Meet the Rockies T here is almost never a dull moment when you go to a Colorado orado Rockies game The hitters blast baseballs all over the park ark e The pitchers throw hard and dare opponents to swing The runners dive headfirst into the bases The outfielders climb the walls trying to snatch home runs The Rockies are a true hometown team They believe in finding promising young players and training them in the minor leagues When they are ready for the major leagues they join the team in Colorado Because so many Rockies have grown up together there is a family feeling in the dugout This book tells the story of the Rockies They are one of of baseball’s newest teams but they have already made a lot of history story Fans in Colorado have seen lots of record-smashing moments and fantastic finishes They cheer for their team no matter what the score because they know the Rockies will never quit The Rockies greet Troy Tulowitzki as he returns to the dugout after a home run 5
d f th l iD l i il 9 1993 Glory Days A pril 9 1993 was a glorious day for the people in Denver Colorado It was the first home game ever for the Colorado Rockies one of two new teams added to the National League NL that year By the time the first pitch was thrown the Rockies had set a record for the largest Opening Day crowd ever When all the spectators were counted there were 80,277 at the stadium The Rockies sold 4,483,350 tickets in 1993 That also set a record To say that fans in Colorado were happy to have their own big-league baseball team only tells part of the story The Rockies rewarded their support by bringing in some of the game’s best hitters including Andres Galarraga Dante Bichette Vinny Castilla and Charlie Hayes They treated the fans to one great offensive performance after another Unfortunately the pitching was another matter Colorado pitchers struggled when they took the mound at home The air in Denver 6
LEFT Vinny Castilla drove in more than 100 runs four times for the Rockies RIGHT Charlie Hayes led the team in home runs in 1993 is thinner and drier than in most of the country That helped fly balls travel farther than usual Many hits that would have been caught for outs elsewhere banged against the fences in Colorado or flew over them The Rockies played their outfielders extra deep But this left open spaces in front of them That meant short hits often dropped safely for singles and doubles Being a pitcher for the Rockies wasn’t an easy job Of course the Colorado batters loved to play at home They hit for very high averages and slugged home runs at a record-breaking pace Many players who wore a Rockies uniform for just a couple of seasons enjoyed the best years of their careers including Ellis Burks Juan Pierre Jeffrey Hammonds Preston Wilson and Charles Johnson Slowly but surely the Rockies learned how to gain an edge on their home field They had a winning record in just their third season and made it to the playoffs as the NL Wild Card It was quite a season for Colorado That same year the team opened a new stadium 7
