Rox Pile
Fansided

Colorado Rockies: A look at All-Star snubs throughout their history

By Noah Yingling

DENVER, CO - JUNE 19: Adam Ottavino #0 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the New York Mets in the seventh inning of a game at Coors Field on June 19, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JUNE 19: Adam Ottavino #0 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the New York Mets in the seventh inning of a game at Coors Field on June 19, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
11 of 18
Next
5 Apr 2001: Jeff Cirillo #7 of the Colorado Rockies swings at the pitch during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Cardinals 11-2.Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr/Allsport
5 Apr 2001: Jeff Cirillo #7 of the Colorado Rockies swings at the pitch during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Cardinals 11-2.Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr/Allsport /

Even though it was not a great year for the Rockies in 2001 (73-89), they did have three All-Stars, including Larry Walker, who was the DH for Mets manager Bobby Valentine and his NL squad, who were facing the AL at Seattle’s Safeco Field. The other two Rockies were Todd Helton and Mike Hampton, who had a good first half but an atrocious second half (7.46 ERA in 14 starts after the break).

The only other player that the Rockies had that perhaps, was All-Star worthy, was third baseman Jeff Cirillo. His slash line and sOPS+ are the stats in particular that show that he may have been snubbed.

Cirillo’s First Half
Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+
1st Half 69 293 266 34 82 14 11 47 17 31 .308 .356 .492 .849 .311 102 121

2002

The 2002 Rockies started off their season with a 6-16 record and as a result, fired manager Buddy Bell and replaced him with hitting coach Clint Hurdle. Hurdle would go 67-73 with the Rockies finishing their second consecutive season with 73 wins.

However, in 2001, the Rockies only had one All-Star in first baseman Todd Helton, who started for D’backs manager Bob Brenly and the NL in Milwaukee’s Miller Park.

However, Helton’s teammate, Larry Walker was an obvious snub for the All-Star game. Just look at his stats for the first half.

First or Second Half
Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+
1st Half 77 317 274 62 96 19 20 67 35 37 .350 .429 .653 1.082 .345 110 187

And if you look at his month by month stats, June and July were great months for him…and it’s the months in which most of the voting happens and the decision making.

Months
Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+
April/March 21 79 71 12 19 3 5 15 7 14 .268 .342 .521 .863 .269 68 130
May 27 116 97 21 33 6 5 22 17 12 .340 .440 .577 1.017 .346 100 174
June 23 97 83 22 34 7 7 21 10 9 .410 .474 .771 1.245 .391 141 228
July 24 101 89 18 39 12 5 17 11 16 .438 .505 .742 1.247 .500 143 224

Another Rockie that could have been considered was Jose Jimenez (3.30 ERA, 24 saves) but with the way stats were viewed at the time (essentially, wins, losses, and ERA) and his record was 2-5, it’s part of the reason why he did not make it.

Home/Colorado Rockies History