In a decade from now, fans of the Colorado Rockies will think about the 2023 season and remember one number: 103.
The most losses in franchise history is certainly a statistic that will resonate in the minds of Denver sports enthusiasts. Other numbers have stood the test of time since joining the league in 1993.
No one has forgotten the 21 wins — in 22 games — from the 2007 season or 59 doubles from Todd Helton’s historic 2000 season or the nearly 4.5 million who walked through the turnstiles of Mile High Stadium during the inaugural season or 16 strikeouts from Jon Gray’s rookie season, the most in franchise history and most ever achieved at Coors Field.
Several other interesting figures emerged after six months of Rockies’ baseball that deserve attention, some good, some less so and some that may be good to drop the next time you’re trying to impress your friends.
Let’s Go (Good)!
There was a lot to be excited about with a trio of rookies leading the highlights on most nights. All three – Nolan Jones, Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle – reached double-digits in home runs and stolen bases, something no rookie had ever done before with Colorado. Jones went beyond the 10-10 club to finish with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, a feat only accomplished by 13 rookies in baseball history entering 2023.
We're still finalizing our defensive numbers, but Brenton Doyle leading CF in Defensive Runs Saved is one of the most remarkable accomplishments of 2023
Doyle finished with 19 Runs Saved.
The Rockies only had one prior season in which their CFs combined for positive Runs Saved pic.twitter.com/B2ottz6cbx
— SIS_Baseball (@sis_baseball) October 5, 2023
The defense was equally as impressive since a certain perennial Gold Glove Award winner was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. As a group, the .986 fielding percentage on the year was fifth-best in team history. (Three of the four seasons ahead in the rankings resulted in a trip to the postseason.) Three players — 3B Ryan McMahon, SS Ezequiel Tovar and CF Brenton Doyle — appear to be favorites as finalists for the fielding award and a fourth, Nolan Jones, could make his way onto the list simply for his highlight reel of throws.
Jones set a new franchise standard with 19 outfield assists, a total that hasn’t been seen in MLB since Jeff Francoeur had 19 with the Kansas City Royals in 2012. You have to go back to 2006 to find an outfielder with more than that: 22 by Alfonso Soriano of the Washington Nationals.
1⃣8⃣ outfield assists for Nolan Jones!
Jones has broken the Rockies franchise record for outfield assists in a single season.#Rockies x @ShaneCompany pic.twitter.com/ga5RtJ5pIM
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) September 26, 2023
Doyle finished his final 120 games in center field without making an error, obliterating reliever Matt Reynolds’ record of 94 in 2011-12. After making a gaffe on April 29 at home in his fifth game as a big leaguer, his play was spotless and went on to post a .9974 fielding percentage, second-best for an outfielder in team history. It’s tops for a full 162-game season as Charlie Blackmon’s perfect 1.000 fielding percentage came during the 60-game slate of 2020.
Tovar finished second at his position in fielding percentage as well, posting a .988 at shortstop that trails only Troy Tulowitzki’s .991 in 2011, a season in which he won his second Gold Glove Award.
Elias Díaz featured in 141 games, playing 126 at catcher for the most in a single-season. Previously, Joe Girardi’s 122 games at backstop in 1995 was the high-water mark. Girardi still holds the record for playing catcher in the largest percentage of games, going behind the dish in 85% games due to the shortened 144-game schedule that season.
Hitting-wise, it was all about Jones during his 106 games. In addition to the 20-20 season, the 25-year-old had a .931 OPS and an OPS+ of 138, highest for a rookie in Colorado history, surpassing both Todd Helton’s .911 OPS in 1998 and Trevor Story’s 122 OPS+ in 2016.
Nolan Jones is the first in #Rockies history with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases as a rookie.
He is The One True Nolan. pic.twitter.com/7R55LX8ocx
— DNVR Rockies (@DNVR_Rockies) October 2, 2023
It wasn’t all about the future as it was announced on Fan Appreciation Weekend to close out the year that Charlie Blackmon will come back for his 14th season with the team. This time next year, we should be discussing how he’s climbed the all-time career leaderboard for the Rockies and extended on a lot more records. He tied Carlos González with the 749th RBI of his career during the final homestand to place the two former teammates in a tie for fifth-most. Next up on the list: fourth-place and Arenado’s 760 RBI.
Oh No (Bad)!
The 103 losses this season placed Colorado into the lowest five-year winning percentage in club history. The .421 winning percentage (298-409) for 2019-23 surpasses previous five-year lows of 2011-15 (.426, 345-465) and 2001-05 (.438, 355-455).
In the midst of another 20+ home run and roughly 70 RBI campaign — 23 home runs and 70 RBI, to be exact — McMahon broke Story’s 2017 record for most strikeouts in a season. McMahon surpassed his good friend’s mark of 191 on Sept. 27 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and eventually finished with 198 strikeouts. Had he played in more than just eight of Colorado’s final 14 games of the season, there’s a chance he could have surpassed 200 strikeouts for the 20th occurrence of 200 strikeouts in a single-season in baseball history. (Coincidentally, all of those seasons have come since 2008.
Tovar led the team with runs batted in, doing it in his age-21 season, three years younger than Tulowitzki (age-24 in 2009) and Arenado (age-24 in 2015). But at only 73 RBI, it’s the fewest total for any team leader in any season outside of the 60-game season in 2020, even lower than Justin Morneau’s 82 RBI in 2014.
2023 Rookie Leaders
RBI
1. Spencer Steer 86 #ATOBTTR
2. Gunnar Henderson 82
3. Corbin Carroll 76
4. Ezequiel Tovar 73
5. Masataka Yoshida 72
6. James Outman 70
6. Josh Jung 70
8. Triston Casas 65
9. Francisco Alvarez 63
10. Nolan Jones 62 pic.twitter.com/G6dGkaPSaK— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) October 2, 2023
The previous two years produced franchise-lows in multi-hit games with 39 by C.J. Cron in both 2021 and 2022, with Randal Grichuk also recording two or more hits in a game 29 times last season. Ryan McMahon led the way with 36 multi-hit games.
If you suffer from triskaidekaphobia and have ever undergone Tommy John surgery, you’re really going to hate this note. Rockies starting pitching has seen a lot of seasons with 13 quality starts as the top mark. Five, to be exact, including twice during the abbreviated 1994-95 seasons from Marvin Freeman and Kevin Ritz, respectively. This year, both Austin Gomber and Kyle Freeland led the team with just 12 quality starts.
In the bullpen, Pierce Johnson led the way with 13 saves despite being traded to Atlanta in late July. That’s another new low in franchise history as Darren Holmes’ 14 saves in 1995 drops back into second. The lowest number of saves for a Rockies’ closer in a full 162-game season? That would be 15 by Jake McGee in 2016 and Wade Davis in 2019.
Well That’s Something?!
Home runs were actually up for the Rockies this season when compared with last, but were still the second-lowest in 31 seasons on a home run per game rate.
As referenced earlier, McMahon had 23 home runs and this led the team. Helton, who led the Rockies in home runs over four different times (2000-02, 2005), hit only 20 long balls in 2005, fewest for a single-season home run leader. Other lows include 24 homers by 2014 team leader Corey Dickerson, 25 for Charlie Hayes in 1993 and 25 each for Brad Hawpe and Matt Holliday in 2008. Colorado still has not had a 30-homer season since three members of the 2019 squad surpassed the mark. When including the shortened 2020 season, this four-year span of missing a 30 home run season is the longest in franchise history.
Ryan McMahon CRUSHES one to put the Rockies back on top! https://t.co/8kK2yUvoit
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 28, 2023
When it comes to extra-base hits, the results are similarly disappointing. McMahon had the most with 57. That’s the fewest for a team lead since 2014 when Corey Dickerson had 57 extra-base hits. The prior year, Carlos González had just 55, lowest ever by the team lead.
Thanks to Andrés Galarraga and Helton, first base has been a position of stability for the Rockies since their inception. When Helton was injured through much of the 2012 season, he managed to play 62 games at first, fewest in a season at the position. Elehuris Montero, starting third baseman on Opening Day and starting first baseman in Game 162, surpassed C.J. Cron during the final week of the season for his 53rd game at first base.
Second base and right field were also in flux this year. Harold Castro made 56 starts at second, a few less than Clint Barmes’ 61 in 2008 while Kris Bryant started 46 games in right field, even fewer than Blackmon’s 50 games during the 60-game season of 2020.
Doyle provided stability in center field upon his call up, but the one area he struggled in most was making contact. He struck out 35% of the time, trailing only José Siri of the Tampa Bays (min. 350 plate appearances) and had the lowest batting average (.203) in team history for a single-season (min. 350 plate appearances). Clint Barmes had the previous low with a .220 batting average in 2006.
On the pitching side, Colorado was one of 11 teams this season without a pitcher recording a complete game. It’s the second time they’ve been one, also missing out in 2012 and their last postseason year of 2018. Technically speaking, the longest outing of the season was accomplished by a few hurlers who lasted seven innings, but Kyle Freeland went out for the eighth inning in Kansas City on June 6, so we’ll give him the edge. (Take a moment to acknowledge the impressiveness — and unbeatable nature — of Pedro Astacio’s franchise record of seven complete games in 1999.)
How did Kyle Freeland make this play!?!? 🤯
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/vMoC0YTtik
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 1, 2023
Austin Gomber managed to get a win in nine of his 27 starts this season, one better than when reliever Rex Brothers led the 2012 squad with eight wins. In terms of losses, Kyle Freeland lost 14 games this season — six different pitchers have lost 15 or more times for Colorado — in part because of the fourth-lowest run support (3.79 per game) in the National League this season.
Freeland did lead the rotation (min. five starts) with a 5.03 ERA. Only he and Gomber made 18 or more starts this season. In five other seasons, all between 1998 and 2005, the best Rockies’ starter (min. 20 starts) had an earned run average higher than Freeland’s mark. In 2001, Denny Neagle led the squad with a 5.28 ERA, yet the worst best-year was 2005 when Jamey Wright posted a 5.46 ERA.
Colorado had only two pitchers, Freeland (155.2 IP) and Gomber (139.0), reach 100 innings. The lowest team leader was Jeff Francis with 113.0 innings pitched in 2012. That was a strange year in the rotation’s history with 14 different pitchers getting a start. The years of 1993 and 2014 saw 15 starters, most in franchise history before the 2023 squad rolled out 17 different starters.
Another counting statistic for pitchers impacted by the injuries were total strikeouts. Freeland was tops with 94 strikeouts, snapping Marquez’s streak of six consecutive seasons leading Colorado. (His lowest for a 162-game season is 147 in 2017.) This is the third time no one has reached 100 strikeouts, joining 1994 (82 strikeouts by Greg Harris) and 2012 (83 strikeouts by Rex Brothers and Drew Pomeranz).
