"Soul of the Game" is a SportsLeaf series following unique storylines across all sports.
It was a little chilly as I took my seat in the balcony above third base at Coors Field, the cold wind cutting through an otherwise beautiful Sunday afternoon. The Rockies managed an improbable victory over the Dodgers the night before to even their record to 1-1 after an Opening Day loss, but this game had a different feel to it even before the first pitch was thrown.
On the drive down, I mentioned to my wife “I hope Connor Joe is starting”. The night before, he drove in the tying run in the sixth inning, followed by a go-ahead home run in the eighth to secure the Rockies’ first victory on the year.
I wasn’t disappointed when Bud Black’s lineup was announced and he had Joe penciled in for leadoff and first base, with CJ Cron handling DH duties. Thankful I brought a jacket, I zipped it up against the breeze and settled in for some baseball.
Antonio Senzatela made quick work of the top of the Dodgers' lineup. It was quiet as the teams switched places on the field, but then a slow chant began from the stands around first base...
"Joe. Joe. Joe! JOE! JOE!"
He watched the first two pitches zing by, then one-hopped a Julio Urias slider directly to short and couldn't quite leg out the throw. In the second inning, he nicked a ball into the dirt that rolled about three feet, and he was thrown out by the catcher at first. It wasn't til the fourth when he found himself on base, but he took a pitch to the hand to get there, and the crowd let Los Angeles' Mitch White on the mound know their displeasure.
The crowd (myself included) continued going wild when he stole second base a few moments later, and scored the fourth run of the game on a Brendan Rodgers sacrifice fly a few batters later. Joe went 0-4 that Sunday, but got on base four times without being walked, showing his innate ability as a ballplayer to contribute in any way possible. The Rockies went on to beat the Dodgers 9-4, winning their first series of the year and securing manager Bud Black's 1000th win along the way (Black became only the 66th manager all-time to achieve the benchmark).
The crowd's love for their new ballplayer goes deeper than Joe hitting .412 in this year's Spring Training. It goes deeper than driving in the winning run against the Dodgers on prime time. The respect and love for Connor Joe is beyond baseball, and represents the true soul of the sport...perseverance, in the face of insurmountable odds.
It was early 2020 when a nervous Connor Joe reported to the Dodgers spring training facility. After three seasons primarily in the minors for Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the Reds shipped him to San Francisco where he saw limited action in five appearances. 2020 was going to be his year though, and he showed up to spring training as a non-roster participant in LA, more prepared than he had ever been.
Before anything else, ballplayers are given their annual spring physical at the start of camp. It is a tedious necessity that most athletes groan over, as the physician pokes and prods and scans every aspect of their body to ensure peak performance. In Joe's case however, despite passing the athletic portion of the exam with flying colors...the physical revealed something much, much more ominous.
On February 20th, 2020, as the world was coming to grips with the Covid-19 pandemic, Connor Joe was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
“It’s something you never want to hear in a doctor’s office — the word cancer,” says Joe, in an interview with Rockies Magazine. From the moment of the initial diagnosis, he and his family leapt into action, immediately visiting specialists and starting treatments.
“The support of my family was everything,” Joe says. “I don’t know if I could’ve done it without all the help we had. My wife, Kylie, was amazing. And it’s not just the support from my family, but my friends who reached out to me. It wasn’t easy and there are days that are really tough, but each and every single text message I got stoked the fire a little bit more. That was really special and helped me get through it.”
Miraculously, five months to the day from receiving his cancer diagnosis, Connor Joe was declared cancer-free. As far as his baseball career was concerned however, beating cancer was merely the first hurdle in a recovery process that would consume every waking minute for Joe over the next ten months. For Connor Joe, his cancer prognosis came at the worst possible time: he had finally taken his first swings in the majors in 2019, and was primed to make his case for a major league roster. Generally speaking, a set-back like cancer for a 28-year-old prospect is...a career-ender.
Joe was well aware of the odds he faced if he ever wanted to step on a major league ball field again. Joe also knew he wasn't your average 28-year-old prospect, however. Drawing from a resilience he credits his parents and grandparents (Chinese immigrants who came to America in the 1940s), he set to work at local gyms and batting cages, friend's facilities, and more often than not, his own backyard in San Diego.
While getting back into playing shape, Joe reflected on what inspired him to play in the first place: representation. “You don’t see many Asian-American players in the Major Leagues. Growing up, if I had another Asian kid on my team it was like, ‘Wow. That’s awesome.’ I really can’t remember playing with many other Asian-American kids."
Getting back onto the field was about more than just personal success for Joe. “I grew up watching guys like Hideki Matsui. Idolizing Ichiro. But these are players who are not Americans first. If I can be a small sliver of inspiration for an Asian-American kid in the United States, inspire him or her to get out there with their friends to try Little League, or give themselves the opportunity to fall in love with the game of baseball, I don’t know if there’s any greater honor.”
It was this mindset that propelled Connor Joe when the recovery process was at its most daunting, a hunger to represent something more than himself on the baseball diamond. On November 15th, 2020 Joe received an invitation to attend the Rockies spring training in Arizona leading up to the 2021 season. Less than a year after getting diagnosed with cancer, Connor Joe had a shot to make a major league roster once more.
At Salt River Flats outside of Phoenix, Joe made his case for the majors by slashing .368 with 3 home runs and 11 runs batted in. A remarkable feat for someone less than a year removed from cancer treatments, yet Colorado opted to send Joe to their alternate site rather than place him on the Opening Day roster at Coors Field.
What may have been a disappointment for anyone else was just another challenge for Joe, who destroyed competition at the alternate site and against all odds, was called up to the majors in time for a May 17th 2021 road series against (who else) his hometown Padres. With family and friends in attendance, Joe took his first big-league at-bats after beating cancer.
He didn't record a hit in that series, but finished the 2021 season with a .362 on-base percentage across 63 games, driving in 35 runs and taking opposing pitchers deep 8 times. Most impressive was the 26 walks in 179 at-bats, a 14% clip showing a supreme eye for the strike zone.
Like everyone else, Joe was left to ponder the future of baseball after the 2021 season, as the lockout commenced and representatives went back and forth on matters much larger than swinging a bat. When the lockout ended, Joe burst into the Rockies Spring Training without skipping beat, hitting .412 with a ridiculous .500 OBP.
This gave the Rockies front office a bit of a conundrum, because Joe plays first base and left field, and the Rockies brought in CJ Cron and Kris Bryant to hold down those positions. Due to a decision made per the newly-agreed upon CBA, the National League now employs a designated hitter (same as the AL) and this flexibility made putting Connor Joe on the Opening Day roster a no-brainer for Bud Black and company.
Fast-forward to Opening Weekend at Coors Field 2022, and it's obvious from the "Joe" chants that Rockies fans have their new underdog hero. In 23 games so far this season, Joe is hitting .272 with 10 RBIs and 4 home runs, but it's not what he hits that's lighting Colorado on fire: it's when he hits it. Joe has begun to get a reputation as the clutch master, after the go-ahead homer against the Dodgers opening weekend, he pinch-hit a walk-off RBI triple against Baltimore less than a week later. A few days ago, Washington saw the same treatment.
Cancer-free, on an Opening Day roster, performing at a high level and helping his club win ball games. It all sounds like a far-fetched dream to the Connor Joe who walked into the doctor's office for his first cancer treatments in early 2020, but the Connor Joe that steps up to the plate at Coors Field today is a different man.
“Honestly, [enjoying baseball as much as I am now] is not something that I’ve done my whole career. I’ve taken this game extremely seriously, and I still do. But I realized this game is extremely tough. I was one that would always focus on the negatives, take the negatives from the game and dwell on those. We’ve got to celebrate when we have success in this game, personally and as a team. It’s made the game a lot more fun for me. And I’m loving it.”
We are looking forward to following Connor Joe on his major league journey, hopefully as a Colorado Rockies staple for years to come.
Source material for this article: "Stronger Together: The Connor Joe Story" by Julian Valentin; "Following Battle With Cancer, Rockies Connor Joe Is Living In The Moment" by Kyle Newman (Denver Post);
Follow Connor Joe's stats here: Connor Joe ESPN
Comments