Colorado Rockies Rumors

The Colorado Rockies have been in existence since the 1993 season when they joined MLB as an expansion team. The team plays at Coors Field in downtown Denver, in a stadium that is known across the league as one of the most hitter friendly parks in all of baseball.

When the Rockies first started out, pitching proved to be difficult in the thin, mile-high air, but it was a place where hitters could come to shine. The team made the playoffs in 1995, in just its third season in existence, on the backs of four power hitters dubbed the Blake Street Bombers: Vinny Castilla, Larry Walker, Dante Bichette, and Andres Gallaraga. The four sluggers combined to launch 139 home runs that season and the team won a Wild Card berth into the playoffs. However, they were eliminated in the NLDS three games to one by the eventual champion Atlanta Braves.

Throughout the rest of the 1990s and into the early 200s, the Rockies struggled with ways to build a winning ballclub in the unique environment of Denver, Colorado. They tried outslugging opponents and building the team around speed and defense, but the team had little success, finishing 3rd or lower in the NL West for the next 11 seasons.

That all changed in 2007, however. Built around homegrown talent like Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, and Troy Tulowitzki, the team surged into contention late in the season with one of the more remarkable come-from-behind runs in recent baseball memory, winning the Wild Card in a one-game playoff and sweeping the NLDS and NLCS en route to their first World Series appearance. They were swept in the Fall Classic that year by the Boston Red Sox, however.

Now the Rockies continue to groom their homegrown players as they look to go into the next decade with a recipe for sustained success.