The combination of Rob Scahill and Mark Strittmatter proved to be one of leadership and determination as their club, The Hills, took the 16th Rockies Fantasy Camp Title yesterday afternoon. The Hills defeated Laser’s Legends 12-5 on the main stadium here at Salt River Fields. John Hefner tossed 2.1 scoreless innings and Tim Carlson went 4-4 with 5 RBI to lead The Hills in the title game.

Derek Krause, who was named Camp MVP, helped lead the Legends to the title game. Congrats to Derek on the honor!

Earlier in the day, Dante’s Dudes shutout Vinny’s Cousins 6-0 in the consolation game to earn third place. PJ Marcely led the Dudes by allowing just 2 hits and striking out 11 in a complete game shutout. Marty Marcely got it done at the plate for the Dudes, going 3-3 with a 2B.

Today is the final day of camp, but the fun isn’t over until today’s Coaches vs. Campers game on the main stadium at Salt River. Each team will get three innings against the Coaches.

As today’s camp closes, the Rockies have been honored to host and fulfill the baseball fantasy of so many this week. The campers are among the most enthused Rockies fans in the world, and we can’t wait for the 2013 season to get going.

Thanks to all who participated, and as always, Go Rockies!

Wrapping up another fantasy camp from the training room. So far so good on the injury front. With the exception of the usual (sore shoulders and elbows, pulled muscles, and a few bruised ego’s) we have had a very productive and healthy camp.

With two more games today and one to go tomorrow, we are now 21 innings away from finishing up camp with a two year emergency room-less streak. I’m already feeling guilty about writing this because it goes against my superstitious nature. Oh well, sometimes you have to take chances in life.

As of this morning’s census, we have already gone through 37 bottles of flex-all, 500 advil tablets and 800 pounds of ice. These numbers will surely grow by tomorrow evening as campers prepare for today’s Championship game and tomorrow’s Campers vs. Staff challenge. By the way, I have played in 14 Campers vs. Staff challenges, and I bring a 14-year hitting streak into tomorrow. Is that good?

Anyway, that’s it for now from the training room. Here’s hoping for 24 more hours of good health (and more importantly good luck) as Rockies Fantasy Camp 2013 heads towards completion here in Scottsdale.

-Scott Gehret, Rockies Assistant Athletic Trainer

In the first games of the day, Laser’s Legends edged out The Hills 4-2 to earn their third-straight victory and clinch a spot in the Championship Game – played tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 p.m. on the main field here at Salt River Fields. Despite the loss, The Hills clinched a spot in the Championship Game as well thanks to a loss by Dante’s Dudes to Vinny’s Cousins.

Both The Hills and Laser’s Legends are now 3-1 going into the final game of league play, which began at about 1:45 p.m. today.

Following the afternoon games, the campers will get a chance to pick the brains of our coaches, and Rockies legends, in a bull session that begins tonight at 5:00 p.m. Great stories are always told at these sessions, and more are sure to come out tonight.

Check back later for a special guest blogger as well. And continue to go to rockies.com for video features throughout camp.

Following another gut busting Kangaroo Court from George Frazier, the campers are now taking batting practice in preparation of the final day of league play today. Each team will play two more games today, at 11:00 am and 1:45 pm, and when those are concluded we will have our championship game set.

The Hills is 3-0 and can clinch a spot in the title game by winning one of their two games today. Laser’s Legends (2-1) and Dante’s Dudes (1-2) are battling to get in to the title game as well. A Win for Laser’s Legends today would also secure a spot in the final contest, played tomorrow at 1:35 pm on the main stadium here at Salt River Fields.

Highlight videos are posted on coloradorockies.com and make sure to check back here for updates.

Play ball!

Blogging from the “Crow’s Nest” between the Rockies’ practice fields at Salt River Fields, the weather is heating up and so is the intensity of the action on the field.  “Laser’s Legends” and “Dante’s Dudes” just wrapped up their first games of today’s doubleheader, with George Frazier and Mike Lansing’s team earning a 6-5 win.  On the neighboring field, “The Hills” was able to dispatch “Vinny’s Cousins” 11-10 in exciting walkoff fashion.

Campers now have a quick break for lunch before heading back out to the fields for game two which will pit The Hills against Dante’s Dudes and Vinny’s Cousins versus Laser’s Legends.

Just a quick update for now, but no matter how you break it down, everyone is having a great time and life is good here at Fantasy Camp.

6:30 a.m. – The days start early here at Rockies Fantasy Camp and many Campers are rolling out of bed at this time, no doubt stiff and sore from the first day of action, and the first bus to Salt River Fields is about to depart from the Camp hotel.  Yesterday, the busiest day of Camp with the player draft, practice sessions, first game and an overall “feeling out” process, is in the books and now the week will begin to hit its stride.

After the first pair of games, there were some strong performances and both “Dante’s Dudes” and “The Hills” notched wins in their first contest, downing “Vinny’s Cousins” and “Laser’s Legends” 12-7 and 8-5 respectively.  Headlining the top first-day performances, Bret Milner of Dante’s Dudes went 3-for-3 with a single, double, a hit-by-pitch and a monster home run over the left-field wall. Other day one standouts included PJ Marcely, also of Dante’s Dudes, John Hefner of The Hills and Steve Bahmer of Vinny’s Cousins.

Campers and staff are going to grab a bite to eat at the Salt River Fields cafeteria and get ready for the first “Kangaroo Court” session of the week, overseen by the vengeful and unforgiving Judge George Frazier.  Kangaroo Court banter is always hilarious and it will be interesting to see what indiscretions Judge Frazier will bring to the courtroom this morning.  After Court, there will be doubleheader action today with games beginning at 10:00 a.m. and 12:45 p.m., so stay tuned for final scores and updates.

Like always, remember you can stay connected to Fantasy Camp in real-time by following the Rockies on Facebook, @Rockies on Twitter and checking for video updates to coloradorockies.com.

Day two…here we go!

The first pitch of 2013 Rockies Fantasy Camp was just thrown. There are two matchups on tonight’s slate of games, but before Camp arrived at this point, players participated in pitching, hitting and fielding sessions after lunch. After getting loose and giving coaches the opportunity to scout talent before for the evening draft, this is how the rosters broke down, including clever team names:

Dante’s Dudes (Dante Bichette/Jeff Huson) - Bob Banta, Joe Breda, Chris Bunnell, Rob Clark, Brian Everhart, Josh Fetters, Sandy Friedin, Marty Marcely, PJ Marcely, Bret Milner, Sam Rubinson, Stefan Tubbs

Vinny’s Cousins (Vinny Castilla/Rick Mathews) - Steve Bahmer, Mike Bush, Mike Chaney, Bob Cooley, Robbie Dinges, Steve Foster, Virgil Graff, Brian Hastings, Art Jacobson, Doug Jones, Tom Sanders, Joe Stutesman

Laser’s Legends (George Frazier/Mike Lansing) – Steve Coble, Mark Danuser, Pat Dixon, Jeff Gilmore, John Hansen, Roger Harbert, Tammy Harbert, Tara Harbert, Derek Kraus, Justin Neel, Bill Newland, Jim Stewart

The Hills (Rob Scahill/Mark Strittmatter) – Tim Carlson, Drew Goodman, John Hefner, Don Karras, Kevin Keating, Bobby Knowles, Jeff Lewis, Harris Marks, Scottie Paradine, Jim Portz, Randy Wahl, Doug Wilhelm

Expect results of tonight’s games as soon as possible and you can always follow along on the Rockies Facebook and Twitter accounts (@Rockies) and coloradorockies.com for photos, videos and up-to-the-minute updates from Camp. Now that games have begun, only time will tell which teams will rise to the surface.

The sun is shining, the skies are blue and the baseball fields are freshly cut. 2013 Rockies Fantasy Camp, the 16th Camp in Rockies history and second consecutive year at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, is now underway with over 45 men and women excited for a great week of fun and baseball action. This year’s Fantasy Camp coaching staff is full of Major League experience, including Rockies legends, household names and honorary Fantasy Camp Commissioner Eric Young. Here are a few words of welcome from Mr. Young.

I’m happy to be back here at Fantasy Camp and it’s about time I’m back in that Rockies family. I don’t think red looks good on me…it’s all about that purple. I’m just excited to be here this week and I’m happy to be back.

This is going to be a great week. We coaches going to sit down and pick teams, play some games and have some fun. We’re going to have “Kangaroo Court” every morning so make sure to be on your toes and on your best behavior. I’m just excited to get everything going and I’m proud to be your Commissioner this week.

Let’s have fun out here, get warmed up, move around and get it started!

Fantasy Camp coaches have yet make their draft choices, but Rockies Hitting Coach Dante Bichette and former big leaguer and ROOT SPORTS personality Jeff Huson will pair up to coach Team 1. Rockies legend Vinny Castilla and longtime Rockies coach Rick Mathews will coach Team 2. Team 3 will be led by former Rockie and Wyoming native Mike Lansing and George Frazier, ROOT SPORTS analyst and former Major League reliever. Finally, Team 4 will be led by current Rockies reliever Rob Scahill and Minor League Catching Coordinator Mark Strittmatter, back with the Rockies organization after a few years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Teams and team names TBD.

And with that, we say welcome to 2013 Fantasy Camp! Stay tuned right here, to the Fantasy Camp blog, for updates as the experience of a lifetime unfolds for these Campers.

It is officially time to start the 2013 Fantasy Camp Countdown! Camp starts on January 29th, exactly two months from today. We have some exciting updates regarding 2013 camp, and those of you attending tonight’s event in the Rockies Clubhouse will be treated to a small sampling of what’s in-store for 2013 Rockies Fantasy Camp!

The 2013 Fantasy Camp Coaching Staff has been finalized and coaching pairings have been set. Your 2013 Rockies Fantasy Camp Coaching Staff:

Team 1– Dante Bichette / Jeff Huson
Team 2– Vinny Castilla / Rick Mathews
Team 3– Mike Lansing / George Frazier
Team 4– Rob Scahill / Mark Strittmatter

Additionally, George Frazier will return to host Kangaroo Court in 2013, so expect another camp full of laughs and shenanigans!

We hope everyone that is attending tonight’s Clubhouse and Batting Practice Event is stretched out and ready for a great evening.

More updates will be posted to this blog when they become available. It’s not too late to sign up for 2013′s Camp. You can get information and sign up by calling 303-312-CAMP.

Team Nasty Nelly here. Today is the big day for our team, we are all very excited well rested an ready to go. People have been saying things about our team very negetive, but we read that and use it as motivation. Everybody hates the team on top an we just happened to be that team. But after every game we tell the team this game is over turn the page an on to the next one. Our team plays great defense and we pitch great. I am very excited to see how our team does in the championship game “We Ready”. Go Nasty Nelly 5-0 an a championship. We believe!