Colorado Rockies History

Colorado Rockies Baseball History

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.