• The Colorado Rockies are 6-28, facing a historically poor start to the MLB season, compounded by struggles in both pitching and hitting.
• The team's performance ranks among the worst in modern baseball history, inviting comparisons to teams like the 1988 Baltimore Orioles and the 1904 Washington Senators.
• Despite a relatively average payroll and dedicated fan base, the Rockies face significant challenges, including a lack of offensive production at hitter-friendly Coors Field.

The Colorado Rockies are enduring a historically poor start to the 2024 MLB season. With a record of 6-28, the team sits at the bottom of the National League West, trailing the leader by a significant margin. Their struggles stem from both ineffective pitching, ranking near the bottom in ERA and strikeouts, and weak hitting, posting the lowest on-base plus slugging percentage in the league. This performance places them among some of the worst teams in baseball history, raising concerns about their prospects for the remainder of the season.

• What: The Colorado Rockies are experiencing one of the worst starts to an MLB season in recent history.
• Who: Key players are the Colorado Rockies team, Kyle Freeland (highest paid player), experts Daniel J. Eck (statistics professor) and Scott Powers (sports analytics professor), Joe Murphy (data editor) and David K. Li (Senior Breaking News Reporter).
• When: The 2024 MLB season, specifically the first 34 games, ending with a 6-28 record as of early May.
• Where: The Colorado Rockies play in the National League West, with home games at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.

The Colorado Rockies' historically poor start can be attributed to a combination of factors. Statistically, the team underperforms in key pitching and hitting metrics. While playing in the hitter-friendly Coors Field, their offensive output remains strikingly low. Despite a relatively average payroll, the team's performance does not reflect its financial investment. Experts suggest that even with some bad luck, fundamental issues are preventing the team from being competitive. The consistent fan attendance, regardless of the team's performance, may also reduce the urgency for team owners to invest in improvements.

Off the top of my head, I would initially expect there to be higher variability in team outcomes in 1904 than in 2025 due to shallower talent pools and no amateur draft which is designed to introduce parity.

Something I’ve noticed about the Rockies is that Rockies fans show up regardless of how the team is performing. But if revenue doesn’t depend on performance, there’s certainly less incentive (for team owners to improve the team).

The big thing is simply that win-loss performance over the first 34 games of the season, you're going to get some outliers, and those outliers are going to be due to some combination of performance and luck.

It depends what you mean by hope. If your hope is to run away with the division and have a bye in the first round of the playoffs, then that hope might be misplaced. But if your hope is to avoid losing 120 games, then I think it’s a very low probability at this point, that the Rockies have the kind of season that the White Sox had last year.

The Colorado Rockies face a challenging season, marked by historically poor performance in both pitching and hitting. Despite a dedicated fan base and a middling payroll, the team's prospects for significant improvement appear limited. While acknowledging the role of luck in early-season performance, experts suggest underlying issues require attention. The team's ability to turn the season around remains uncertain, as the Rockies risk potentially setting new records for futility.