Rockies Review: April 5, 1993 - Inaugural Game goes from dream to reality

It was not until Eric Young stepped to the plate at Shea Stadium against Dwight Gooden and the New York Mets that the state of Colorado and the city of Denver was finally deemed as the Big Leagues on April 5, 1993.

For years, the Mile High City was home to top flight minor league clubs like the Denver Bears/Zephyrs and producing start-studded talent on their way to larger cities with storied franchises.

Numerous championships for the New York Yankees in the 1950s and ’60s can be attributed back to their Triple-A club playing at Bears Stadium – later renamed Mile High Stadium – and Hall of Famers such as Andre Dawson and Barry Larkin played in the Mountain Time Zone.

Along with the Florida Marlins, the Rockies became one of the first new NL teams since 1969. Though Colorado was shutout 3-0 by New York, Florida was 6-3 winners over the Dodgers at Joe Robbie Stadium.

During their first official game, David Nied threw the first pitch in franchise history, Andrés Galarraga notched the first hit, and Young had the first stolen base.

Opening Day

Ubaldo Jiménez starts his historic 2010 season with six innings and one earned run on eight hits and one walk during the 5-3 win at Milwaukee. The 26-year-old right-hander would go on to become the only Rockies starting pitcher to start an All-Star Game, and his third place finish in National League Cy Young Award voting is the highest even for a purple twirler.

The deciding run comes on Troy Tulowitzki’s RBI single in the fifth that scored Carlos González. Batting leadoff and playing center field, CarGo goes four-for-five in his first Opening Day start of his career.

On This Date

Nolan Arenado celebrates his first multi-homer game of his career in 2014 during his second full-season in the majors. Launching two home runs against Diamondbacks’ starter Brandon McCarthy, it would not be until a year later that he’d have his second.

In 1997, Larry Walker swats three home runs against his former club Montréal in the 15-5 victory for the Rockies. The trifecta of long balls comes off of three different Expos pitchers and makes him only the second man to ever do it following Galarraga’s on June 25, 1995.

During this shellacking, Colorado ties a club record seven homers in a game.

Home Opener

Trevor Story records his eleventh career multi-home run game in the 2019 home opener at Coors Field during the 10-6 loss at the hands of the Dodgers. It’s the second two homer game for the power-hitting shortstop in a home opener (2016), and with a long ball in another, his five career home opener home runs are the most in franchise history.

On This Date In Baseball History

St. Louis Cardinals left-handed Jim Kaat pitcher tosses an inning on Opening Day in 1983. At 43-years-old, Kaat sets a major league record by becoming the first pitcher to play 24 consecutive seasons.

Pitchers Tommy John and Nolan Ryan will later top the mark with 26 and 27 seasons in the big leagues, respectively.