Colorado Rockies Countdown: Top Five Left Fielders

2.  Matt Holliday (2004-2008, fWAR 20.2)

Drafted in the seventh-round of the amateur draft, Matt Holliday started his career with Colorado in 1998. Making his debut in 2004, Holliday made an immediate and significant impact on the Rockies organization. In only his third year with the club, Matt served as the catalyst for the Rockies only World Series team. As a result, Holliday will always have a placeholder in Rockies history. The Stillwater, OK native ranks second all-time in batting average for a Rockie at a .319 average.

Spending only five seasons in Denver, Holliday pulled in a lot of hardware in a short time. Holliday represented the Rockies on three separate occasions at the All-Star Game while winning three Silver Sluggers and finishing second in one of the tightest MVP races since the early 1990s. The Rockies ’07 World Series season would be Holliday’s greatest individually in Colorado.

Holliday led the National League in hits (216), doubles (50), RBIs (137), total bases (386) and average (.340) while also managing to lead all of baseball in forearm size. Matt would ultimately lose out to Jimmy Rollins in the MVP race in 2007, but would be greeted in Colorado as the people’s MVP. As consolation, Holliday did earn the National League Championship Series MVP as the Rockies swept their way through Rollins’ Phillies and Arizona on the way to the franchise’s first ever World Series.

Holliday’s greatest individual moment in Rockies fans eyes has to be the role he played in the one-game playoff against San Diego at the end of 2007. Holliday had two hits in six at-bats that game while driving in two and launching a triple in the bottom of the 13th inning.

Holliday had a defensive blunder earlier in the game which gave San Diego the lead late and appeared to blow the game. Holliday would make up for his blunder by scoring on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of 13th to send Colorado to its first postseason since 1995. Whether Holliday actually touched the plate to score that final run… well, it just depends on who you ask.

Now in his age 36 season Holliday has spent the last eight seasons in St. Louis. Over his 13-year career Holliday has a career .303 average, 293 home runs, and 447 doubles. Holliday has made the All-Star Game seven times. Holliday’s 2007 season stills stands as the best of his career.

Colorado failed to sign Holliday to an extension after the 2008 campaign. Opting for a better deal on free agent market, Colorado had no choice but to ship Holliday out of town before the 2009 season in order to get a return. What was that return? Well… Just say it worked out alright.

Next: The G.O.A.T