2007 Colorado Rockies: Rocktober

2007 Colorado Rockies: Rocktober

2007 Colorado Rockies: Rocktober

Ever since becoming a Major League Baseball franchise in 1993, the Colorado Rockies had long been seen as afterthoughts aside from the days of the Blake Street Bombers. Many seasons had come and gone with the end result being less than stellar. The Rockies had previously never made a deep postseason run, but 2007 was that special year where the narrative changed for the better. The Rockies went 88-73 through the original 162-game regular season, finishing 1 game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League West division.

Left fielder Matt Holliday batted .340 with 36 home runs and 137 RBI’s off 216 hits, 50 doubles, 6 triples and 11 stolen bases. First baseman Todd Helton batted .320 with 17 home runs and 91 RBI’s off 178 hits and 42 doubles. Center fielder Willy Taveras batted .320 with 119 hits and 33 stolen bases I 97 games. Third baseman Garrett Atkins batted .301 with 25 home runs and 111 RBI’s off 182 hits and 35 doubles. Shortstop Troy Tulowitski batted .291 with 24 home runs and 99 RBI’s off 177 hits, 33 doubles and 5 triples.

Right fielder Brad Hawpe batted .291 with 29 home runs and 116 RBI’s off 150 hits, 33 doubles and 4 triples. Second baseman Kazuo Matsui batted .288 with 118 hits, 24 doubles and 32 stolen bases. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba had 8 home runs, 101 hits and 22 doubles. Reserve center fielder Ryan Spilborghs batted .299 with 11 home runs, 79 hits and 14 doubles in 97 games.

Starting pitcher Jeff Francis went 17-9 with 165 strikeouts, 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Aaron Cook went 8-7 with 2 complete games. Josh Fogg went 10-9 with 94 strikeouts. Ubaldo Jimenez went 4-4 and Roridgo Lopez went 5-4. Closer Brian Fuentes had 20 saves and a 3.08 ERA. Relief pitcher Manny Corpas went 4-2 with 19 saves and a 2.08 ERA. Jeremy Affeldt went 4-3 with a 3.51 ERA. LaTroy Hawkins had a 3.42 ERA in 62 games.

2007 marked the first year when discussion of the Humidor came into play. The Rockies had reportedly stored baseballs used in games inside a large Humidor at Coors Field to address the low humidity of Denver.

As late as September 16 the Rockies were 76-72 and their chances of making the postseason were bleak. However, the Rockies went 14-1 the rest of the way to give themselves a fighting chance.

The National League West was a true battle between as many as 4 of the 5 teams. The Rockies went 10-8 against the Diamondbacks, 12-6 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and 11-8 against the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers finished 8 games behind the Diamondbacks, but the Rockies and the Padres would finish in a tie for 2nd place, meaning a 1-game playoff would be held to determine who would get the National League Wild Card.

In the 1-game Wild Card playoff on October 1 at Coors Field, the Rockies defeated the Padres 9-8 in an amazing 13-inning marathon that lasted 4 hours and 40 minutes. In the bottom of the 1st inning Todd Helton had a sacrifice fly, and Garrett Atkins followed with an RBI single. In the bottom of the 2nd Yorvit Torrealba hit a solo home run. In the top of the 3rd San Diego got on the board in a big way when first baseman Adrian Gonzalez smoked a grand slam home run, and center fielder Brady Clark followed with an RBI ground-out.

In the bottom of the 3rd Helton hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 5th Matt Holliday had an RBI single. After Kazuo Matsui had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 6th, San Diego tied the game at 7-7 with an RBI double by right fielder Brian Giles. In the top of the 13th left fielder Scott Hairston clubbed a 2-run home run, which appeared to give San Diego the edge. However, Colorado had one last surprise in store. In the bottom of the 13th Matsui led off with a double, and then Troy Tulowitizki had an RBI double. Holliday followed with an RBI triple, and then pinch hitting utility player Jamey Carroll had a sacrifice fly to score Holliday and send the Rockies to the postseason.

With “Rocktober” officially in effect, the Rockies took on the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series, and convincingly swept the Phillies 3 games to none. In Game 1 on October 3 at Citizens Bank Park, the Rockies won 4-2. Atkins had an RBI double in the top of the 2nd, Torrealba followed with an RBI single, and Tulowitski drew a bases loaded walk to score Ryan Spilborghs. In the bottom of the 5th center fielder Aaron Rowand and left fielder Pat Burrell hit back-to-back solo home runs to give the Phillies some help, but it wouldn’t be enough as Holliday hit a solo home run in the top of the 8th to give the Rockies enough cushion.

In Game 2 on October 4 the Rockies beat the Phillies 10-5. Tulowitski and Holliday hit solo home runs in the top of the 1st inning, though Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins responded with a 2-run triple in the bottom of the 2nd. In the top of the 4th Matsui blasted a grand slam home run, and then Torrealba had a 2-run double in the top of the 6th. Matsui followed with an RBI triple and Holliday had an RBI single.

The Rockies completed the sweep by winning Game 3 on October 6 at Coors Field by the score of 2-1. Ubaldo Jimenez pitched 6.1 innings, giving up 3 hits, 4 walks and 1 run, but he recorded 5 strikeouts. Matsui had an RBI triple in the bottom of the 5th inning, and the Phillies right fielder Shane Victorino tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the 7th. In the bottom of the 8th pinch hitter Jeff Baker had an RBI single.

In the National League Championship Series, the Rockies would get the best of the team that edged them by 1 game in the National League West, the Arizona Diamondbacks, sweeping them 4 games to none. In Game 1 on October 11 at Chase Field the Rockies won 5-1. In the bottom of the 1st inning left fielder Eric Byrnes had an RBI double. In the top of the second Tulowitski grounded into a double play to score Helton. In the top of the 3rd Matsui had an RBI single, and Hawpe followed with a 2-run single. Matsui then reached on an error to score Torrealba in the top of the 7th.

In Game 2 on October 12 the Rockies won 3-2. Torrealba had an RBI single in the top of the 2nd, and in the bottom of the 3rd center fielder Chris Young had an RBI single to tie the game. Helton had a sacrifice fly in the top of the 5th, but in the bottom of the 9th Byrnes reached on an error to score Young to keep the game going. A bases loaded walk drawn by Taveras to score Spilborghs in the top of the 11th decided the game.

Returning to Coors Field for Game 3 on October 14, the Rockies won 4-1. Holliday hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 1st inning, and then third baseman Mark Reynolds hit his own solo home run in the top of the 4th to tie the game. Colorado emphatically broke the tie with one booming swing of Torrealba’s bat as he hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 6th.

The Rockies completed their sweep of the Diamondbacks with a 6-4 victory in Game 4 on October 15 to win the National League pennant. Arizona first baseman Conor Jackson had an RBI single in the top of the 3rd inning, but Colorado replied with a 2-run double by outfielder Seth Smith in the bottom of the 4th. Matsui followed with an RBI single, and then Holliday launched a 3-run home run. Catcher Chris Snyder’s 3-run home run in the top of the 8th wasn’t enough for the Diamondbacks. Matt Holliday would be named the NLCS Most Valuable Player.

The 2007 World Series marked the end of “Rocktober” for the Colorado Rockies and their fans as they would get swept by the Boston Red Sox 4 games to none. However, no one can deny that 2007 was a successful season for baseball in the Mile High City. The Rockies proved to be an outstanding defensive team as they set the single season record for the best fielding percentage with .98925. Another highlight of the year was Troy Tulowitski becoming the 13th player in MLB history to turn an unassisted triple play, which occurred in the bottom of the 7th inning against the Atlanta Braves on April 29.