Chris Iannetta returned to the Colorado Rockies last offseason on a two-year, $8.5 million deal and has proven to be a nice addition to the clubhouse.
Iannetta hit .254 with 17 home runs and 43 RBI in 316 plate appearances with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017, and is currently hitting .234 with seven homers and 21 RBI for the Rockies – but it’s his defense and his ability to handle pitchers that the Rockies prized.
Speaking to Eric Goodman of Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7, Chris Iannetta says that having success in baseball starts with the pitcher’s mound.
“I think everything’s predicated off pitching and defense. It doesn’t matter what the offense does, in all honesty,” said Iannetta. “Our pitchers are really throwing the ball well right now. It changes the entire mentality of the team when they pitch well. ”
Colorado is currently in the middle of a three-game series vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks and it might be the most important series of the year. The Rockies are currently 4.5 GB of Arizona for first place in the NL West.
“How I look at it is it’s another game,” Iannetta continued. “It’s another chance to collect a win. Divisional record really doesn’t matter. It’s just total wins. For us, it’s a matter of getting as many wins as we can, and at the end of the season, if you have 90-plus wins, you’ve got a really good shot at making the playoffs.”
The MLB trade deadline is July 31, and Iannetta says that as a player, you have to expect anything. “It could affect anybody,” said Iannetta. “Anything can happen in this game. You wake up one day and you’re in one place; another day another. It could alter the way your playing time is. It could alter your season positively or negatively. Even teams that don’t make moves are affected by it. It’s the nature of this game.
The Rockies are at a crossroads – will they be buyers or sellers? Iannetta doesn’t worry about it, and hopes his teammates don’t, either.
“That’s not our focus,” Iannetta continued. “That’s for the people with a much higher pay grade than us. You can’t control some of those things. All I can control is my personal performance, and everything else is just mental energy that I’m expending on something that’s only going to be a detriment to how I play. You really just try to focus on what you can do.”
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