotation that has surprised more than a few pundits en route to a 37-23 record and a spot atop the NL West, but he showed signs of struggling in the minors before being called up to replace the injured Tyler Anderson. The rookie was transparent about some of the factors that have contributed to his greater success in the majors compared to minor-league ball.
“There’s a lot of different factors when you’re looking at pitching in the two different levels. Once you pitch in the big leagues and go back to Triple-A it’s tough to get up for those games. You don’t have 40,000 people in the stands, you don’t have the bright lights, you don’t have Nolan Arenado standing at third base. It’s different. That’s a mental challenge that a lot of guys, including myself, try to get over,” Hoffman admitted. “I’ve walked zero since I’ve been up, or two I think, and in the minors I walked three a game or hit three a game. It’s just a different atmosphere and it’s something we’re aware of and [players] just try to get over it … It’s not something that I’m proud of [being more focused in the majors than Triple-A]. I want to be just as focused no matter what level I’m at. That’s what the coaching staff would like to see out of me.”
Listen to the full interview with Hoffman, including his thoughts on his future with the Rockies, in the podcast below.
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Catch Afternoon Drive with Goodman and Shapiro every weekday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.
