The ball looks so big and fat and easy to hit. Follow him on Twitter @harding_at_mlb and** like his Facebook page**. "And we had made it over the halfway mark, so now -- even in a shortened season -- you don't have to worry about preserving your body, and you can kind of sprint to the finish.". Myron Blackmon delighted in the resulting sore muscles. He was the inspiration-giver and teacher of lessons. Four-time All-Star outfielder Charlie Blackmon is one of three Rockies players to have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to multiple reports. Sam's No. On that day, Blackmon was hitting .405/.442/.568 after going 2-for-4 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. "I actually got fined in Kangaroo Court. "His dad loved baseball. That was the big gotcha. Rewards and punishments are dealt in what seems like random ways -- especially in a year that’s as random as it gets. In 26 games from Aug. 25 through Wednesday, Blackmon hit .185/.271/.337 in 107 plate appearances. The Post reported that Blackmon tested positive last week after workouts at Coors Field in Denver. Rockies hopeful blast 'jump-starts' right fielder for stretch run, Nazty! The question for both the player and the club is, how will they fix that? Blackmon’s season has been much like the Rockies’ season overall -- Dr. Jekyll at the outset, Mr. Hyde toward the end. He made his MLB debut on June 7, 2011, as a member of the Rockies. Blackmon never asked to be a .500-hitting national story through 18 games, but he was. He turns 34 on July 1, the day players are set to begin reporting for the resumption of spring training. Many players around the majors have been working out in recent weeks at either their home ballpark or their team's complex in Florida or Arizona. The trouble for Blackmon and the Rockies is that it's been more like labored jogging than sprinting since then. This is not a work-a-day, pay-a-day proposition. McMahon’s opposite-field game-tying shot off Ty Buttrey with one out in the ninth was essential in setting the table for Blackmon’s walk-off blast. Hall of Fame World Baseball Classic MLB Press Releases Rare Feats Blackmon grateful for father's coaching ... Charlie Blackmon readily credits his father with stoking his love for the game. The anatomy of a 3-0 comeback, MLB Friday Takeaways: Astros make history in forcing Game 7; Dodgers stay alive, How MLB old school beat new: Inside the Astros' big inning that won Game 6, Ranking 35 trades that shaped the Rays, Astros, Dodgers and Braves, Baseball keeps losing legends in 2020, and Joe Morgan might have been the smallest and mightiest of them all, 2021 MLB draft order set by 2020 standings, How the Rays are winning big without spending big money, MLB offseason preview: What's next for teams already out of the playoffs, three Rockies players had tested positive, Three Rockies players test positive, source says, Phillies' virus count 12 after 4 more test positive, Baseball's top 60 storylines for a 60-game MLB season. Follow him on Twitter @harding_at_mlb and like his Facebook page. So, forgetting that many years ago he coached youth players not to, he fired at a pitch at eye level. The gap between Blackmon’s actual batting average and expected batting average since Aug. 25 remained about the same (56 points), only in the other direction -- he was batting .185, while his expected batting average was .241. But once upon a time, he was coveted for his left arm much more than for any offensive potential he might have had. (1:47). Myron Blackmon stoked his son Charlie's love for the game of baseball. "He always tells me, 'Stop swinging at high fastballs,'" Blackmon said. To figure out what might be behind Blackmon’s drastic offensive decline, we first need to figure out how the 34-year-old slugger was so successful early in the season. “But that's it. DENVER -- What happened to Charlie Blackmon? "It was cool because we kind of changed roles," Charlie Blackmon said. Yet stars won’t do this alone. Like Blackmon, Spilborghs delivered with the Rockies trailing. "I say, 'Dad, I don't think you understand. On that day, Blackmon was hitting .405/.442/.568 after going 2-for-4 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. “I thought he was going to take the pitch; it ended up being a grand slam,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. Colorado’s other walk-off grand slam was a Ryan Spilborghs blast in the 14th inning of on Aug. 24, 2009, vs. San Francisco. What happened to Charlie Blackmon? Thomas Harding has covered the Rockies since 2000, and for MLB.com since 2002. Enter Statcast’s Sweet Spot metric, which measures the percentage of batted balls with a launch angle between eight and 32 degrees, an optimal range for hits. The homer came off lefty reliever José Quijada, who’d fallen behind in the count, 3-1. “There are ups and downs in baseball, and I knew when things seemed [to be going] so well that there was going to be a corresponding down period,” said Blackmon, who was 2-for-5 with no strikeouts. What happened to Charlie Blackmon?TLDR--he hasn't been hitting the ball hard very often all season (around 30% hard-hit rate) but he was hitting the ball on the sweet spot far more when he was above .400.Now? Braves shock Dodgers with ninth-inning outburst for 5-1 win in Game 1 of NLCS, Dodgers look to take next step in bid to claim World Championship for first time since 1998. "He even appreciated his son giving him a hard time.Next time, maybe Dad will lay off the high fastball. The Rockies -- who, at 21-23, sit a game and a half out of last of the eight National League playoff spots -- fell behind on a pair of Angels homers, with Jared Walsh taking Mychal Givens deep in the eighth and former Rockies farmhand catcher Anthony Bemboom going yard off Daniel Bard in the top of the ninth. Manny Randhawa is a reporter for MLB.com based in Denver. He has an opinion and he'll share it. Astros are making a late push on Rays in ALCS; Dodgers looking to avoid an early departure from NLCS against Braves, Rays have been successful on the field in the last 12 years, ranking in the bottom among payrolls, Did Dodgers find life with Game 3 in in NLCS; Rays a win from claiming AL title, Rays go for a sweep of Astros on Wednesday, Dodgers no longer favorite to win World Series, Check out the latest from the Hall of Fame, including a tribute to Whitey Ford and Joe Morgan, How a Smart Baserunner Can Exploit the Basepath Rules. The Rockies’ right fielder got off to a sizzling start at the plate in 2020, and he was hitting over .400 as late as Aug. 23. But good hitters take good swings at good times. But the previously slumping Ryan McMahon, who has gotten some recent bench time, homered to tie it, and the Rockies rallied behind him, with Blackmon winning it via his sixth homer and second grand slam of 2020. DENVER -- Charlie Blackmon trusts that baseball will give him what he deserves in the end; it’s just an averaging of the odds. In the end, it comes down to a drop in the rate that Blackmon hit the Sweet Spot, as well as the related note that he’s hitting more ground balls and popups while hitting fewer fly balls and line drives. Blackmon is a four-time All-Star slugger who hit .314 with 32 home runs and 86 RBIs last season. But . "It was cool because we kind of changed roles," Charlie Blackmon said. “Honestly, that's a pretty tough matchup right there. It's all about what you do moving forward. "As a coach, that was the bane of your existence. But since then, Blackmon’s production at the plate has plummeted. Prior to Aug. 25, the percentage of Blackmon’s batted balls that were either fly balls or line drives was 63.2 percent. Even when the numbers aren’t going his way, the thought process that made Blackmon a four-time All-Star didn’t go anywhere. Hall of Famer Chipper Jones actually hit .409 for the first 60 games of the 2008 season for Atlanta, only to finish with a .364 average. The Denver Post had first reported Blackmon's condition, saying Tuesday that three Rockies players had tested positive, which was confirmed by ESPN's Jeff Passan. Braves won Game 1 of NLCS vs. Dodgers -- Will they maintain past history, having advanced to World Series the 4 previous times they won Game 1? “This is a 17-, now 16-game push,” McMahon said. Julio Teheran (20.2) was solid again in 2019. He has an opinion and he'll share it. "But that powerful body, that came from going to college and working beyond to build it. 'Lay off the high fastballs,'" Blackmon said. The Philadelphia Phillies have had seven players and five staff members test positive for the virus. There were, however, highlights, and high on the list came Charlie Blackmon's walk-off grand slam in the Rockies 8-4 win against the Los Angeles Angels Sept. 11. ... Joe Morgan became sixth member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to pass away this year. "Growing up, he always coached me. And the expected batting average on those was more than 100 points lower, at .636, suggesting there was a good amount of luck involved in them becoming hits. On Monday we took a look at the up-to-date American League Rushmores, so today we move on to the National League. With the bases loaded and one pitch from winning the game with a walk, Blackmon drove a walk-off grand slam to give the Rockies an important 8-4 victory over the Angels at Coors Field on Friday to open a vital nine-game final homestand. I've been making mistakes, pitchers have been making good pitches … good defensive plays, and bad calls, whatever it is. As Blackmon’s batting average stood at .405 on Aug. 23, his expected batting average -- based on Statcast launch angle, exit velocity and actual strikeouts -- was 62 points lower, at .343.