Colorado Rockies Countdown: Top Five Second Basemen

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Jun 1, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; General view of the sun setting behind Coors Field during the fifth inning of the game between the Cincinnati Reds against the Colorado Rockies The Reds defeated the Rockies 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

25 years of Major League baseball in the Rocky Mountains is nearly upon us. In celebration, Rox Pile is taking a journey through Colorado Rockies history and taking a look at the best players at every position. Our next stop? Second base.

In our last countdown, we featured the Rockies’ greatest first baseman, featured some of the best Rockies in club history. Moving around the diamond, second base is next up for evaluation.

Traditionally, second base is not a very sexy position … offensively speaking. For the Rockies, however, you’ll notice that the club has had a decent combination of speed and power at the position.

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That being said, to compile our rankings, we used Fangraphs‘ list for career Wins Above Replacement (fWAR), which serves as a great guideline for positional players. The fWAR statistic allows one to evaluate a player’s contribution over time with a specific team. Therefore, fWAR allows us to completely negate what a player has done in their career while not wearing the purple and black.

Also as a general rule, this list consists of players that have at least 500 plate appearances with the club. The 500 PA rule approximates to about 1.5 years of service time and gives a large enough sample size for accurate evaluation. As an added stipulation, the players on our list needed to have played a majority of their innings in the field at the position being evaluated.

Luckily, the “majority rule” doesn’t exclude any player from our list who would have been on it otherwise. Without further ado, here is Rox Pile’s list of the top five second basemen to ever sport purple pinstripes. Let us know in the comments section what you think!

Next: Show Me The Rankings!

Feb 25, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; A bat and mitt sit on the field during a Chicago White Sox workout at Camelback Ranch Practice Fields. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Todd Walker (2000-2001, fWAR 2.0)

In July of 2000, the Colorado Rockies traded Todd Sears and cash to the Minnesota Twins for Walker’s services. The LSU product responded by hitting .316 in 57 games for his new club. Walker only amassed 517 plate appearances for the Rockies, and never played a full season with the club. However, Walker made a big impact in his short stay.

Walker leads all Rockies second baseman in isolated power (.210) and average (.304). Todd is also the only Rockies second baseman to slug over .500. If we consider Fangraphs’ “weighted runs created plus” statistic, which controls for park and run environment, while also not treating all types of hits and times on base equally, Walker is the only Rockies second baseman that scores above league average.

Obviously Mr. Walker’s tenure in Colorado was short, so short in fact he only qualified for our list by 17 plate appearances, but he was perhaps the best power hitting second baseman the Rockies have ever had.

Next: This Second Baseman Has a Place in Rockies History

Apr 6, 2015; Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Jamey Carroll (2006-2007, fWAR 2.9)

Jamey Carroll was a valued utility player during his two seasons in Colorado. Carroll earned a majority of his playing time at second base while also filling in at short and third at times. During the 2006 season, Carroll led all second baseman in fielding percentage. Carroll committed only five errors in his Colorado tenure.

A 14th-round draft pick, Carroll’s home/road splits while in Colorado are dramatic. Carroll finished his Colorado career hitting .311 at home (.375 in 2006), but only hitting .232 on the road. While in Denver, Carroll also hit seven home runs and stole 16 bases. It’s clear Carroll was never going to win a batting title or a Silver Slugger, but Carroll earned his stripes on the defensive side the ball.

Carroll won the greatest game in Colorado Rockies history, and will always be admired in Denver as a result. Facing off against the San Diego Padres in a 2007 one-game playoff, Carroll came in to pinch hit for the Rockies in the bottom of the 13th inning. With one out, a man on third and a tie game, Carroll hit a shallow fly ball to right field off of future hall of famer Trevor Hoffman. Despite still not having touched the plate, Matt Holliday tagged from third and slid the Rockies head first into the playoffs.

Next: The Kazmanian Devil

Aug 7, 2015; Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Kazuo Matsui (2006-2007, fWAR 3.3)

Amid very high expectations based on a fabulous Japanese League career, Kazuo Matsui came over to the MLB in 2004 as a member of the New York Mets. During his tenure as a Met, Kaz was never able to live up to the high expectations the New York media placed on the then shortstop. Matsui didn’t help the expectations by hitting a home run on the very first pitch he saw in the Majors.

By June of the 2006 season, Matsui had warn out his New York welcome. Matsui was proving to be less than serviceable at the shortstop position and, despite a move to second base, Matsui wasn’t getting it done at the plate as he was only hitting .200 to begin the 2006 season.

Taking advantage of the “Kaz fatigue” in the Mets front office, the Rockies traded catcher Eli Marrero for Matsui’s services.

Finding himself amidst more manageable expectations, Kaz took advantage of his second chance. Playing 32 games for Colorado in 2006, Kaz hit .345. That 2006 effort earn Kaz a one-year contract with the club, and Kaz proved himself vital to the Rockies 2007 World Series run as he hit .304 in playoffs as the Rockies’ leadoff hitter.

Kaz became a fan favorite in his short time in Colorado. As one of the fast second baseman Colorado has ever had, Kaz stole 40 bases in only 136 games with Colorado. What’s more impressive is that Kaz was only caught stealing five times.

Playing multiple seasons with New York, Colorado, and eventually Houston, Matsui is currently back to playing in the his home country of Japan. For all you advance statistics nuts, Kaz leads all Rockie second baseman in BABIP (.356), and speed score (8.8, a score of 7 is considered “excellent”).

Next: This DJ Knows All of the Hits

May 14, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu (9) attempts to turn a double play in the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Coors Field. The Rockies defeated the Mets 7-4. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

2. DJ LeMahieu (2012-Present, fWAR 4.3)

DJ is the only one of two Rockies’ second baseman to make an All-Star appearance, and he is the only Colorado two bagger to win a Gold Glove.

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Originally a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs, DJ was traded to Colorado in late 2011 in exchange for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers. It obvious that Colorado came out a big-time winner in that transaction. The LeMahieu trade might be regarded as the best move by the Dan O’Dowd administration.

Making his first All-Star game in 2015, DJ finished the season with a .301 AVG and an OBP of .358. So far into 2016, DJ has excelled even further. As of this writing, DJ is hitting at a .323 and batting second in the lineup. The big difference this year, however, is that DJ is bringing power back to the position. As of this writing, DJ had slugged 18 doubles and four home runs in 2016. LeMahieu only hit 21 doubles and six homers in his All-Star 2015 campaign. DJ ranks third among NL second baseman in OPS, which attests to his newly slugging ways.

At age 27, the Rockies front office should make sure to keep the soft-spoken LeMahieu in Denver for years to come. By the time his Colorado tenure concludes, we could easily see LeMahieu at the top of this list.

Next: The G.O.A.T.

Apr 22, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies first base coach Eric Young (21) in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Eric Young (1993-1997, fWAR 9.5)

Eric Young was the club’s first second baseman and is a legend among Colorado fans. Currently, Young is the Rockies first base coach, which makes a lot of sense considering Young was one of the premier base stealers in his day. E.Y. is the Rockies franchise record holder in steals with 180.

While his blazing speed made him a fan favorite, E.Y. will always be long remembered for hammering a leadoff home run in the Rockies first franchise at-bat in Denver.

In the Rockies 1995 playoff season, E.Y. led the league in triples, and then followed it up by making the All-Star Game in 1996. That 1996 campaign would be his greatest in purple pinstripes; E.Y. led all of the Majors stolen bases that year and won the Silver Slugger award.

Next: The Top 5 Right-Handers in Colorado History

Among Rockies second baseman, E.Y. is the all-time career leader in runs (378) and RBIs (227). In his lone All-Star season, E.Y. set a Rockies record by getting 221 free passes by “taking one for team.” For all of his base running and hitting accomplishments on Blake Street, it shouldn’t be lost that E.Y. was considered a great defensive second baseman as well.

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25 years of Major League baseball in the Rocky Mountains is nearly upon us. In celebration, Rox Pile is taking a journey through Colorado Rockies history and taking a look at the best players at every position. Our next stop? Second base.

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