BOSTON -- Playing through a 162-game season nearly guarantees that some moments will get lost in the shuffle. So it’s understandable that Ryan McMahon showed up to Fenway Park on Tuesday for the second of a three-game series against the Red Sox thinking it was just another day.
But as McMahon was reminded, it’s not every day you play in your 1,000th career game. McMahon got the start at third and batted sixth in Colorado’s 10-2 loss to become the ninth player in franchise history to play at least 1,000 games with the Rockies.
“I think the little kid in me would be proud,” McMahon said pregame. “You're a kid growing up hitting Wiffle Balls in your yard, pretending it’s the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, stuff like that. So I think the little kid in me is really proud. And I think one day, when I look back, I'll be really proud of myself.”
It’s been an up-down first half of the 2025 season for McMahon, who started hot before cooling off in a mid-April slump. He’s had a slow start to July, though he notched two hits, including a double in Monday’s series opener in Boston. But McMahon has continued to do what he’s done throughout his career in order to get to Tuesday’s milestone: Post.
McMahon has played in at least 151 games in each of his last four seasons, including 153 in his first All-Star season in 2024. He’s played in 90 of the Rockies’ 92 games so far this year. Valuing his reputation as someone who posts and looking to ensure a strong finish, McMahon shifted his usual weightlifting routine and put an emphasis on speed over “drive” in Spring Training.
“That's longevity,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “That's playing a lot of baseball, that's being very productive over the past eight years. Good for him. I'm happy for him, I'm proud of him. I think when he was a kid, growing up in the organization, we all knew that this was possible for him. But it's a great milestone for him, and a great milestone for the Rockies.”
McMahon joined the organization in 2013, when he was selected No. 42 overall in the MLB Draft out of Mater Dei high school in Santa Ana, Calif., at the age of 18. He made his Major League debut on Aug. 12, 2017, as a 22-year-old. Now 30, McMahon is the longest tenured player in the Rockies’ clubhouse.
While mired in that April slump and searching for answers at the plate, McMahon never wavered in his commitment to being someone for the younger players to turn to in the clubhouse.
“Just because I’m not playing well doesn’t mean that I don’t have a grasp on different things,” McMahon said at the time. “So I’m still trying to be a sounding board for them.”
A sentiment McMahon echoed two and a half months later ahead of his 1,000th game.
“I feel like I've been the same guy ever since I got here,” McMahon said. “I tell guys all the time, ‘I've been around long enough to make plenty of mistakes, so I'm here to help you guys.’ I've learned a lot from everything that I have and haven't done out on the field, and that I've seen from other guys. So just trying to be a soundboard for them.”
Standing in the visitors clubhouse at Fenway Park on Tuesday, McMahon reflected on the past nine years and landed on a summer night in 2018 as his favorite career moment. With the Rockies down to their last out in a 2-0 game at Coors Field on Aug. 11, a 23-year-old McMahon hit a three-run walk-off homer against the Dodgers with his family in the stands.
“That's probably my coolest personal moment,” McMahon said. “But honestly, just being around the guys every day has been such a joy. I've been lucky to have a lot of awesome teammates along the way, so that's been really cool. And those relationships are what I cherish at the end of the day.”
And the feeling is mutual.
“Mac’s been awesome,” said Kyle Freeland, who went 5 2/3 innings on Tuesday. “To see him get 1,000 games tonight in a historic venue like this, really cool for him. ... I've been with him since he was 20 years old. Seeing him completely grow up and turn into the man and the baseball player that he is today, it's fun to watch him. I'm glad I'm wearing the same uniform as him.”