On a recent episode of the BSN Rockies Podcast, ROOT Sports analyst and former Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs took some time to talk to us about some of the greatest moments in franchise history, noting that what Nolan Arenado did a week ago practically demands we revisit this conversation.
And so we are. In multiple ways! (Note: We kept it to on-field moments so Todd Helton‘s retirement ceremony is not here. Though you’d need a stone heart to watch that and feel nothing.)
This got delayed a little bit, but perhaps will be of more use to Rockies fans today. So without further ado, we present out Top 10 Moments in Colorado Rockies History:
10. Carlos Gonzalez walk-off cycle – July 31, 2010
The original Rockies walk-off cycle, CarGo did it in his trademark style and gets extra points for landing the ball right in the lap of a Chicago Cubs fan.
9. Dante Bichette walk-off first game at Coors Field – April 26, 1995
Welcome to the greatest ballpark on Earth.
8. Seth Smith caps epic comeback – July 6, 2010
This was one of those “I remember where I was” moments. Comebacks of this magnitude are rare to begin with but to do it against a quality opponent when it was desperately needed, and doing it in such dramatic fashion without an utter collapse from the opposition was incredibly impressive.
7. Nolan Arenado walk-off cycle – June 18, 2017
Maybe, by the time it is all said and done, the most talented Rockie of all time, in the midst of his prime, with the greatest moment of his career to this point. Immediately unforgettable, automatically indelible, remarkably improbable, and yet somehow not all that surprising, Arenado never ceases to amaze.
6. Ubaldo Jimenez throws a no-hitter – April 17, 2010
Who cares about the five walks? The story of Bob Apodaca telling Ubaldo to go out of the stretch for the rest of the game actually adds to the mystique. Still the only no-hitter in Rockies history, Jimenez was nearly unhittable for the first half of that season and this moment almost didn’t come as a surprise. He was just that good in 2010. Somewhat bitter because of how his time in Colorado ended, it was still undeniably flabbergasting to see any Rockies pitcher perform so well for so long and punctuate it with a crowning achievement. We haven’t seen anything like it before or since.
5. Eric Young homers in first at-bat for MLB in Denver – April 9, 1993
For anyone who has lived in Denver for a very long time, this could easily be number one. There used to be no baseball in this city. Now, there is baseball. For all the magic of the run in 2007, or any other moment on this list, it all starts here. Baseball has finally come to Denver.
4. Todd Helton hits the walk-off on Saito to spark 07 run
When you’ve worked your ass off for nearly a decade to little fanfare, less team success, and a frustrating cycle, season after season, of waiting for everything to line up to even challenge relevancy, Todd Helton let it all out in one singular moment that showed every member of the 2007 Colorado Rockies that something special was about to happen. This is Mr. Rockie’s most important play in Colorado.
3. SpillySlam 09 – August 25, 2009
Walk-off. Grand slam. Down go the Giants.
2. Todd Helton’s hands raised, Eric Byrnes is out, World Series comes to Colorado – October 15, 2007
You play to win the games. And this was the biggest win in franchise history. Lacking the drama of our top moment because it was completed in a dominating sweep, it’s still impossible to forget the image of Helton with his hands in the air, the realization on his face that he is going to get to play in the World Series. Sure, that didn’t go so well, but nothing can change the palpable emotion of this moment.
1. Matt Holliday slides into home plate in Game 163 – October 2, 2007
The slide heard round the world. The most dramatic moment in club history, the loudest Coors Field has ever been, and a series of events that could be retold in novels, films, and plays. Everything from the game between the Padres and Brewers that necessitated this to begin with, to the Dragon Slayer versus the Cy Young, to Scott Hairston, to Trevor Hoffman. Stuff like this is why we watch sports.
