colorado rockies

After winning 21 out of their last 22 games, the Colorado Rockies' luck has finally run out -- at least when it comes to the team's efforts to sell World Series tickets online.
On Monday, the Rockies halted sales of 60,000 World Series tickets to three scheduled games in Denver after huge numbers of ticket-hungry fans brought down the team's online ticketing service, which is operated by Irvine, Calif.-based technology provider Paciolan.

Paciolan couldn't be reached for comment on the cause of the outage. In July, TicketMaster announced plans to acquire Paciolan for an undisclosed sum, in a deal that is still under government review.

Paciolan's technology partners include Cisco, Microsoft, Sun, IBM, and Oracle, and the company also lists Microsoft Dynamics as a ticketing operations partner.

Founded in 1980, Paciolan's solutions were used last year to sell approximately 120 million tickets, 25 percent of all live event tickets sold in the U.S., according to the company's Website.

Paciolan, which has in the past competed with the likes of TicketMaster and Tickets.com, differentiates itself by enabling venues to sell directly to their patrons, according to a description on the company's Website.

Paciolan's other major league baseball clients include the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks, and Philadelphia Phillies.

In a press release last October, Paciolan touted the success of its online ticketing efforts for a playoff series between the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals, during which the firm's service handled more than 8,500 ticket sales in the first 15 minutes of the event, including a peak average transaction rate of 817 tickets per minute.
Rockies World Series Ticket Sales Halted By Technical GlitchCRN, USA
- Oct 23, 2007
- 2 hours ago
By Kevin McLaughlin, CMP Channel After winning 21 out of their last 22 games, the Colorado Rockies' luck has finally run out -- at least when it comes to ...
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clipped from Google - 10/2007
Snow slows Rockies, but they weather interruptionsBoston Globe
- Oct 22, 2007
- 15 hours ago
By AP | October 22, 2007 "Good hunting weather," the Colorado Rockies first baseman said. "We don't have to go out on the field and practice today. ...
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clipped from Google - 10/2007
Red Sox relax before facing Rockies in World Series on Wednesday.USA Today
- Oct 23, 2007
- 36 minutes ago
The Colorado Rockies are coming to town, taking a 21-1 surge into Game 1 Wednesday night. They certainly should be fresh - perhaps too fresh. ...
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clipped from Google - 10/2007
Rockies are a classic long shotFOXSports.com
- Oct 23, 2007
- 3 hours ago
The Colorado Rockies are classic baseball long shots. They stormed out of the National League West pack and blew through the NLDS and NLCS, winning 21 of 22 ...
Began play: 1993 (National League expansion)
Uniform colors: Black, Purple, Silver, and White
Logo design: Purple mountain with baseball
Team motto: R you in?
Team mascot: Dinger
Playoff appearances (2): 1995, 2007*
Owners: Linda G. Alvarado, Pete Coors, Lee Larson, Marne Obernauer Sr., Marne Obernauer Jr., Denver Newspaper Agency, Coors Brewing Co., Clear Channel Communications, and Beverage Distributors Corp.[13]
Chairman & CEO: Charles Monfort
Vice Chairman: Richard Monfort
General Manager: Dan O'Dowd
Victory Song: Get Free by The Vines
Local Television: FSN Rocky Mountain, KTVD-20
Spring Training Facility: Hi Corbett Field, Tucson, AZ
* In progress. The Rockies will play the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 World Series. Colorado completed a four-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS and and a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.


[edit] Baseball Hall of Famers Colorado Rockies
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2007 Colorado Rockies season
Colorado Rockies
Established 1993


Team Logo
Cap Insignia

Major league affiliations
National League (1993�present)
West Division (1993�present)

Current uniform


Retired Numbers 42
Name
Colorado Rockies (1993�present)


Other nicknames
The Rocks, The Rox, Blake Street Bombers, Hurdle's Heroes. Generation R. The Rookies. The Blake Street Babies.

Ballpark
Coors Field (1995�present)
Mile High Stadium (1993-1994)

Major league titles
World Series titles (0) None
NL Pennants (1) 2007

NL West Division titles (0)

Wild card berths (2) 1995 ? 2007

Owner(s): Charlie Monfort and Dick Monfort
Manager: Clint Hurdle
General Manager: Dan O'Dowd
For the National Hockey League team (1976 � 1982), now known as the New Jersey Devils, see Colorado Rockies (NHL).
The Colorado Rockies was a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. They are in the West Division of the National League. The team was named after the Rocky Mountains, which pass through Colorado, just west of Denver. They played their home games at Coors Field.

Contents
1 History
1.1 Creation of the Rockies
1.2 Inaugural season
1.3 Ownership issues
1.4 The mid-1990s
1.4.1 1995 playoff run and the opening of Coors Field
1.4.2 Post-1995
1.5 The beginning of the Helton era
1.6 The Dan O'Dowd era
1.7 Generation-R
1.7.1 2007: "Rocktober"
2 The effects of elevation on baseball
3 Controversies
3.1 2006 Controversy over Christian rules
3.2 Humidor controversy
3.3 Other controversies
4 Logos
5 Season record
6 Quick facts
7 Baseball Hall of Famers
8 Retired Numbers
9 Current roster
10 Championships
11 Minor league affiliations
12 Radio and television
13 See also
14 References
15 External links



[edit] History

[edit] Creation of the Rockies
After previous failed attempts to bring Major League Baseball to Colorado, 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.[1]

The Rockies joined the National League in 1993, along with the Miami 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.


[edit] 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.[2] 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.


[edit] Ownership issues
After a 1992 accounting and embezzlement scandal at Phar-Mor tarnished the reputation of Monus, both Monus and Antonucci were forced to sell their stakes in the franchise. Trucking-company executive Jerry McMorris became head of the ownership group and served as the initial public face of management. His relationship with the other partners was somewhat poor, and his role in the leadership of the franchise diminished over time, until he was finally bought out in 2005 (his situation was not helped by the 1999 failure of his trucking firm and subsequent related legal issues).

The team is currently controlled by chief executive officer Charlie Monfort (a former executive with his family's beef-exporting firm and also with ConAgra), and his brother Dick Monfort, who both bought out McMorris' stake.


[edit] The mid-1990s
On April 17, 1994, the Rockies beat Montreal 6-5, moving the team's record to 6-5―the first time in franchise history that the club had a winning record. However, that would be the only time during that season that the club would have a record over .500, finishing at 53-64 and in last place in the National League West in the strike-shortened season. Despite the club's poor record, several Rockies hitters gained notoriety for their exploits at the plate, assisted by the thin air of Denver, which allows balls to carry farther than they would at sea-level ballparks. Andres Galarraga, a year after winning the batting title, hit 31 homers, and teammate Dante Bichette hit 27; projected over a 162-game season, the two would have hit 43 and 37 homers, respectively. The park's characteristics did not affect just home runs either: 33-year-old outfielder Mike Kingery, a career .252 hitter who did not play in the majors in 1993, batted .349 in 301 at-bats. The club once again led the majors in attendance, drawing 3,281,511 fans for the season.


[edit] 1995 playoff run and the opening of Coors Field
Prior to the 1995 season, the Rockies acquired free-agent outfielder Larry Walker, previously of the Montreal Expos. He would form the group known as the "Blake Street Bombers"―named after the street on which the new ballpark (Coors Field) was located―along with Galarraga, Bichette, and third baseman Vinny Castilla, who had played sparingly with the major-league club during the previous season. The quartet combined to hit 139 homers in the 1995 season, with Bichette leading the way with 40 (45 projected over a 162-game season.) The team debuted in its new ballpark on April 26, 1995, in an 11-9 win over the New York Mets, and proceeded to win seven of their first eight games in the new season. The season ended with a 77-67 record, good for second place in the West division and the club's first playoff appearance as the Wild Card winner. Although much of the attention focused on the power-hitting lineup, much of the club's success was due to a strong bullpen, as relievers Darren Holmes, Curt Leskanic, Steve Reed, and Bruce Ruffin all posted earned-run averages below 3.40. The pitching staff's ERA of 4.97 was the lowest in club history until the 2006 team had a 4.66 ERA. The Rockies lost in the NLDS to the Atlanta Braves, 3 games to 1. The Rockies once again led the league in attendance for the season.


[edit] Post-1995
In 1996, with all four Blake Street Bombers returning, the Rockies expected to contend, but an injury to Walker hurt the team. Walker played in only 83 games and batted .276 with 18 homers. However, outfielder Ellis Burks picked up the slack with an All-Star season, batting .344 with 40 homers and 128 RBI―one of three Rockies to hit forty or more homers that season, along with Galarraga and Castilla. The team set a major-league record by scoring 658 runs at home on the season, and Burks and Bichette became the first pair of teammates since the 1987 New York Mets to both steal 30 bases and hit 30 homers in the same season. However, the pitching staff―a strong point for the team in 1995―was beset by injuries: Bill Swift, who went 9-3 in 1995, started just three games, and the staff ERA ballooned to 5.60. As a result, the Rockies fell back to third place in the West with an 83-79 record.

A healthy Walker became the first player in club history to win the NL Most Valuable Player award in 1997, batting .366 with 49 homers and 130 RBI. Walker came very close to winning the Triple Crown that year, leading the league in home runs but finishing second to Tony Gwynn in batting average and third in RBI (teammate Galarraga led the league.) Once again, three Rockies (Walker, Galarraga, and Castilla) hit 40 or more homers; Walker also won the first Gold Glove in franchise history. As in 1996, though, the team's pitchers struggled in the high elevation and had a 5.25 ERA, and the Rockies could not improve upon their finish from the previous season.


[edit] The beginning of the Helton era

Left to right, Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, and Jamey Carroll in 2007.
Colorado Rockies celebrate second straight victory against the New York Yankees in Coors Field in June 19, 2007.The Rockies were broken up after the 1997 season when an aging Galarraga signed with the Atlanta Braves as a free agent. His replacement was Todd Helton, who had been the club's first-round draft pick in 1995 out of the University of Tennessee. After a 4-1 start, the club lost its next eight games and struggled to a 77-85 record, finishing only ahead of the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West. Pitcher Darryl Kile, signed as a free agent in the offseason, struggled in Colorado, going 13-17 with a 5.20 ERA―a far cry from his numbers the prior year as a member of the Houston Astros, when he went 19-7 with a 2.57 ERA. Kile would become one of a long line of free-agent pitchers who struggled after signing with the Rockies. The team's struggles led to the firing of manager Don Baylor, the only manager in franchise history, following the season.

Jim Leyland, a two-time NL Manager of the Year who had won the World Series with the Florida Marlins two years earlier, was expected to bring the Rockies back into contention in 1999. Instead, the Rockies dropped even further, finishing 72-90 and in last place in the West as the Diamondbacks won the division in just their second year of existence. Helton was blossoming into a young developed hitter, batting .320 with 35 homers and 113 RBI; Castilla, Walker, and Bichette also hit more than 30 homers each. Once again, though, the team's pitching was a glaring weakness, as the staff had an ERA of 6.02. Kile, who was being paid over $8 million for the season, struggled mightily, going 8-13 with a 6.61 ERA, and he wound up being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals following the season. Interestingly, Kile would go on to finish fifth in voting for the Cy Young Award the following year, as he had in 1997 (the year before he joined the Rockies.) The Leyland era lasted just one year, as a frustrated Leyland retired following the season, not to manage in the majors again until 2006.

In 1999, the Rockies made history as they played their Opening Day game against the San Diego Padres in Monterrey, Mexico; this was the first time that an MLB team opened its regular-season schedule outside the United States or Canada.

During Helton's college football career in Tennessee, he was teammates with Peyton Manning. Helton was the starting Quarterback for Tennessee. He suffered from an injury, and Manning took over. Todd Helton helped give Peyton his 'marvelous' career.


[edit] The Dan O'Dowd era
On August 20, 1999, Bob Gebhard, the only general manager in franchise history, announced his resignation. A month later, the Rockies named Dan O'Dowd as his replacement. After hiring Buddy Bell as the club's third manager, O'Dowd proceeded to make a series of offseason deals that would change the face of the franchise. Popular outfielder Dante Bichette was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Later, he traded Kile to the Cardinals and, in a four-team trade, sent Vinny Castilla to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. With those two deals, Larry Walker remained as the only player from the Blake Street Bombers still with the team. Walker wound up playing in only 87 games in 2000 due to injuries and hit just nine homers, as the Rockies had a completely different look from prior years. Perhaps not surprisingly given the injury to Walker and the trading of two of the team's most popular players, the Rockies finished third in the National League in attendance in 2000, marking the first time in club history that it did not lead the league in attendance.

Despite the major changes made to the team in the offseason, the team wound up with its first winning season since 1997. Helton, in his third full year in the majors, was becoming a bona fide superstar, winning the batting title with a .372 average and also leading the league with 147 RBI while hitting 42 homers. However, he finished just fifth in MVP voting, perhaps due to the fact that the team finished fourth in the division and also possibly due to bias by voters due to the fact that he played half of his games in hitter-friendly Coors Field. 2000 also marked the first of five consecutive All-Star Game appearances for Helton. The pitching staff also improved its ERA to 5.26, helping the team to an 82-80 record.

Although previous big-name pitchers, including Bill Swift, Bret Saberhagen, and Darryl Kile, had struggled in Colorado, following the 2000 season O'Dowd made two very splashy signings in the free-agent market, signing Denny Neagle to a five-year contract worth $51 million, followed five days later by signing Mike Hampton to an eight-year, $121 million contract. Two years earlier, Hampton had won 22 games and finished second in voting for the Cy Young Award as a member of the Houston Astros, while Neagle had been a 20-game winner in 1997 for the Atlanta Braves and had won fifteen games in 2000. The two star pitchers were expected by the Rockies to change the team's fortunes.

Instead, the two flopped, much as their predecessors had. Hampton, after a strong first half in 2001, completely fell apart in 2002, going 7-15 with a 6.15 ERA and demanding a trade following the season. Neagle went 19-23 in three years with the Rockies; he was injured in 2003 and never pitched in the majors again before the Rockies released him after the 2004 season. The Rockies went 73-89 in both years that Hampton and Neagle were in Colorado, and the amount of money owed them (the Rockies paid a sizable portion of Hampton's salary even after he was traded to the Atlanta Braves) crippled the team for the next several years.

Under previous general manager Gebhard, the Rockies had largely neglected their farm system and mostly relied on signing veteran free agents from other clubs; this was possible due to the high attendance numbers in the club's first few years of attendance. However, as attendance began to dwindle -- the Rockies fell to just sixth in the National League in attendance in 2002, and ninth in 2003 and 2004 -- the club could no longer afford to build through big-name free agents. In 1999, the Rockies spent their first-round draft pick on Baylor University pitcher Jason Jennings; three years later, Jennings went 16-8 with a 4.52 ERA. In the process, Jennings became the first Rockies player to win the National League Rookie of the Year award.

With Hampton out of town and Neagle injured much of the year, Jennings became the centerpiece of the Rockies' pitching staff in 2003. Despite a fourth straight All-Star season by Helton and 36 homers by outfielder Preston Wilson, the Rockies finished just 74-88. In addition to Jennings, though, young pitchers Shawn Chacon and Aaron Cook showed promise.

In 2004, the Rockies acquired Vinny Castilla, who had been with the club for its inaugural 1993 season, once again, and he hit 35 homers. However, Wilson and Larry Walker spent much of the season on the disabled list, forcing the Rockies to play Matt Holliday, who had been slated to start the season at Triple-A. While the Rockies struggled to a 68-94 record -- the second worst record in club history -- the club's Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, went 78-65. Declining attendance meant that the club's payroll could no longer support a franchise stocked largely with veterans from other clubs. In addition, Walker, who had been with the team since 1995 and was widely regarded as the best player in team history, was now 37 years old, and injuries prevented him from playing much of the time. Because he could still be useful to a contending team, the Rockies traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals in August for three minor-leaguers.


[edit] Generation-R

Colorado Rockies on June 19, 2007 in Coors FieldThe trade of Walker set in motion a series of moves that would lead to a complete overhaul of the club's roster. Castilla and Jeromy Burnitz, who led the team with 37 homers in 2004, were allowed to leave as free agents following the season. Catcher Charles Johnson, who had been acquired along with Wilson in the Hampton trade, was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Royce Clayton, the club's starting shortstop in 2004, also was allowed to leave. Along with Holliday, who had performed ably while Wilson and Walker were out, the club promoted Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Clint Barmes, and J.D. Closser, who spent most of 2004 in Triple-A. Jennings and Chacon combined with Joe Kennedy, Byung-Hyun Kim, and top prospect Jeff Francis to form the team's starting rotation. Other than Helton and Wilson, virtually all of the team's regular players were under the age of 30; the Rockies dubbed this group "Generation-R."

The result of all the moves was a 67-95 record in 2005, which tied for the worst record in franchise history, as the young players -- many of whom had never been everyday players in the majors prior to that season -- struggled. Helton and Wilson -- virtually the only experienced players on the team -- struggled as well; Helton hit just 20 homers, the fewest of his career, and missed the All-Star Game for the first time since 1999 and also went on the disabled list for the first time in his career. Wilson also spent time on the disabled list and, as the Rockies fell out of contention, was traded to the Washington Nationals. After starting the season 15-35, though, the team had some success later in the year, going a respectable 30-28 in August and September as the youngsters became more experienced. However, perhaps because of the trade of Walker and several consecutive losing seasons, the team fell all the way to fourteenth in the National League in attendance; for the first time in team history, the Rockies drew under 2 million fans for the season.

The 2006 season started with some promise; the Rockies were 44-43 in the first half of the season and were in contention in the NL West for much of the season. However, the team faded in the second half and wound up at 76-86, tied for fourth place in the division. Despite this, several of the young players showed promise. Matt Holliday hit 34 homers and was named to the All-Star Game; Garrett Atkins batted .329 and hit 29 homers. In addition, the pitching staff posted a 4.66 ERA -- the best in team history -- and starters Jason Jennings, Aaron Cook, and Jeff Francis had good seasons.


[edit] 2007: "Rocktober"
Main article: 2007 Colorado Rockies season
The Rockies began the 1st half of the 2007 season following the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks, and the Padres for most of the season. However, by August, Colorado showed a steady series of wins, while the Division-leading Dodgers began to struggle.

By September, the Dodgers were eliminated by the Rockies from playoff contention, and the Diamondbacks were expected to clinch the National League West division title, while the Padres held a steady lead on the National League wild card spot. The Diamondbacks eventually clinched the NL West division title, but the Rockies shot up with one of the greatest comebacks in baseball history. They were a major-league best 20-8 in September, after trailing 6 games on September 1st. They won their last 13 of 14 games, including 11 in a row, the most of any team in the 2007 season and an all-time franchise record. Their 90-73 regular season mark set a franchise record. They also finished ahead of the Dodgers in the division for the first time in franchise history. Furthermore, Colorado set the single-season MLB record for fielding percentage by one team (.98925).

As a result of the Rockies' remarkable September run, the team finished the regular season tied with the Padres for the wild card spot in the playoffs. The two teams played a regular season play-off game at Coors Field on October 1 to determine the wild card. The game lasted thirteen innings, and although the Padres got two runs off of a Scott Hairston home run in the top of the thirteenth to break a 6-6 tie, the Rockies came back in the bottom of the thirteenth by scoring three runs off of closer Trevor Hoffman to win 9-8. Second baseman Kazuo Matsui started off the inning by hitting a double. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki followed with a double of his own, thus, allowing Matsui to score. Left fielder Matt Holliday then came up to bat and hit a triple, scoring Tulowitzki. After an intentional walk to first baseman Todd Helton, the Padres pitched to utility infielder Jamey Carroll, who then hit a sacrifice fly, allowing Holliday to score from third base. Matt Holliday's winning run came off of a controversial slide in which home plate umpire Tim McClelland called Holliday safe, despite replays being inconclusive as to whether Holliday had actually touched the plate. Thus did the Rockies complete the fifth greatest regular season comeback in Major League Baseball history.[3]

With the win the Rockies made the playoffs for the first time since 1995, and went on to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. Colorado won the first game in Philadelphia, 4-2. The Rockies also won the second game in Philadelphia, 10-5, with the help of Kazuo Matsui's 4th inning grand slam. On October 6, 2007, the Rockies completed a three-game sweep of the Phillies by winning 2-1 in Colorado. The three-game sweep was Colorado's first post-season series win in team history. The Rockies played in the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who swept their own series against the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS. They won the first two games of the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, then won their third game against the D-backs in Denver on Sunday, October 14th. That pushed their combined late-season (September 16 and after) and post-season run to 20 wins and just 1 loss, the single loss coming against Arizona on September 28, the 160th game of the season. This made them only the third team in the last half-century, and the first in the National League since the 1936 New York Giants, to have a 20-1 stretch at any point of a season.[4] NLCS Game 4 was won by the Colorado Rockies by a score of six runs to four. This series win earned Colorado's first National League Championship victory in franchise history. The Rockies became the first team ever to sweep both the division series and league championship series in the same postseason. The club moved to 21-1 over all games played after September 15. The Rockies are currently awaiting the start of this year's World Series against the Boston Red Sox.


[edit] The effects of elevation on baseball
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (tagged since October 2007)

At 5,280 feet above sea level, Denver is the highest city with a Major League Baseball team; the second-highest major league city, Phoenix, is 1,090 feet above sea level.

Coors Field has long been regarded as a hitter-friendly ballpark. Because of the elevation, fly balls hit there often carry farther than they would at a sea-level ballpark, increasing the numbers of home runs. It has been debated whether or not the dry air in Denver makes it difficult for pitchers to grip the ball properly, reducing the "break." With this in mind, the designers and engineers who built Coors Field created a spacious outfield.

The advantageous effects of elevation on a baseball are debated. It is widely accepted that the advantage belongs to "Whomever is holding the bat."


[edit] Controversies

[edit] 2006 Controversy over Christian rules
On June 1, 2006, USA Today reported that Rockies management, including manager Clint Hurdle, had instituted an explicitly Christian code of conduct for the team's players, banning men's magazines (such as Maxim and Playboy) and sexually explicit music from the team's clubhouse.[5] The newspaper reported:

Behind the scenes, [the Rockies] quietly have become an organization guided by Christianity ― open to other religious beliefs but embracing a Christian-based code of conduct they believe will bring them focus and success.
From ownership on down, it's an approach the Rockies are proud of ― and something they are wary about publicizing. "We're nervous, to be honest with you," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd says. "It's the first time we ever talked about these issues publicly. The last thing we want to do is offend anyone because of our beliefs."
The article sparked controversy, including criticism in a column in The Nation, which stated:

San Francisco Giants first baseman-outfielder Mark Sweeney, who spent 2003 and 2004 with the Rockies, said, "You wonder if some people are going along with it just to keep their jobs. Look, I pray every day. I have faith. It's always been part of my life. But I don't want something forced on me. Do they really have to check to see whether I have a Playboy in my locker?"[6]
Soon after the USA Today article appeared, The Denver Post published an article featuring many Rockies players contesting the claims made in the USA Today article.[7] Jason Jennings, a Rockies' pitcher, said:

"[The article in USA Today] was just bad. I am not happy at all. Some of the best teammates I have ever had are the furthest thing from Christian," pitcher Jason Jennings said. "You don't have to be a Christian to have good character. They can be separate. [The article] was misleading."
While the initial USA Today article caused some controversy, the main claims have been repudiated by the ballclub and its players in the subsequent Denver Post story.


[edit] Humidor controversy
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (tagged since October 2007)

In 2002, a humidor was installed to store baseballs at the manufacturer's specification. Since the discovery of the humidor, it has cast suspicion in baseball of the Rockies talent, or lack thereof. Tampering with equipment, or more accurately, perceived tampering of equipment is an old phenomenon in baseball. That is in part why there is much discussion about the Denver humidor, and why Major League Baseball has not stepped in on the situation.

Since the installation and discovery of the humidor in Coors Field, runs and high scoring games have since gone down in frequency. The Rockies do not deny this, however, they point to the reason for balls flying out of Coors Field is not so much the elevation (5,280 feet above sea level), but the extremely dry air in Denver. They liken it to playing baseball with golf balls, as harder objects travel faster than softer objects when hit, like a baseball when kept at a humidity level recommended by the manufacturer. Columnists in Denver's newspapers also speculate that most players are stopping the use of steroids because of the increased testing and penalties, so fewer home runs are hit at Coors Field.

To the contrary, skeptics will say that any tampering of the equipment would create an advantage for the home team, and if it did not, then the changes might never have been made. These accusations arrived again through the course of the 2006 season, as the Rockies had their best year since 2000. However, this doesn't account for the fact that three of the Rockies' four seasons over .500, including a playoff berth in 1995, came before the installation of the humidor, and their 2nd worst season in franchise history was 2004. Furthermore, Colorado was below .500 at home during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. In fact, the Rockies' 2004 home record (38-43) was the worst in franchise history since the 1994 Major League Baseball strike year, which was a shortened season. The Rockies best home record came during the 1996 season (55-26), which was before the humidor was installed. The following are the home records for each season in Rockies' history:

Year Record Notes
1993 39-42
1994 25-32 Shortened season - MLB strike
1995 44-28 Shortened season due to carry-over from previous year's strike
1996 55-26
1997 47-34
1998 42-39
1999 39-42
2000 48-33
2001 41-40
2002 47-34 Humidor installed
2003 49-32
2004 38-43
2005 40-41
2006 44-37
2007 51-31 Played one extra home game due to one-game playoff

Some baseball followers have suggested that every major league baseball team should use a humidor. The Coors Field humidor is designed to keep the baseballs at the exact same size and weight as they are originally constructed for Major League Baseball. It is theorized that if every team had baseballs that were stored before the game in exactly the same conditions, it might serve as an equalizer for the teams, as well as eliminate the controversy of "tampering" with the baseballs.


[edit] Other controversies
Not all Major League baseball teams have similar revenue streams, which contributes to a disparity of "haves" and "have-nots" amongst franchises. Major League Baseball franchises average spending 48.9% of every revenue dollar on player payroll while the Rockies spent 28.4% of team revenues on player payroll.[8][9] Only one team in all of MLB spends a lower proportion of team revenues on player payroll than the Rockies.


[edit] Logos

Original Rockies Logo (Never used) (1992)[10]




Current Team Logo (1993-present)




Rockies alternate logo 2001-present[11]




Rockies alternate logo 2003-present[12]






[edit] Season record
Season Won Lost Win % Games
Behind Finish Attendance Average Playoffs
National League West Division
1993 67 95 .414 37 6 4,483,350 55,350
1994 53 64 .453 6.5 3 3,281,511 57,570
1995 77 67 .535 1 2§ 3,390,037 47,083 Lost NLDS (1-3) Braves
1996 83 79 .512 8 3 3,891,014 48,037
1997 83 79 .512 8 3 3,888,453 48,006
1998 77 85 .475 21 4 3,789,347 46,782
1999 72 90 .444 28 5 3,481,065 42,976
2000 82 80 .506 15 4 3,286,773 40,577
2001 73 89 .451 19 5 3,163,821 39,059
2002 73 89 .451 25 4 2,740,585 33,834
2003 74 88 .457 26.5 4 2,334,175 28,816
2004 68 94 .420 25 4 2,338,071 28,865
2005 67 95 .414 15 5 1,914,389 23,634
2006 76 86 .469 12 T-4 2,104,558 25,982
2007 90 73 .552 0.5 2§ 2,376,250 28,978 Won NLDS (3-0) Phillies

Won NLCS (4-0) Diamondbacks
World Series (0-0) Red Sox

Totals 1115 1253 .471 46,463,339 41,159


[edit] Quick facts
Founded: 1991
Began play: 1993 (National League expansion)
Uniform colors: Black, Purple, Silver, and White
Logo design: Purple mountain with baseball
Team motto: R you in?
Team mascot: Dinger
Playoff appearances (2): 1995, 2007*
Owners: Linda G. Alvarado, Pete Coors, Lee Larson, Marne Obernauer Sr., Marne Obernauer Jr., Denver Newspaper Agency, Coors Brewing Co., Clear Channel Communications, and Beverage Distributors Corp.[13]
Chairman & CEO: Charles Monfort
Vice Chairman: Richard Monfort
General Manager: Dan O'Dowd
Victory Song: Get Free by The Vines
Local Television: FSN Rocky Mountain, KTVD-20
Spring Training Facility: Hi Corbett Field, Tucson, AZ
* In progress. The Rockies will play the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 World Series. Colorado completed a four-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS and and a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.


[edit] Baseball Hall of Famers
None

[edit] Retired Numbers
42 Jackie Robinson; number retired throughout Major League Baseball.