Pingpong tourney gets all farmed out

Wilson reigns in fun diversion

scottsdale, ariz.» There was a heavy rooting interest in Vinny Castilla in the Rockies’ weight training room Wednesday morning at Salt River Fields. The Rockies coach and former star third baseman for the franchise faced off against farm director Zach Wilson in a pingpong tournament.

Players were hanging over the balconies and a mariachi band played through timeouts as the left-handed Wilson, with a two-handed backhand, topped Castilla in two straight sets. The pingpong tournament, a team-building exercise organized by manager Bud Black, ended after weeks of whittling down the finalists.

“There was a huge sentiment pulling for Vinny,” Black said. “The crowd was heavily swayed.”

The mariachi band, which played its way into the Colorado clubhouse earlier in the morning, was the idea of left fielder Gerardo Parra.

And friendly wagering (of “chips and widgets,” Black said) was titled toward Castilla, a sure-handed fielder at the hot corner in his playing days. The cheers for Wilson, Black guessed, were betting-related.

“Zach is wonderful. Great guy. Great farm director,” Black said. “Those people betting with their hearts and not their heads probably bet on Vinny.”

The Rockies earlier held an archery tournament, which also had chips and widgets in play.

Pitcher Kyle Freeland won in an upset of avid hunter Darren Holmes, the bullpen coach, in the final round shooting at a dummy wild boar from about 60 yards.