Colorado Rockies (baseball)
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Colorado Rockies founded in 1993 |
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| abbreviation |
| COL |
| Nickname (s) |
| The Rox, Blake Street Bombers |
| Club colors |
| Black, purple, silver, white
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| league |
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| Ball park (s) |
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| president |
| Dan O'Dowd |
| successes |
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| Website : coloradorockies.com |
The Colorado Rockies are a baseball team from Denver , Colorado , founded in 1993. It plays in the Western Division of the National League .
history
Founding of the Rockies
After several attempts to bring the MLB to Colorado failed (e.g. through the relocation of the Pittsburgh Pirates to Denver as a result of the Pittsburgh drug trials in 1985), the possibility of founding a franchise in Denver seemed great in the early 1990s. The Colorado Baseball Commission, led by Larry Varnell, succeeded in getting Denver voters to approve a 0.1 percent sales tax to help fund a new ballpark. An advisory committee was also formed in 1990 by the then incumbent Governor of Colorado, Roy Romer , to recruit a property group. The selected group consisted of a. of John Antonucci, an Ohio drinks distributor, and Michael I. Monus, head of the Phar-MOR drugstore chain. Local and regional companies such as Erie See, Hensel Phelps Aufbau, KOA Radio , and Rocky Mountain News rounded out the group. On July 5, 1991, the National League approved Denver and Miami , Florida as the two new cities for the MLB's expansion.
The Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins began playing in the National League in the 1993 season.
Change of ownership
The reputation of Monus was damaged by the 1992 accounting and embezzlement scandal at Phar-MOR. He and Antonucci were forced to sell their stake in the Rockies. Jerry McMorris took over the leadership of the group of owners. However, his relationship with the other partners was not so good and his leadership role gradually declined until he was finally bought out in 2005. The team is currently controlled by Charlie Monfort (CEO) and his brother Dick Monfort.
1993 - first season
The first game in Rockies history took place on April 5, 1993 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium . David Nied, whom the Rockies drew as the first player in the 1992 MLB Expansion Draft , was the starting pitcher for that game. The Rockies lost 3-0. The first home game and the first win followed four days later at Mile High Stadium in the game against the Montreal Expos , which ended 11: 4 in favor of the Rockies. One of the most memorable moments in the game and in the history of the Rockies was the home run of 2nd base player Eric Young , whom he beat as the leadoff hitter in the second part of the 1st inning. More than 80,000 fans attended the game, which meant a new attendance record that still exists today.
As with many new teams, the Rockies had problems starting their first year. The team had u. a. a negative run of 2-17 in May and only in September the Rockies celebrated their first month of victory. By the end of the season, the team had 67 wins - a new record for a National League Expansion franchise. Despite numerous defeats, 4,483,350 spectators attended the home games, which is also an unbroken record to this day. Rockie's 1st base player Andrés Galarraga won the batting title with a batting average of .370.
1994 season
On April 17, 1994, the Rockies beat the Montreal Expos and had a winning record for the first time in the club's history with 6-5 (more wins than losses). However, that was the only time during the 94 season. With 53 wins to 64 losses, the Colorado Rockies finished last in the Western Division of the National League. Despite the club's poor record, some players stood out: Andres Galarraga beat 31 homers, Dante Bichette beat 27 and 33-year-old Mike Kingery, who averaged .252 in his career so far, averaged .349 in 301 at-bats. After 1993, the club led the MLB for the second time in a row in viewer numbers. 3,281,511 fans attended the Rockies games.
1995 season - 1st time in the playoffs
Before the 1995 season, the Rockies acquired free-agent outfielder Larry Walker from the Montreal Expos . Together with Galarraga, Bichette and 3rd Base Man Vinny Castilla , he formed the group "Blake-Street Bombers" - named after the street on which the new Coors Field baseball stadium was located. The quartet hit 139 home runs in the 95s season.
On April 26, 1995, the team made their debut at the new Coors Field baseball stadium with an 11: 9 win over the New York Mets. The Rockies won seven of the first eight games of the season. At the end of the 1995 season, the team had 77 wins out of 67 losses and reached 2nd place in the Western Division. The Rockies moved into the playoffs for the first time in club history, where they lost out after 3 to 1 games against the later World Series Champions Atlanta Braves. In addition to the powerful offensive, pitching with an ERA of 4.97 - the lowest in the club's history until 2006 (ERA: 4.66) - was one of the success factors in 1995. Once again, the Rockies led the league in terms of audience numbers.
1996 and 1997 season
With all the Blake Street Bombers back on the team, the Rockies were an expanded favorite in 1996, but an injury to Larry Walker hurt the team. Walker played just 83 games and had a batting average of .276 and 18 home runs. Outfielder Ellis Burks stepped into the breach and had an all-star season: batting average of .344, 40 home runs and 128 RBIs. Along with Galarraga and Castilla, Burks was one of three players to hit forty or more home runs this season. The team set a new MLB record with 658 runs. While the offensive increased compared to the previous season, the pitching in 1996 could not convince. With an 83-79 record, the Rockies were only third in their division and so missed the playoffs.
With a batting average of .366, 49 home runs and 130 RBIs, Larry Walker became the first player in club history to win the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1997. Walker was also awarded the Gold Glove, also becoming the very first Rockie player. Again, three Rockies (Walker, Galarraga and Castilla) made 40 or more home runs each. But as in the 1996 season, poor pitching resulted in the Colorado Rockies missing the playoffs again.
Venue
The team plays their home games at Coors Field .
Coors Field, like the Mile High Stadium, in which the Rockies initially played, is known as Batter's Park , because the balls fly much better at the altitude of Denver (approx. 1600 m ) than in other stadiums (approx. 10% less air resistance than at sea level).
Numbers that are no longer assigned
- 17 Todd Helton
- 42 Jackie Robinson (at any Major League Baseball club)
Current squad
| Colorado Rockies player | ||||||
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| Active players (25-player group) | Inactive players (40-player group) | Trainer / Others | ||||
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Pitcher Starting rotation
Bullpen
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Catcher
Infielder
Outfielder
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Pitcher
Catcher Infielder
Outfielder
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Manager
Trainer
Injury list (60 days)
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the number of players in the active squad at the beginning of the 2020 MLB season on 23/24. July increased to 30 players. Two weeks later there was a scheduled reduction to 28 players. Another two weeks later, the number of players is to be reduced to 26 and maintained for the entire 2020 season. In the case of double-headers , the teams may appoint a 27th player to the active squad.
Colorado Rockies minor league teams
- AAA : Albuquerque Isotopes, Albuquerque , New Mexico
- AA : Hartford Yard Goats, Hartford , Connecticut
- Advanced A : Lancaster JetHawks , Lancaster , California
- A : Asheville Tourists , Asheville , North Carolina
- Short A : Boise Hawks, Boise , Idaho
- Rookie : Grand Junction Rockies , Grand Junction , Colorado
- Rookie : DSL Rockies , Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic
Web links
- Official Site of the Colorado Rockies (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-roster-transaction-rules-for-2020-season accessed on: August 24, 2020
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