To make a memorable entrance, timing is everything.
That’s what happened on April 6, 2026, when the Colorado Rockies pulled off a come-from-behind win over the Houston Astros. Sure, the win was great, but fans probably also remember the debut of the Rockies purple home run coat.
The coat announced its presence after Troy Johnston hit a 407-foot bomb in the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, the camera cut away before Johnston could strut through the dugout wearing the Rockies new purple swag, but it caught everyone’s attention.
“We thought it was the perfect coat for our home run celebration,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“What an honor it is that I was the first one to get to wear it,” Johnston said later. “It was a little big for me, but I’ll fit into it, eventually.”
But the question remained: Where had the purple coat come from?
Like most effective rituals, this one has a backstory, which begins with Gabe Ribas, the Rockies assistant pitching coach.
I talked to Colorado assistant pitching coach Gabe Rebas, who brought the coat into the organization. Here’s what he said . . . . “So I am living with a college teammate of mine here (in Denver), and I walked back to the house the other night and he had it sitting on the kitchen table. And I was like, ‘That is amazing. Where did you get that?’
He said he was on one of the oldest floats in Mardi Gras. He said, “I’ve had it for years, and if you guys want it, it’s yours.” And so I put it on, I took a picture, and I showed it to Kyle Freeland. I was like, “What do you think?” He was like, “We have to have that.” And so I went back to my friend, and told him I think the boys want it. He was like, “It’s theirs if they want it. I just want it back at the end of the season.”
So we’ll see. Hey, if we get hot, then that thing has to go to the Hall of Fame, and he’s not getting it back. I live about a mile away, so I’m walking through the streets of Denver with this big purple fur coat on my shoulders. People must think I’m insane, but I think it got a little energy in the boys. Everybody’s put it on and gotten some good vibes.
And so the purple coat became the centerpiece of the Rockies home-run celebration.
So far, the Rockies have hit 45 home runs (23rd in MLB) with Mickey Moniak (12) and Hunter Goodman (11) leading the way. Every position player has worn the coat at least once, except for Chad Stevens, Brett Sullivan, and Sterlin Thompson.
Having a cool artifact is one thing. Taking care of it is another.
Since its debut in April, the purple coat has become an essential piece of Rockies equipment, and Mike “Tiny” Pontarelli, the Rockies clubhouse manager, explained how the team ensures the coat is cared for and gets to where it needs to be.
Transporting the purple coat
As with most endeavors, it takes a village.
“The clubhouse staff takes care of it,” Pontarelli said, “pretty much a collective between my staff and I, my right-hand man, Justin Fowler. I’m on a majority of the road trips, but like this last road trip [to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh], Justin was on it, so he made sure the coat got taken care of.”
If you spend much time around an MLB clubhouse, you’ll notice massive equipment bags players and staff use to transport players’ gear.
Like any important piece of equipment, the coat has its own bag.
Sports teams meticulously track their gear when it’s being transported. (If you missed this Stephanie Apstein story from 2023 about missing baseball jerseys, it’s worth your time and outlines the process.)
The purple coat is no different.
“It’s got its own label,” Pontarelli said, “so we know which bag it’s in.”
In other words, not only does the purple coat travel in style, but it also receives the same level of security as the rest of the Rockies’ equipment.
Ensuring the purple coat is game-ready
When the Rockies prepare for a game, Pontarelli and his staff, in addition to their other duties, make sure the coat is ready for action.
First, they keep it close to the bench.
“Probably three or four hours before the game, we run it down to a rack,” Pontarelli said, “anywhere convenient — home or road — and hang it on there with a hanger, so it’s ready to go for the game.”
After that, he turns the responsibility over to the bat boys.
“Our bat boys here are well versed on how the jacket works, and they help,” Pontarelli said.
Here’s how the actual celebratory process works — and thanks to Pontarelli, it’s carefully choreographed.
“The bat boy runs down and grabs it as the players are rounding the bases, makes sure the coat’s available for when he crosses home plate, and they help him put it on,” Pontarelli said.
The system has to work on the road, too, not just at Coors Field.
“We’ve also made sure the road bat boys — who are employees of the hosting club — know what the protocol is, and they also help us with that.”
However, given that dugouts tend to be idiosyncratic, Pontarelli has had to do some improvising on the road.
“Sometimes, the dugout opening from the clubhouse isn’t really near where the entrance to the dugout will be,” he said. “Like at Citi Field in New York, the players cross home plate and are on the far end of the opposite end of where the clubhouse entrance is, so I had to kind of pivot there, and I said, ‘What am I going to do here?’ So I brought the actual entire bag, unzipped it, had it under the bench, ready to go, explained to the bat boy the protocol, and he was flawless and helped us execute the whole thing.”
But the coat is, foremost, a responsibility of Pontarelli and his staff.
“Between equipment staffs, home and road, we’re really kind of the caretakers of the jacket.”
Maintaining the purple coat
Like the rest of the Rockies gear, the purple coat receives care and attention.
“We don’t tuck it back away at night when we’re on the road or at home,” Pontarelli said. “It’s currently hanging in my equipment room right now, just to keep it looking hung, wrinkle-free, and as nice as we possibly can.”
So far, the coat remains unwashed.
“My perception is guys are wearing it for, at most, 30 seconds, most of the time,” Pontarelli said. “Sometimes, if it’s cold, I think Jake McCarthy hung out in it for a little longer, which is totally fine. But no, it hasn’t been washed, and unless there’s a reason — unless it starts developing a reason that it needs to be washed or dry cleaned — no, not really.”
Then he added, “Nothing’s been spilled on it, thankfully.”
Totally rocking the purple coat
Ask any Colorado Rockie about the purple coat, and they begin smiling as they describe what it feels like to wear it.
“You know something good happened if you’re wearing the purple coat,” Jake McCarthy said.
Mickey Moniak, who’s worn the purple coat more than anyone, said, “It’s warm. It’s very warm.”
Then he added, “Once the temperature starts rising, and it gets up into the 80s over the summertime, it’ll be interesting to see how hot it is.”
He paused for just a second.
“But on 100-, 105-degree day, I’ll still put that thing on.”
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