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Rockies Don't Make David Dahl Jerseys Yet, So Fan Makes His Own in Time for Dahl's First HR at Coors

A kid from David Dahl's high school custom made a Dahl jersey and saw him hit his first home run at Coors Field.

Rockies rookie slugger David Dahl came to the plate at Coors Field in the fourth inning Thursday night and ROOT Sports cameras cut between him and a fan in center field who was wearing a gray and purple Dahl No. 26 jersey. It was just Dahl's tenth major league game, but this fan already had a Dahl jersey. Impressive, dedicated, and way ahead of the curve, if also a bit presumptive.

But after Dahl connected against Kenta Maeda of the Dodgers for his third career home run, and his first at Coors Field, the ROOT Sports people knew they had to talk to the young man wearing the Dahl jersey. Davis Hornak just finished his senior year of high school in Birmingham, Alabama—also Dahl's hometown—and is trying to visit every major league stadium before going off to college. Coors Field was No. 25 out of 30. Not only that, Hornak said, but he and Dahl played for the same traveling baseball team as kids, and he looked up to him.

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"I came up here, trying to get a jersey or a T-shirt, and nobody had one," Hornak said. "So I was, like, 'I'm gonna make one!' and I made one."

Some might say that Hornak risked committing a jersey foul by having it made custom, and not waiting for the real thing. Nonsense, given Hornak's options. The only quibble with Hornak's choice:it should have been the black, sleeveless futuristic Rockies jerseys that are totally underappreciated.

Dahl, a first-round pick in 2012, came into the season ranked as the No. 31 overall prospect by Baseball Prospectus. He's the No. 2 Rockies prospect, according to MLB.com, after infielder Brendan Rogers. But Hornak can say he knew Dahl when.

"He was someone I always looked up to, just how he worked; he got there early and left late," Hornak said. "He was a great example for the younger guys."

The Rockies fell 4-2 against the Dodgers, but they have been playing better of late and are just three games back in the NL wild card hunt. Regardless of how they finish 2016, adding Dahl to a talented hitting stable that includes Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon, and ol' Carlos Gonzalez—plus a shockingly strong pitching staff—means they're trending upward. Now, if only the Rockies marketing/apparel departments would catch up so that fans wouldn't have to make their own David Dahl jerseys and shirseys, everyone could ride the Mashed Tater Express in harmony.

[MLB]