I remember early on in the Rockies’ existence wondering what a good baseball player could do playing in Colorado after watching guys like Vinny Castilla and Dante Bichette turning into stars in the light air. I got my answer when Larry Walker came to Denver to play with the Rockies. Walker played 10 seasons with the Rockies appearing in 1,170 games in which he was 1,361 of 4,076 (.334 avg, 1.044 OPS) with 892 runs scored, 258 homers, 848 RBIs and 126 stolen bases. In 1997 Walker won the N.L. MVP Award by putting up eye popping numbers. In that year, Walker played in 153 games in which he was 208 of 568 (.366 avg, 1.172 OPS) with 143 runs scored, 49 homers, 130 RBIs and 33 stolen bases! In his 10 years with the Rockies, Walker was a All-Star 5 times, he won 5 Gold Gloves and he was a Silver Slugger twice. Walker is #2 all-time in games played (1,170), runs scored (892), hits (1,361), doubles (297), triples (44), homers (258), RBIs (848) and walks (584). It’s amazing to me that Walker is #2 all-time in 8 different categories in Rockies’ history especially with as much offense that has happened at Coors Field.

The Rockies have placed starting 1B Todd Helton on the 15-day disabled list with back soreness. Helton has not looked like himself at the plate this season. He has played in 69 games for the Rockies this season and he is 61 of 248 (.246 avg, .646 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. The Rockies have recalled 29-year old righty swinging 1B Brad Eldred to replace Helton on the roster. Eldred has played in 71 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 71 of 266 (.267 avg, .898 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 22 homers and 64 RBIs. Eldred has played in 74 games in his major league career and he is 47 of 236 (.199 avg, .670 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 14 homers and 30 RBIs. But he has some holes in his swing as he has whiffed 93 times in the majors. Eldred and Jason Giambi could platoon at 1B while Helton is out of action.