Third Annual Goaties: Memories of Márquez, B-Rod's breakout and Gomber's moonball

It may not have been a success by the standards of a 74-87 record, but there were numerous highlights and memorable moments for the Colorado Rockies in 2021.

Despite exceeding expectations during a year that many suggested would result in 100 loses, the season as a whole will surely be a footnote in the 29-year history of the organization, not to mention a possible omission in the 62 years since the town became a major sports city with the advent of the Denver Broncos.

The Rockies did not have the best record in the sport like the Colorado Avalanche nor did they finish top of their league like the Colorado Rapids. 

Postseason play was off-limits, unlike the University of Colorado in the NCAA D1 Men’s Basketball Tournament or Colorado State University in the National Invitational Tournament.

There wasn’t a superstar who rose above the rest of the squad to win a Most Valuable Player Award like the Denver Nuggets had with Nikola Jokić.

And even in another season without the playoffs, the iconic orange and blue still dominate much of Broncos Country.

No, it may not have been the greatest year for the Rockies, but let’s examine why it was a bit better than it’s been given credit.

Newcomer of the Year: Brendan Rodgers

Colorado hasn’t made many new additions to the roster over the last few seasons and most of the brightest surprises have been internal candidates.

Take Brendan Rodgers, for example. Drafted third overall out of high school in the 2015 MLB Draft, he naturally needed additional years of seasoning than the college-aged players selected ahead of him (Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, respectively).

Once his opportunity came in 2019, he was besieged by injuries that took him into this past season with only 102 plate appearances and 32 games in the big leagues.

Then, he missed nearly the first two months of 2021 with a hamstring strain before finding his groove on June 3 and batting .296 with 46 runs batted in. He showed above average power with 15 home runs, 12 of which came away from Coors Field, and made fans excited for the start of the real Rodgers era.

Moment of the Year: Larry Walker inducted into Hall of Fame

The Rockies thought their first Hall of Famer was going to be Dale Murphy, a player in search of two home runs to reach 400 for his career. Signed just days before the first game in franchise history in 1993, the two-time MVP with Atlanta couldn’t make it work and retired with the same amount of dingers as he had arrived.

Along came Larry Walker in 1995, followed by the first National League Wild Card that same year, the 1997 MVP Award and a full decade of outstanding play in Colorado.

Though he accumulated no new statistics after his retirement, his candidacy increased rapidly as he approached his 10th and final year on the ballot in 2020.

Even after the announcement that Walker would be the first representative of the Rockies in Cooperstown, a little thing called the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way of making it official.

Nearly 16 years after his retirement and 17 since dazzling fans in Denver, Walker finally had his plaque beside the greats of the game following his induction on September 8. And the Rockies were finally in the Hall of Fame. 

Play of the Year: Elias Díaz, walk-off winner on 4th of July

Take your pick from any of Colorado’s 12 walk-off wins, most in franchise history. Charlie Blackmon had three to his name, as did Elias Díaz.

Díaz did a great job spoiling Nolan Arenado’s return to Colorado on July 1 in front of 30,410 fans, largest for a weeknight to that point in the season. The 30-year-old catcher slugged a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to kick off the four-game set.

Three days later, it was more fireworks with a walk-off single against those same St. Louis Cardinals to score Joshua Fuentes and give the Rockies a 3-1 series victory on Independence Day.

Game of the Year: Germán Márquez, near no-hitter on June 29

Playoff game or not, this was a performance that elevated the young starter into the realm of Ubaldo Jiménez. 

Germán Márquez was coming off eight-innings of two-hit baseball in Seattle, one that saw him perfect through five frames. When asked about his brush with greatness after that June 23 start, he said, “I feel like it’s going to happen real soon.”

True to his word, it almost did against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his next start. At Coors Field, no less. Something not even Jiménez had experienced. 

Márquez hit a batter in the second to remove any thoughts of perfection, but the no-hitter would stay alive until the ninth-inning. Ka’ai Tom, a player with only 14 career hits, singled to right field to end the quest.

It further solidified Márquez as a marquee pitcher, one that would add an All-Star Game appearance to his resume.

Athlete of the Year: Trevor Story

Even in a down year, a superstar can still be the best player on the field.

Banged up for much of the season in his final year before hitting free agency, Trevor Story still gave 100% on any given night.

His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage took a dip for the second consecutive season and yet he still led the team with 4.2 wins-above-replacement, according to Baseball Reference. (FanGraphs had hit tied for first with Antonio Senzatela at 3.5 WAR.)

Story took time to give thanks to fans following his final game at Coors Field on September 29 and was noticeably emotionally about leaving the place he’s called home since 2016. For that, he will always be remembered with nothing but fondness.

Hall of Fame: Ubaldo Jiménez, 2010

On nearly every level, it’s a season that may never be matched by another Colorado starting pitcher.

Jiménez not only had a first half good enough to earn him the start for the NL in the All-Star Game that summer thanks to a 15-1 record, but he threw the only no-hitter in team history on April 17 in Atlanta.

He won 19 games, led the NL in win-percentage (.704) and finished third in the NL Cy Young Award voting, highest ever for a member of the Rockies. 

Call of the Year: “Here’s the throw to the plate. Fuentes: safe! Díaz has done it again. Happy Fourth of July!”

It was the best of a dozen walk-offs in 2021 and the call by Drew Goodman of AT&T SportsNet was the perfect punctuation on a perfect summer day in Colorado.

Quote of the Year: “I’m gonna throw it regardless of where I’m pitching. I could be pitching on the moon, and I’m still going to throw curveballs.” – Austin Gomber

The first introduction of starting pitcher Austin Gomber turned up a memorable line by the top player acquired in the Arenado trade.

A fly ball pitcher throwing curveballs at altitude seems like a basic recipe for disaster, but Gomber was aware of his strengths more than anyone else.

After seeing his success over an eight-game stretch from May 4 to June 19 – 2.19 ERA, 52 K and 4 BB – the southpaw has earned the right to have such confidence. Even in outer space.