LAS VEGAS -- Paul DePodesta couldn’t bear to watch the wildest and most glorious night in Rockies history. Working for the Padres in 2007, DePodesta followed the classic 13-inning Game 163 showdown from the visiting clubhouse at Coors Field.

“Man, that atmosphere,” said DePodesta, whose Padres absorbed a 9-8 loss that sent the Rockies to the playoffs and served as the beginning of a run to the World Series. “You’re a part of that, even as the opposition. That leaves a mark.

“It plants a seed in your head. You think, ‘OK, if I ever have the chance to be on the home side of this, it would be pretty neat.’”

Days after leaving the post of chief strategy officer with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns to return to baseball -- where he had a lengthy career before switching to football in 2016 -- DePo

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