With sharp eye for strike zone, catcher Hunter Goodman powers Rockies, winning ABS challenges

DENVER (AP) — Hunter Goodman certainly has a sharp eye for the strike zone these days.

That applies not only at the plate, where the Colorado Rockies catcher is crushing pitches of late, but behind it as well in winning Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) challenges with the best of them.

Goodman has 27 homers this season, which is tied with Hall of Famer Larry Walker (2001) for the most by a Rockies player before the All-Star break. Entering Friday, there's still 10 games remaining before the intermission, too, meaning more chances for Goodman to slip on that fake-fur purple coat the Rockies trot out for home run celebrations in the dugout.

Along with his power surge, Goodman's 45 ABS challenge wins rank fifth most among catchers. Goodman is building a compelling case on power numbers alone — he's hitting .243 with 50 RBIs — to be an All Star for a second straight season. Maybe even a possible Home Run Derby spot, too.

"It would be very entertaining. He’d hit a lot of homers,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said of his catcher appearing in the competition. “He wouldn’t get tired out. He’s built like a machine.”

Goodman's power is not just a Coors Field creation, either. Of his 27 homers, 18 have been hit away from the hitter friendly park. Walker has the team record for most road homers in a single season with 29 in 1997. The second highest on the list for road homers by a Rockies player is Nolan Arenado (2015) and Todd Helton (2001) with 22.

“When Goody's on the fastball, all things are well,” said Schaeffer, whose team hosts San Francisco this weekend with a chance to escape the basement of the NL West.

Goodman showed his prodigious power in Minnesota on June 27, when he slugged three homers that traveled a combined, Statcast-estimated distance of 1,257 feet. His long-ball barrage included one that wound up in the third deck at Target Field.

To make the moment even more meaningful, his father, Robert, happened to travel in for the game from Memphis, Tennessee.

“Pretty awesome,” said Goodman, who was taken in the fourth round of the 2021 amateur draft out of the University of Memphis.

He remains on a roll in the batter's box, with six homers in his past six games. His 27 homers put him in some elite company among catchers. Since 1933, the only other players at the position who've hit that many or more before the All-Star break are Cal Raleigh (38 last season) and Johnny Bench (28 in 1970).

Both of those catchers played in that season's All-Star Game.

“It would be really cool” to make another All-Star team, said Goodman, who won a NL Silver Slugger Award at last season after hitting .278 with 31 homers and 91 RBIs. “Last year, I learned a lot, got to meet a lot of guys that have been really good in this game for a long time. So it definitely would be cool to go back.”

The only thing more locked in than his swing are his challenges. He's been reliable with picking and choosing when to tap his head to take a second look at a pitch. He's flipped a pitch called a ball into strike 3 a total of 15 times, which is tied for second most among catchers.

“It's honestly awesome that he has such a good eye with that, because obviously my point of view, my head's moving around, could be a little bit emotional,” right-hander Tanner Gordon explained. “He's got the best point of view. He's been great at it all year."

His secret?

“Knowing your pitchers and how their ball enters the strike zone,” Goodman said. “That's a huge part of it.”

Next on his agenda is trying to replicate what he did in June. His 13 homers last month were the most in the majors. He's just the second Rockies player to leave the yard at least 13 times in a calendar month, joining Troy Tulowitzki (15 homers in September 2010).

“A lot of guys tweak things in the cage every now and then,” said Goodman, who's taken up golf in his spare time and has a nine handicap. “This year, I feel like I’ve had better plans in the (batter's) box for the most part. I've been able to capitalize on that.”

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Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Sean Sullivan, right, hands the ball to manager Warren Schaeffer, left, as catcher Hunter Goodman, center, stands by as he is pulled form the mound after issuing a walk to Miami Marlins' Kyle Stowers in the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, June 29, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Hunter Goodman reacts after striking out against Miami Marlins relief pitcher Pete Fairbanks in the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, June 29, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Hunter Goodman (15) and Mickey Moniak celebrate after Moniak hit a home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan)

Colorado Rockies' Hunter Goodman celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Dozens of diamonds spell out two giant letter “T” next to the Stars and Stripes and “1776” and “2026.” Dozens more frame the numbers 45 and 47 in the shape of Superman’s logo. A diamond-winged eagle carries a ruby shield and clutches an olive branch of emeralds, below a radiant “250” and atop the phrase “250 YEARS USA” etched in 18-karat gold.

All told, 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds and six rubies encrust the watch-sized gold ring presented this week to Bill White, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, to give to President Donald Trump.

“A very special thank you to my friends from Antwerp for the magnificent Freedom 250 ring,” Trump said in a prerecorded video message during an event marking America’s 250th birthday in Brussels.

Isidore Mörsel, president of the Antwerp World Diamond Center, or AWDC, gifted the ring on behalf of the centuries-old diamond community in the Belgian port city, a central node in the worldwide trade of the precious stones that found itself struggling last year under the weight of Trump’s sweeping trade war.

“May this ring serve as a lasting reminder that true partnership like the finest natural diamonds are formed under pressure, endure the test of time, and shine brightest when built on trust,” Mörsel said. The ring's interior is engraved with the phrase “Crafted in Antwerp for Donald John Trump.”

In dollar terms, the ring’s value pales beside gifts like the $400 million plane donated by Qatar that Trump ordered converted into a new Air Force One. But it’s a glitzy window into the role that ostentatious – and almost always gilded — gifts are playing by those seeking to curry favor with the U.S. president.

A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said Thursday that the ring has not been presented to Trump yet.

The gift comes months after Belgium’s diamond industry won the removal of U.S. tariffs on diamond imports. In September, AWDC said it had “succeeded in securing a zero percent import tariff” on Antwerp’s annual export of more than $2 billion of polished diamonds to the U.S. A spokesperson for the group said on Thursday that the AWDC provided “input” to the European Commission as it negotiated with Trump on a broad deal on tariffs in 2025, but did not itself lobby the administration.

U.S. presidents have considerable discretion to accept gifts from domestic and foreign sources and may determine themselves whether a gift was meant for them personally or the nation. The exception is those from foreign governments, which are prohibited by the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution without congressional assent, though presidents could use personal funds to reimburse the Treasury for the full value of an official gift if they wish to retain them.

Personal gifts are also supposed to be registered on the president’s annual financial disclosure. Trump’s 2025 disclosure, released this week, revealed a $250,000 gift of a sculpture depicting his triumphal gesture after surviving a 2024 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and tickets to 10 sporting events, including 10 to the upcoming World Cup final in New Jersey from FIFA’s Gianni Infantino, valued at a collective $15,000.

Four U.S. ethics experts told The Associated Press that Trump has broken with decades-old custom in the White House to avoid accepting such gifts.

To forge the ring, the AWDC turned to David Gotlib, an Antwerp-based high-end jeweler whose cufflinks can sell for more than 15,000 euros ($17,000).

Neither AWDC nor Gotlib would provide a valuation of the ring, but two independent jewelers told AP they estimated the value between $25,000 and $35,000.

Paris- and London-based jewelry consultant Alexander Levinson calculated the cost at $25,928, while David Saad, a third-generation luxury jeweler in Canada, priced the ring between $33,000 and $35,000. Both said half the cost was in materials, half in labor.

After the ring was presented on a star-spangled stage in Brussels, musician Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, sang the U.S. national anthem to more than 8,000 people drinking Budweiser and bourbon from Tennessee and Kentucky.

White said he raised more than $5.5 million for the 250th anniversary event from corporate sponsors like defense industry titans Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, tech firms like Intel, Google and Meta, as well as the European chocolate companies Leonidas and Ferrero. AWDC said it contributed funds, too.

“The media was asking, ‘Why does it have to be so big?’” White said of the event. “Because we are the United States of America!”

Meanwhile, the fate of the ring is not currently clear.

On Wednesday, White posted a photo online of himself wearing the ring and giving a thumbs-up. The post has since been deleted.

Colored smoke is lit behind the Cinquantenaire Arch to celebrate during the America 250 event in Brussels, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White, right, and his husband Bryan Eure, left, walk U.S. country music singer Alexis Wilkins onto the stage during the America 250 event in Brussels, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White, center, listens to a pre-recorded address by U.S. President Donald Trump during the America 250 event in Brussels, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White presents a ring designed for U.S. President Donald Trump and crafted by Antwerp diamond designer David Gotlib, during the America 250 event in Brussels, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)