The Colorado Rockies, named after the Rocky Mountains, joined the National League in 1993 as an expansion team. The Rockies led the National League in attendance every year from 1993 to 1999. 1996 was a year marked by power hitting, which included 47 home runs from Andres Galarraga and 40 from both Ellis Burks and Vinny Castilla.
The team has always had strong hitting, poor pitching, and a poor road record. This can be attributed to the thin air conditions of Coors Field. In 2001, the team hoped to turn around its pitching woes by signing free agents Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle to big contracts. Neither player brought the team to fruition; as a result; Hampton was soon traded and Neagle was granted free agency in 2004.
In recent years, the Rockies adopted a new strategy of putting more focus on their farm system and developing young stars. In 2007 Colorado made a historic post-season run after barely clinching the NL wildcard with a 93-70 regular season record. After knocking off the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Championship Series, Colorado advanced to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. They faced off against the Boston Red Sox who beat them in a 4 game sweep. Baseball America named the Rockies organization of the year for their accomplishments in 2007.
In 2008 the Rockies finished 74-88, falling to third place in the NL West division. Leading into 2009 the ball club is ready to add depth to the roster and make another run at the playoffs. They traded away fan favorite Matt Holliday to the Oakland Athletics for pitchers Huston Street and Greg Smith, and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. If the Rockies can pull together and realize their potential they should prove to be a strong match up in the NL West division.
Ryan Howard hit a two run double with two down followed by a Jayson Werth single for the Philadelphia Phillies to come back in the 9th inning with three more runs, advancing them past the Colorado Rockies to the National League Championship Series. There they will meet the Los Angeles Dodgers with the first two games [...]
Yorvit Torrealba knocked a two run homer in the second inning and from there the Colorado Rockies held on to win 5-4 against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of their National League Division Series. “It’s huge,” said Torrealba. “Going back to Denver, that was our goal, if we can win at least one game [...]
Phillies starting pitcher Cliff Lee retired 26 straight batters in his first career playoff start, as Philadelphia went on to win over the Colorado Rockies 5-1 in Game 1 of their National League Division Series. “Up until the fifth, it was one of the better games he had pitched over the course of the month,” [...]
