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Colorado Rockies

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For the National Hockey League team (1976-1982), see Colorado Rockies (NHL).
Colorado Rockies
2024 Colorado Rockies season
File:ColoradoRockies 100.png
Team logo
Major league affiliations
Name
  • Colorado Rockies (1993–present)
Ballpark
Major league titles
West Division titles (0)n/a
Wild card berths (1)1995

The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. They are in the Western Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains which pass through Colorado.

History

Creation of the Rockies

After failed attempts going back as far as the 1880's, by the early 1990's a major league baseball team seemed an imminent possibility in Denver: the Colorado Baseball Commission, led by banking executive Larry Varnell, was successful in getting Denver voters to approve a 0.1 percent sales tax to partly finance a new baseball stadium. Also, an advisory committee was formed in 1990 by then-Governor of Colorado Roy Romer to recruit an ownership group. The group selected was led by John Antonucci, an Ohio beverage distributor; and Michael I. Monus, the head of the Phar-Mor drugstore chain. Local and regional companies such as Erie Lake, Hensel Phelps Construction, KOA Radio and the Rocky Mountain News rounded out the group. On July 5, 1991, the National League approved Denver and Miami, Florida as the sites for two expansion teams to begin play in 1993.

The Rockies joined the National League in 1993, along with the Miami franchise, the Florida Marlins. The Rockies' first pick in the expansion draft was pitcher David Nied from the Atlanta Braves organization. Nied pitched 4 seasons for the Rockies. The team's first home at-bat was a memorable one, as lead off batter Eric Young hit a home run for the Rockies.

First season

In their first season of 1993, coach Don Baylor rehabilitated the career of Andres Galarraga, realizing Andres' eye focusing problems were preventing him from seeing incoming pitches properly. He changed "the Big Cat's" batting stance from a fairly standard one into an open stance where Andres squarely faced the pitcher, then at the last instant would step back to a more standard position as he swung the bat. Andres responded by winning the batting title in 1993 with a .370 percentage.

Ownership issues

After a 1992 accounting and embezzlement scandal at Phar-Mor tarnished the reputation of Monus, both Monus and Antonucci were forced to sell their stakes in the franchise. Trucking company executive Jerry McMorris became head of the ownership group and served as the initial public face of management. His relationship with the other partners was somewhat poor, and his role in the leadership of the franchise dimished over time until he was finally bought out in 2005 (his situation was not helped by the 1999 failure of his trucking firm and subsequent related legal issues).

The team is currently controlled by chief executive officer Charlie Monfort (a former executive with his family's beef exporting firm and also with ConAgra), and his brother Dick Monfort, who both bought out McMorris' stake.

Great attendance

The team set attendance records in its days back at Mile High Stadium, and was the second team (Toronto was first in 1991) in the history of Major League Baseball to record over 4,000,000 fans in annual attendance. The 1993 Rockies still have the largest ever single season attendance, with 4,483,350 fans passing through the gates, and the team led the National League in attendance every year from 1993 to 1999.

Power hitting team

In 1996, the team had three players who hit at least 40 home runs each, Andres Galarraga with 47, and Ellis Burks and Vinny Castilla with 40 each. Dante Bichette added 31. Burks and Bichette also collected more than 30 stolen bases each in 1996, only the second time ever that two players on the same team accomplished that feat in the same season. (The first was the 1987 New York Mets).

Blake Street Bombers

The first several years of the franchise provided a lot of excitement as the team stocked up in the early years on players with enough offensive firepower to create real problems for opponents, especially when playing at Coors Field. A local columnist coined the term "Blake Street Bombers" soon after Coors Field opened (on Blake Street in Denver) to describe the heart of the batting order, and the first several years at the new ballpark saw a lot of run production. Galarraga, Burks, Castilla, Bichette, and eventually Larry Walker all thrived at Coors Field during those years.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Since their inception, the Rockies have always tended to have a strong hitting squad and home record, which are offset by a weak bullpen and road record. This can be attributed to the conditions of Coors Field, whose thin air (due to the high altitude of Denver) makes hitting much easier, as the ball travels farther, and pitching more difficult, as the reduced air resistance makes breaking balls less effective than at sea level. As an example, the Rockies' career best in ERA is a mediocre 4.56 over 503 innings by Armando Reynoso. It is rare to see a Rockies pitcher with an ERA below 5.

Failed stars

The Rockies tried to mitigate the effects of mile-high pitching by signing high profile pitchers to large contracts, always ending in disaster for the pitcher and the ballclub. Free agents Bill Swift (signed after the 1994 season) and Darryl Kile (signed after the 1997 season) along with Bret Saberhagen (traded for in July 1995) all experienced ineffective pitching and injuries related to pitching in such extreme conditions. In 2001, the team signed top pitchers Mike Hampton to an 8 year, $121 million contract and Denny Neagle to a 5 year, $51 million contract to see if they could turn around the team's fortunes. However, the two went a combined 23-21 that season and Hampton was traded the next year after going 7-15. Neagle was granted free agency in 2004 after compiling a 19-23 record with the team. The experiment with the two pitchers was generally considered to be a disaster.

The Rockies have had a number of well-known players throughout the years, including Todd Helton, who came up through the club's farm system, Andres Gallarraga, Ellis Burks, Larry Walker, Andy Ashby, Darryl Kile, Dante Bichette, Mike Hampton, Preston Wilson, and Vinny Castilla.

The future

After years of futility with signing big names, in 2005 the Rockies adopted a policy of instead acquiring young quality prospects at all positions, and building through their farm system. 2006 is the first year the team holds any expectations of seeing increased success because many of 2005's rookie players returned with a year of major-league experience under their belt, and the Rockies' farm system is generally regarded as well-stocked with more up-and-coming talented players.

With a lot of up-and-coming talent in stock, the Rockies have impressed their fans so far in 2006, hovering around .500 baseball all year. However, after the All-Star break, the Rockies hit an extremely tough stretch for two weeks. Then, in a huge series between the Rockies and the Padres from the 27-30 of August, the Rockies took 3/4 and memorably rallied against Trevor Hoffman to cap a 6 run comeback.

Stadium

In 1995, the Rockies moved into a new stadium, Coors Field, where they have played their home games ever since. That year, they made their first and, to date, only post-season appearance as the National League Wild Card team where they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Atlanta Braves.

Another factor in pitching at Coors Field is the extreme low humidity in Denver. In 2002, a humidor was installed to store baseballs at the manufacturer's specification, and while still debatable, it appears to be making a difference; in 2005 the average number of runs scored each game dropped dramatically, a trend that seems to be continuing in 2006. Columnists in Denver's newspapers also speculate that most players are stopping the use of steroids because of the increased testing and penalties, so fewer home runs are hit at Coors Field.

Season record

Season Won Lost Winning % Games
Behind		 Finish Attendance Average Playoffs
National League West Division
1993 67 95 .414 37 4,483,350 55,350
1994 53 64 .377 6.5 3,281,511
1995 77 67 .535 1 3,390,037
1996 83 79 .512 8 3,891,014
1997 83 79 .512 7 3,888,453
1998 77 85 .475 21 3,789,347
1999 72 90 .444 28 3,481,065
2000 82 80 .506 15 3,286,773
2001 73 89 .451 19 3,163,821
2002 73 89 .451 25 2,740,585
2003 74 88 .457 26.5 2,334,175
2004 68 94 .420 25 2,338,071
2005 67 95 .414 15 1,914,389
Totals

Quick facts

Founded: 1991
Began play: 1993 (National League expansion)
Uniform colors: Black, Silver, Purple, and White
Logo design: Purple mountain with baseball
Team motto: GenRation
Playoff appearances (1): 1995
Local Televison: FSN Rocky Mountain, UPN 20
Spring Training Facility: Hi Corbett Field, Tucson, AZ

Baseball Hall of Famers

  • none

Current roster

Colorado Rockies roster

Minor league affiliations

See also

References

Template:MLB Team Colorado Rockies

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