The 100 Greatest Colorado Rockies: 65 Jason Marquis

Imagine if the Colorado Rockies had Jason Marquis in 2010. Could they have avoided a September slump and made the playoffs two years in a row for the first time in club history? We will never know but it seems like a shame to only have him pitch for the Rockies for one year.

Jason Marquis was a well established veteran by the time he reached the Rockies. He debuted with the Atlanta Braves and  played on the 2006 World Series Champion Cardinals team. He then signed with the Cubs for the 2007-2008 seasons. That was the launching pad to Marquis’ career with the Rockies.

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He was traded to the Rockies in the 2008 offseason for relief pitcher Luis Vizcaino. Working with former pitching coach Bob Apodaca helped Marquis enjoy a resurgence of sorts. He changed his delivery and started relying on his sinker more. The result gave Marquis more ground balls. Marquis is one of the reasons the Rockies were able to stay afloat after an abysmal start to the 2009 season.

He tied the team record for most wins before the All-Star break at eleven joining Shawn Chacon in 2003 and Aaron Cook in 2008. They all made the All-Star game in those respective years. Marquis joined Brad Hawpe for the 2009 All-Star game. Marquis warmed up in the bullpen but never got into the game.

After the break, he had his struggles only winning four more games but he finished the season with a 15-13 with a 4.04 ERA. Maybe the most impressive stat was his 216 innings pitched. Anything over 200 innings for a Rockies pitcher is rarified air. His WAR was the best of his career at 3.5.

When the Rockies made the playoffs in 2009, Marquis had been on a team that went to the playoffs every year for the last 10 seasons. Both Hawpe and Marquis were used sparingly in the NLDS against the Phillies. Marquis only pitched one inning and it might have signaled the end of his time in Colorado.

The Rockies offered Marquis arbitration with a one-year deal, but he declined and signed a 2-year, $15 million deal with the Nationals. After that he bounced around to the Diamondbacks, Twins, Padres, Phillies and finally the Reds in 2015.

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It hard to think about what could of been with Marquis. The 2009 season seems like a lifetime ago. The only way the Rockies will get back there is if someone emulates Marquis who had one of the best pitching seasons in Rockies’ history.