Grammer: Albuquerque was good to Sam Hilliard, and the greatest Isotope returned the favor

Three more games.

Three more chances for a group of players most of us have never heard of or may never hear of again, all living out their baseball playing dreams.

And there’s a good chance you’ve got just three more chances to watch the player who over the past seven years has become the greatest Isotope ever.

Sam Hilliard, the 32-year-old Albuquerque Isotopes outfielder who will for the first time in his career become a free agent next week, never expected a story like this.

He didn’t grow up dreaming of being the all-time home run leader of a minor league team in New Mexico. He also holds the franchise record in triples.

And you’ll forgive Hilliard if he didn’t exactly take the time to smell the roasting green chile around the Duke City when, in his Triple-A debut season, he finished with 35 home runs, 101 RBIs, 29 doubles, seven triples, 22 stolen bases and 109 runs scored all while flashing stellar glove in center field — a star in the making.

“Yeah, when I first got here in 2019 — a 25-year-old kid just trying to make to the big leagues — everyone wants to get out Albuquerque and go to ‘The Show’, right?” he recalls.

Hilliard did get the call up to the big leagues — several times.

Over the course of the past seven years, including part of that 2019 season, Hilliard has had more than 830 big league at-bats in more than 330 major league games — 292 with the Colorado Rockies and 40 with the Atlanta Braves in 2023.

Meanwhile, Albuquerque — the city that initially appeared to be a mere stop on the journey for Hilliard — turned into something much more.

Hilliard has worn an Isotopes jersey in 370 games over parts of five seasons; and he’s grateful for a city, and an organization, that has given him and his family a home away from home.

“I’ve just grown to love it, you know?” Hilliard said of both Albuquerque and the Isotopes organization. “Yeah, it sucks to get sent down. You want to be in the big leagues, but getting to come to a place where the team, the organization as a whole treats you really well, they support you and love you and treat your family nice — my wife and son, my parents were here, and they’re always willing to help with our foundation, Team Hilliard, raising money and research for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). They’re always willing to help.”

It wasn’t one-sided, either. The Hilliards gave back, went to community outreach events, fell in love with local restaurants.

Tamara and Jim Hilliard got to watch their son launch plenty of home runs toward the Sandias in that 2019 season. Nobody knew then that Sam would be reflecting in 2025 on being the all-time leader in home runs (93) and triples (28) for the Isotopes, which are in their 22nd year.

“I remember I was like, ‘I don’t care about a minor league record. I believe that I’m capable of going to the big leagues and being that type of player in the show,’” Hilliard said.

“And once I kind of got closer to breaking the home run record, I could feel how much people cared about it around here, and the fans, the front office here in Albuquerque, and just everyone I would talk to. ... People were proud of me and my opinion on it kind of flipped. And I was like, this is awesome. This is cool. I’m proud of this.”

Like his parents looked on with pride as Sam played in Isotopes Park back in 2019, he and his wife, Kat, now watch their 3-year-old son Jackson run around the ballpark like he owns the place, taking swings in the batting cage and talking with players like they are his buddies.

Whether this weekend is his swan song with Albuquerque’s Triple-A team won’t be known until the offseason. But at 32, Hilliard understands that there’s a good chance the family’s next time in Albuquerque won’t be with him suiting up for the home team.

“This will be the first time in my career I’ll be a free agent. So I’m excited for that,” Hilliard said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what other teams out there might be interested that have been watching me over the last several years. I’m going to keep my options open and see what happens.”

For the next few days, Hilliard plans to just enjoy playing baseball in Albuquerque — a place he once couldn’t wait to leave on his way to the big leagues but one that grew on him and became an important part of his journey.

“The fans, they’ve always been great to me, and I can feel the love from them,” Hilliard said. “It’s hard to be bitter about where I’m at (the minor leagues) whenever I get to play in a place like that. I’ve created lifelong friendships with the coaching staff, teammates and just everyone around here.

“I’ve grown to love the city, the fan base and the organization. I will look back very fondly on my time here at Albuquerque.”