Rockies Extend Modesto Through 2012

Yesterday it was announced that that Colorado extended Modesto's player development contract through 2012. It was one of five Cal League PDC's still set to expire after this season.

Modesto has been the Cal League affiliate of the Rockies since 2005. Prior to that, the Nuts were known as the Modesto A's, obviously an Oakland affiliate for 30 years. Since the Rockies teamed up with Modesto, they have a 424-400 record, only finishing under .500 once between 2005-2009. In that span, they've reached the playoffs four out of five years, and they have a good chance of going back to the postseason in 2010. However, they have not yet won a championship as a Rockies affiliate.

Lately, the Rockies have become one of baseball's better teams, due to an influx of homegrown talent. Modesto has been in the middle of that over the past half decade with 27 former Nuts reaching the majors. Six players from Colorado's 2007 World Series roster made a stop in Modesto while several others from that team have made rehab appearances with the Nuts. All Stars and award winners such as Aaron Cook, Troy Tulowitzki and Ubaldo Jimenez have all made appearances with Modesto since 2005. The current Rockies' roster is littered with former Nuts, including Ian Stewart, Seth Smith, Dexter Fowler, Jhoulys Chacin among others. Colorado continues to develop one of the league's better farm systems, so the talent should continue to go through Modesto.

"The Colorado Rockies Organization is excited to renew our contract to remain a part of the Modesto Nuts family," said Rockies Director of Player Development Marc Gustafson. "We have enjoyed the relationship that has been built between the two organizations over the past six seasons, and we look forward to a successful future as we continue to bring Rockies baseball to the Modesto fans and community."

It truly has been a great relationship, and plenty of people were wondering why it took so long for a PDC extension to be reached. The Rockies have continued to produce players from their draft and international signings, and all of that talent allows Modesto to field competitive, winning teams in most years. Modesto also occasionally hosts a rehabbing major leaguer or two, like Greg Reynolds and Taylor Buchholz this season. The Nuts have also benefited from the Rockies relationship at the gate. Attendance has increased each year, and they'll again set a franchise record for attendance this year.

Now that the Modesto's PDC is taken care of, there are four teams that are looking for parent clubs for the 2011 season, and those teams are Bakersfield, High Desert, Inland Empire and Rancho Cucamonga. They all have their own interesting dynamics, and it'll be interesting to see what changes are made before next season.

Here is a good Modesto Bee article about the extension from Brian VanderBeek, and here is the article on the Nuts' website.