Oct 17, 2007 9:00 am US/Mountain
Rockies' Hurdle Finds Perspective, Luck In No. 64
by Kathy Walsh
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4) ―
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Rockies' manager Clint Hurdle wrote that number on the lineup card in the next game. The Rockies won in the bottom of the 9th 6-5.
CBS
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Clint Hurdle (file)
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
While the Colorado Rockies have won 21 of their last 22 games over the past month to make their way into the World Series next week, the number that may be most important to manager Clint Hurdle this postseason is 64.
No. 64 was worn by a courageous young athlete in Highlands Ranch while playing football. The number has brought Hurdle luck and an important life lesson.
Kyle Blakeman wore No. 64 as a lineman. He played football starting at age 7, but never made it past 15.
Blakeman died from a rare kidney cancer in August.
Before that, he had struggled for 2 years. His parents and sister were his strength.
And Blakeman found a buddy in baseball. A family friend saw Hurdle at the grocery store one day.
The Rockies manager asked for Blakeman's name and phone number. That led to phone calls, hospital visits and a special friendship.
After a loss to Pittsburgh in August, Hurdle visited Blakeman in the hospital and asked him for some luck: a favorite number.
"I was surprised he didn't give him 21, which was his baseball number," said Joanna Blakeman, Kyle's mother. "But he gave him 64."
Hurdle wrote that number on the lineup card in the next game. The Rockies won in the bottom of the 9th 6-5.
He took the lineup card back to Kyle Blakeman late that night and thanked him for the good luck.
Four days later, Kyle Blakeman died.
During the playoffs, Hurdle explained his emotions back in August and the life lesson he learned.
"That day, I'd gotten a call from a mother at Children's Hospital that wanted me to come see her son because he was going to pass that night," Hurdle said. "That was debilitating. Crushing was when a doctor told me my little girl was born with a birth defect. Baseball is a game."
Hurdle was scribbled 64 on every lineup card since that memorable day in August.
On Monday night, the Rockies swept into the World Series with a 6-4 win, scoring all six runs in the 4th inning.
"I think God is really letting us know that he's okay," said Joanna Blakeman. "That he's with him, he's safe and he's happy and he's watching the Rockies."
Hurdle stays in touch with the family. Kyle's 10-year-old sister, Macie, threw out the first pitch before Monday's night's NLCS ending game.
The Blakemans predict the Rockies will win it all.
(© MMVII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Section: MLB Playoffs Schedule, Other Info
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