Colorado Rockies
(baseball), professional baseball team and one of five teams in the
West Division of the National League (NL). Named after the mountain
range that stretches through Colorado, the Rockies play at Coors
Field in Denver and wear uniforms of white, purple, black, and
silver.
In 1995 the Rockies set a record for an expansion team by reaching
the playoffs in their third season in the league. The team led the
NL in home runs and batting average in 1995 and 1996, in part
because the ball encounters less friction in the thin air at
Denver’s high altitude and thus travels farther. Four Colorado
players each hit more than 30 home runs in those two seasons.
The Rockies joined the NL as an expansion team in 1993 along with
the Florida Marlins. That year Andres Galarraga, a veteran first
baseman whom Colorado acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals, led the
league with a .370 batting average. The Rockies’ 67 wins in 1993 set
a new NL standard for first-year franchises, and the club drew 4.5
million people to its home games that year, setting an all-time
attendance record for the major leagues.
The Rockies led all NL teams in batting average (.282), home runs
(200), hits (1406), and runs scored (785) in 1995 as manager Don
Baylor directed the club to a wild-card playoff berth. Outfielder
Dante Bichette led the league in home runs (40), runs batted in
(RBIs) (128), and hits (197). Bichette, Galarraga, shortstop Vinny
Castilla, and outfielder Larry Walker each collected at least 30
home runs and 90 RBIs. The team’s pitching was not as strong—its
collective earned run average (ERA) of 4.97 was the highest in the
league and its top pitcher won just 11 games. In the playoffs
Colorado lost to the Atlanta Braves, who went on to win the World
Series.
In 1996 Castilla, Galarraga, and outfielder Ellis Burks became the
first teammate trio since Hank Aaron, Darrell Evans, and Davey
Johnson of the 1973 Braves to hit at least 40 home runs each in the
same season. Five of Colorado’s eight regular players hit over .300
as the club hit a league-best .287—the highest NL mark since the St.
Louis Cardinals batted .294 in 1939.CHAMPIONSHIPS
The team has not won a championship.
TOP MANAGER
Don Baylor managed the Rockies from 1993-1998 and compiled a 440-469
record. He was named NL Manager of the year in 1995.
MVPS
Larry Walker (1997)
CY YOUNG
The franchise has no Cy Young winners.
ROOKIE OF YEAR
The franchise has no Rookies of the Year.
RETIRED NUMBERS
The team has no retired numbers. |
