Righty swinging LF Ellis Burks walked quietly with the Rockies but he carried a big stick. He played with the Rockies in the pre-humidor days and he racked up some big time numbers for them. His best year with the Rockies came back in 1996 when he finished 3rd in the MVP Voting in the N.L. while also making the All-Star teams and winning a Silver Slugger Award. Burks played in 156 games in 1996 for the Rockies and he was 211 of 613 (.344 avg, 1.047 OPS) with 142 runs scored (led the majors), 40 homers, 128 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Burks played in 520 games in his five years with the Rockies and he was 558 of 1,821 (.306 avg, .957 OPS) with 361 runs scored, 115 homers, 337 RBIs and 52 stolen bases. Burks is #7 in Rockies’ history with a .306 batting average. He is also #3 in OPS (.957), #6 in triples (24), #8 in homers (115), #10 in RBIs (337) and #9 in stolen bases (52) in Rockies’ history. Burks was only with the Rockies for a short time but he made his mark in team history.

Righty reliever Jose Jimenez only pitched 4 years with the Rockies but he made his mark. His best season came in 2002 with the Rockies. Jimenez pitched in 74 games (0 starts) for the Rockies in 2002 and he was 2-10 with 41 saves, a 3.56 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He pitched in 265 games (7 starts) in his four years with the Rockies and he was 15-23 with 102 saves, a 4.13 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Jimenez is #2 in Rockies’ history in saves with 102 and he’s also #6 in games pitched (265) in team history. Huston Street will likely knock Jimenez down a spot in games pitched and saves before he’s done pitching with the Rockies.

Righty swinging 3B Vinny Casilla was a product of Coors Field during the live ball era. He hit over 30 homers six times in his major league career (all with Colorado), he knocked in over 100 runs five times in his career (all with the Rockies) and he hit over .300 five times (all with the Rockies). Castilla played in 1,098 games in his 9 years with the Rockies and he was 1,206 of 4,099 (.294 avg, .870 OPS) with 611 runs scored, 239 homers, 745 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Castilla is all over the record books of the Colorado Rockies. He is #3 in Rockies’ history in games played (1,098). He also is #4 in hits (1,206), #4 in runs scored (611), #4 in doubles (208), tied for #10 in triples (20), #3 in homers (239), #4 in RBIs (745) and he’s #6 in walks (273) in Rockies’ history. Castilla was awesome for the Rockies, but not so much for any other team. In Castilla’s seven seasons not spent in Colorado, he played in 756 games in which he was 678 of 2,723 (.249 avg) with 291 runs scored, 81 homers, 360 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.

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.

Righty swinging outfielder Dante Bichette benefitted of playing for the Rockies before they started putting game balls in the Humidor. He was a 4-time All-Star with the Rockies and he also led the league in hits twice and RBIs once. Bichette played in 1,018 games in his 7 years with the Rockies and he was 1,278 of 4,050 (.316 avg, .892 OPS) with 665 runs scored, 201 homers, 826 RBIs and 105 stolen bases. Bichette is #4 all-time with 1,018 games for the Rockies. He is also #5 in batting average (.316), #6 in OPS (.892), #3 in runs scored (665), #4 in homers (201), #3 in RBIs (826), #3 in stolen bases (105), #3 in doubles (270), #10 in triples (18) and he is #9 in walks (226) in Rockies’ history. Bichette was definitely aided by playing half of his games at Coors Field but he was still a really good baseball player regardless.