Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are a baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1993, the franchise plays in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains, which pass through Colorado, just west of Denver. more...

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The Rockies play their home games at Coors Field in downtown Denver.

Following multiple losing seasons, the Rockies won the National League Pennant for the first time in franchise history in 2007.

History

Creation of the Rockies

After previous failed attempts to bring the Major League Baseball to Colorado (most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates nearly relocating to Denver following the Pittsburgh drug trials in 1985), by the early 1990s a team seemed to be a possibility in Denver. The Colorado Baseball Commission, led by banking executive Larry Varnell, was successful in getting Denver voters to approve a 0.1 percent sales tax to help finance a new baseball stadium. Also, an advisory committee was formed in 1990 by then-Governor of Colorado Roy Romer to recruit an ownership group. The group selected was led by John Antonucci, an Ohio beverage distributor, and Michael I. Monus, the head of the Phar-Mor drugstore chain. Local and regional companies—such as Erie Lake, Hensel Phelps Construction, KOA Radio, and the Rocky Mountain News—rounded out the group. On July 5, 1991, the National League approved Denver and Miami, Florida, as the sites for two expansion teams to begin play in 1993.

The Rockies joined the National League in 1993, along with the Southern Florida franchise, the Florida Marlins. The Rockies' first pick in the expansion draft was pitcher David Nied from the Atlanta Braves organization. Nied pitched 4 seasons for the Rockies.

Inaugural season

The first game in Rockies history was played on April 5, 1993, against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. David Nied was the starting pitcher in a game the Rockies lost, 3-0. The franchise's first home game at Mile High Stadium, and first win in franchise history, came four days later with an 11-4 win over the Montreal Expos. One of the most memorable plays in the game, and in team history, occurred in the bottom of the first inning when Eric Young of the Rockies hit a leadoff home run. The game was played before more than 80,000 fans, to date the largest crowd to see a single regular-season Major League Baseball game.

As is the case with many expansion teams, the Rockies struggled in their first year. During one stretch in May, the team went 2-17. The team did not experience its first winning month until September, when they went 17-9. Still, the team finished the season with 67 wins, setting a record for a National League expansion franchise. In addition, despite the losses, the club saw a home attendance of 4,483,350 for the season, setting a Major League record that stands to this day. Rockies first baseman Andrés Galarraga won the batting title after hitting .370 for the season after Manager Don Baylor persuaded Galarraga to change from a standard batting stance into an open one in which he squarely faced the pitcher, allowing him to see incoming pitches properly.

Read more at Wikipedia.org