Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team's home venue is Coors Field, located in the Lower Downtown area of Denver. The team is owned by the Monfort brothers and managed by Bud Black.

The Rockies began play as an expansion team for the 1993 season, and played their home games for their first two seasons at Mile High Stadium. Since 1995, they have played at Coors Field, which has earned a reputation as a hitter's park. The Rockies have qualified for the postseason five times, each time as a Wild Card winner. In 2007, the team earned its first (and only) NL pennant after winning 14 of their final 15 games in the regular season to secure a Wild Card position. In the 2007 World Series, they were swept by the American League (AL) champions Boston Red Sox in four games.

History

Denver had long been a hotbed of Denver Bears/Zephyrs minor league baseball and many in the area desired a Major League team. Following the Pittsburgh drug trials, an unsuccessful attempt was made to purchase the Pittsburgh Pirates and relocate them. However, in 1991, as part of Major League Baseball's two-team expansion (along with the Florida (now Miami) Marlins), an ownership group representing Denver led by John Antonucci and Michael I. Monus was granted a franchise; they took the name "Rockies" due to Denver's proximity to the Rocky Mountains, which is reflected in their logo; the name was previously used by the city's first NHL team (who are now the New Jersey Devils). Monus and Antonucci were forced to drop out in 1992 after Monus' reputation was ruined by an accounting scandal. Trucking magnate Jerry McMorris stepped in at the 11th hour to save the franchise, allowing the team to begin play in 1993. The Rockies shared Mile High Stadium (which had originally been built for the Bears) with the National Football League (NFL)'s Denver Broncos for their first two seasons while Coors Field was constructed. It was completed for the 1995 Major League Baseball season.

In 1993, they started play in the West division of the National League. The Rockies were MLB's first team based in the Mountain Time Zone. They have reached the Major League Baseball postseason five times, each time as the National League wild card team. Twice (1995 and 2009) they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. In 2007, the Rockies advanced to the World Series, only to be swept by the Boston Red Sox. Like their expansion brethren, the Miami Marlins, they have never won a division title since their establishment; they are also one of two current MLB teams that have never won their division.

The Rockies have played their home games at Coors Field since 1995. Their newest spring training home, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona, opened in March 2011 and is shared with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Season record

Uniform

At the start of the 2012 season, the Rockies introduced "Purple Mondays" in which the team wears its purple uniform every Monday game day.

Baseball Hall of Famers
In 2020, Larry Walker was the first Colorado Rockies player to be inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Colorado Sports Hall of Fame

Individual awards

NL MVP
1997 – Larry Walker

NLCS MVP
2007 – Matt Holliday

NL Rookie of the Year
2002 – Jason Jennings

Silver Slugger Award
 Dante Bichette (1995)
 Vinny Castilla (1995, 1997–98)
 Andrés Galarraga (1996) 
 Eric Young (1996)
 Ellis Burks (1996)
 Larry Walker (1997, 1999)
 Mike Hampton (2001–02)
 Todd Helton (2000–03)
 Matt Holliday (2006–08)
 Carlos González (2010, 2015)
 Troy Tulowitzki (2010–11)
 Michael Cuddyer (2013)
 Nolan Arenado (2015–18)
 Charlie Blackmon (2016–17)
 Trevor Story (2018)
 Germán Márquez (2018)

Hank Aaron Award
2000 – Todd Helton

Gold Glove Award
 Larry Walker (1997–99, 2001–02)
 Neifi Pérez (2000)
 Todd Helton (2001–02, 2004)
 Carlos González (2010, 2012–13)
 Troy Tulowitzki (2010–11)
 Nolan Arenado (2013–19)
 DJ LeMahieu (2014, 2017–18)

Manager of the Year Award
1995 – Don Baylor
2009 – Jim Tracy

NL Batting Champion  
 Andrés Galarraga (1993)
 Larry Walker (1998, 1999, 2001)
 Todd Helton (2000)
 Matt Holliday (2007)
 Carlos González (2010)
 Michael Cuddyer (2013)
 Justin Morneau (2014)
 DJ LeMahieu (2016)
 Charlie Blackmon (2017)

DHL Hometown Heroes (2006)
Larry Walker – voted by MLB fans as the most outstanding player in the history of the franchise, based on on-field performance, leadership quality and character value

Team award
 – Warren Giles Trophy (National League champion)
2007 – Baseball America Organization of the Year

Team records (single-game, single-season, career)

Championships

| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| National League Champions
|-
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Preceded by:St. Louis Cardinals
| style="width:40%; text-align:center;"| 2007
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Succeeded by:Philadelphia Phillies
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| National League Wild Card Winners
|-
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Preceded by:None (First)
| style="width:40%; text-align:center;"| 1995
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Succeeded by:Los Angeles Dodgers
|-
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Preceded by:Los Angeles Dodgers
| style="width:40%; text-align:center;"| 2007
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Succeeded by:Milwaukee Brewers
|-
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Preceded by:Milwaukee Brewers
| style="width:40%; text-align:center;"| 2009
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Succeeded by:Atlanta Braves
|-
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Preceded by:Arizona Diamondbacks
| style="width:40%; text-align:center;"| 2018
| style="width:30%; text-align:center;"| Succeeded by:Washington Nationals
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| National League Wild Card Runner-Up
|-
|
| style="width:40%; text-align:center;"| 2017
|
|-

Retired numbers
Todd Helton is the first Colorado player to have his number (17) retired, which was done on Sunday, August 17, 2014.

Newly-elected Hall of Fame member, Larry Walker, will have his number (33) retired on April 19, 2020 at Coors Field.

Jackie Robinson's number, 42, was retired throughout all of baseball in 1997.

Keli McGregor had worked with the Rockies since their inception in 1993, rising from senior director of operations to team president in 2002, until his death on April 20, 2010. He is honored at Coors Field alongside Helton and Robinson with his initials.

Roster

Minor league affiliations

Radio and television

As of 2010, Rockies' flagship radio station is KOA 850AM, with some late-season games broadcast on KHOW 630 AM due to conflicts with Denver Broncos games.  The Rockies Radio Network is composed of 38 affiliate stations in eight states.

As of 2019, Jack Corrigifan is the radio announcer, serving as a backup TV announcer whenever Drew Goodman is not available.

In January 2020, long-time KOA radio announcer Jerry Schemmel was let go from his role for budgetary reasons from KOA’s parent company. 

As of 2013, Spanish language radio broadcasts of the Rockies are heard on KNRV 1150 AM.

As of 2013, all games are produced and televised by AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.  All 150 games produced by AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain are broadcast in HD. Jeff Huson and Drew Goodman are the usual the TV broadcast team, with Ryan Spilborghs and Taylor McGregor handling on-field coverage and clubhouse interviews. Jenny Cavnar, Jason Hirsh, and Cory Sullivan handle the pre-game and post-game shows. Schemmel, Corrigan, Spilborghs, Cavnar, and Sullivan also fill in as play-by-play or color commentator during absences of Huson or Goodman.

Home attendance
The Rockies led MLB attendance records for the first seven years of their existence.  The inaugural season is currently the MLB all-time record for home attendance.

+ = 57 home games in strike shortened season.  ++ = 72 home games in strike shortened season.

References

External links

 
 Minor League Affiliates of the Colorado Rockies

 
Category:Major League Baseball teams
Category:Baseball teams established in 1993
Category:Cactus League
Category:Professional baseball teams in Colorado
Category:1993 establishments in Colorado