The 100 Greatest Colorado Rockies: 55 Gabe White

We continue our look at the top 100 Colorado Rockies of all time in this article. Here, we look at No. 55 on our list, Gabe White.

Gabe White could have been the best reliever in Rockies history and still be remembered for only one thing. On October 6, 2001, White surrendered Tony Gwynn’s 3,141 hit, the last of his career. By no means though should that hit define the entire story of White’s career. Especially in his first year in a Rockies uniform.

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The Colorado Rockies sure made it a habit when the franchise was born to pick up former Montreal Expos. Gabe White was no exception, debuting with the team in 1994. The reliever never logged more than 30 innings in each of his two seasons with the Expos though and was traded to Cincinnati in 1997.

In 1998 White pitched nearly 100 innings but other than that his career in Cincy was pretty standard. It wasn’t until 2000 where White became a completely different pitcher. White started that season with the Reds but he only pitched in one game for one inning. His ERA was 18.00 after giving up two runs.

That didn’t stop White though when he moved to Colorado. After going 1-2 in 84 innings in 1999 with the Reds, he went 11-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 2000, his first season with the Rockies. White got better at Coors Field for whatever reason and earned a massive 4.5 WAR that season.

Unfortunately White couldn’t replicate that performance the next season in 2001 where he went 1-7 with a 6.25 ERA for a -.3 WAR. He was sent back to Cincinnati the next season. His last full season in the majors came with the Reds, the club he spent most of career with in 2004. He pitched only eight innings with Cardinals in 2005 to end his career.

Next: Could This Young Pitcher Crack Colorado's Rotation?

White may be the Rockies Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but his season of excellent relief in Colorado is reason enough to remember him for more than just relinquishing Tony Gwynn‘s last career hit.