Colorado Rockies: The 5 best free agent signings in franchise history

Larry Walker
Signed in 1995

As good as Galarraga was for the Rockies and as much as his free agent signing set the bar for the future, when Colorado inked Larry Walker prior to the 1995 season, it would become the biggest and best free agent signing in franchise history.

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After six seasons with the Montreal Expos, Walker was inked to a four-year, $22.5 million contract that would bring him to the Mile High City. He stayed with Colorado for 10 seasons, earning four All-Star Game berths, seven Gold Gloves, three batting titles and the 1997 Most Valuable Player award. In that magical 1997 season, he posted a .366/.452/.720 slash line with a ridiculous 1.172 OPS.

Walker’s time in Denver came to a disappointing end, however, when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in August of 2004. After missing much of the season because of a groin strain, Walker was sent to St. Louis for three players who never made an impact with the Rockies.

His 258 homers with Colorado rank second all-time and his 126 stolen bases rank third, proving just what kind of double threat he was in his prime. Hopefully, those numbers will help him become the first-ever Colorado Rockies player voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.