League: National League (NL)
Division: NL West
Stadium: Coors Field (capacity 50,144)
Manager: Bud Black (2017-present)
Star Players: Ryan McMahon, Elehuris Montero, Jake Bird (pitcher)
2022-23 Regular Season: 59-103 (5th in NL West)
2023 Postseason: Did not qualify
Legendary Former Players: Larry Walker, Tod Helton, Nolan Arenado
World Series Titles: 0
While the Colorado Rockies did become the first professional baseball team in the state of Colorado when they joined MLB in 1993, they were not the first professional sports team to play in Denver under that name, the Rockies having been the moniker of an NHL expansion team that played in the city for just six seasons in the late 1970s and early 80s (Denver acquired a second NHL team, the Colorado Avalanche, in 1995, who have been very successful). The name is of course a reference to Denver’s location amidst the towering, beautiful Rocky Mountains, a setting that makes for a gorgeous backdrop at Rockies games and also accounts for an unusually high number of home runs at Coors Field under the influence of high elevation and dry air (the stadium has tried to combat this tendency by pushing out the outfield fences and keeping balls in a humidor before games). The Rockies got off to a decent enough start in MLB, finishing second in their second full season (following cancellation of the 1994 season because of the players’ strike), finishing 2nd in the NL West and qualifying for the postseason. The team lost to the Atlanta Braves by three games to one in the NLDS, but things definitely seemed on the up and up. The Rockies posted winning records in the next two seasons, but it was only adequate for 3rd in their competitive division, not enough to get them into the playoffs. In fact, the Rockies would not see postseason action again until 2007, when they went 14-1 in their final 15 games of the season, squeaking into the last Wild Card spot by beating the San Diego Padres 9-8 after 13th innings, surely one of the most dramatic qualifications for a playoff berth of all time. The Rockies would go on to surprise almost everyone, sweeping both the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks to head into the World Series having won an incredible 21 out of their last 22 straight games, a stretch dubbed “Rocktober” by fans in Denver. Unfortunately (for the Rockies), Rocktober smashed against an immovable object in the World Series in the shape of the Boston Red Sox, who annihilated the Rockies 13-1 in the first game before sweeping the remainder of the games with relative ease. To date, the Rockies have never again come close to scaling the heights of that one majestic season, appearing just three times in the playoffs since and winning just once (a Wild Card victory over the Chicago Cubs in 2018). With their worst-ever season in 2023 (59-103), the mountain that the Rockies must climb to get back into contention in seasons to come dwarfs perhaps even the snow-capped peaks that surround their Mile High home.
Colorado Rockies Rivalries
While fans of the Colorado Rockies see the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants as their biggest rivals, this perception is mostly one-sided, as it is hard, from these other teams’ perspectives, to be serious rivals with a team that you almost always beat. Nevertheless, such games can be popular in the Mile High City, so be sure to head to TicketX to find the most affordable tickets to the most anticipated Colorado Rockies games.
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