Rockies’ brutal 2026 schedule could doom them to worst start in MLB history

The 2025 season has not been kind to the Colorado Rockies or their fans. The team got off to such an awful start that people were starting to whisper about the worst single-season records ever while gawking at just how dysfunctional the organization had become. There were precious few prospects to speak of, and the biggest name on the roster has been physically incapable of taking the field. Things have gotten slightly better since then, but only in the sense that they've been "merely terrible" rather than "literally the worst team in the history of the sport".

But hey: This year from hell is almost over, right? The offseason is around the corner, and before you know it, hope will be springing eternal once again, with a clean slate and a brand-new season. As they say, there's always next year.

[touches earpiece] Unfortunately we've just been given next year's schedule.

MLB released its 2026 regular-season schedule on Tuesday afternoon, and ... my goodness. As if it weren't hard enough being a Rockies fan right now, just look at how Colorado is set to start its season: After opening up on the road against Miami, the Rockies will face the Blue Jays, Phillies, Astros, Padres, Astros, Dodgers, Padres, Mets, Reds, Braves, Mets and Phillies — the only team on that list not currently in contention for a playoff spot is Atlanta, one of the more obvious bounce-back candidates in the league.

That is a gauntlet, to say the absolute least. It would be difficult for even the best teams in the league to navigate that early-season schedule with their heads still above water. For a team like the Rockies, one that shows no signs of taking a leap in the near future? We might have the wrong kind of MLB history on our hands.

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What are the worst starts to a season in MLB history?

In the modern era, exactly one team has managed to win fewer than three of their first 25 games: the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who lost their first 21 straight to open the year before finishing at 54-107 overall. They also hold the record for the worst start in MLB history in a team's first 25 games at 2-23, a record that has been flirted with but never matched in recent years — including by this year's Rockies, who went 4-21 out of the gate.

Those Rockies, though, had a somewhat reasonable opening schedule, beginning in Tampa before playing series against the likes of the A's and Nationals. Next year's team won't be nearly so lucky — and unless something drastically changes over the next few months, we could have a historically bad beginning on our hands next spring.

Can Rockies make a "run" at the record?

There are precious few meaningful impending free agents on this roster, so next year's Rockies are almost certain to look a whole lot like this year's Rockies. Which is ... not great, from a quality perspective. And there probably won't be a ton of help coming from the Minors: 2023 first-round pick Chase Dollander has been awful in his first taste of the Show this summer, and top-100 prospect Charlie Condon might not be ready to step into a major role right away.

So Colorado is likely to be very bad, while basically every team on their opening schedule will be at least above-average if not much better than that. Baseball is a funny game, but if this year's team went 4-21 to start, what's to stop next year's from ducking below that bar? After they leave Miami, will the Rockies be favored in a single game until May at the earliest? Anything can happen, but Rockies fans might want to just pick up a hobby or something.