Colorado Rockies: Which jersey numbers have the strongest history?

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HOUSTON – OCTOBER 2: Infielder Vinny Castilla #9 of the Colorado Rockies throws the ball against the Houston Astros during the game on October 2, 2004 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The Rockets won 9-3. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Born as an expansion team for the 1993 season, the Colorado Rockies have pieced together quite a history in a short amount of time.

Some great players have worn a Colorado Rockies jersey during its 26 years of existence. But which number has been worn by some of the greats in franchise history? We decided to take a look at some of the best players who have worn the same number in a quest to figure out the most powerful jersey number in Rockies history.

For the sake of argument, we chose not to include the lone number of a player who played for Colorado that has been retired by the Rockies (Todd Helton’s #17).

The debate about which jersey number may be the best (but, again, not yet retired) could conceivably start and end with the number 9, which has been worn by both Vinny Castilla (1993-1999, 2004 and 2006) and DJ LeMahieu (2012-2018). Both were voted to the all-time 25-man roster as part of Colorado’s 25th anniversary celebration last season.

Also wearing the number has been Juan Pierre (2001-2002), Ian Stewart (2009-2011) and Daniel Murphy (2019). Pierre led the National League in steals in 2001 with 46 swipes while also batting .327 so there’s another plus for the number 9.

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How about the number 14, currently worn by catcher Tony Wolters? It was first dawned by the Big Cat, Andres Galarraga, during Colorado’s first season and he would wear it through the 1997 season. Castilla would wear it in 1999 and Troy Tulowitzki would wear it in his rookie season of 2006. Dexter Fowler would take it over for his rookie season in 2008 and Josh Rutledge would don it for his three seasons in Colorado (2012-2014). Wolters began wearing it in 2016.

Other players to wear number 14 include Todd Walker (2000), Greg Norton (2001-2003), Matt Anderson (2005), Sean Barker (2007), Matt Murton (2009) and Mark Ellis (2011).

In all, four players named to Colorado’s all-time 25-man roster (Galarraga, Castilla, Tulowitzki and Fowler) have worn number 14, even though all but one made their marks on Colorado history wearing another number.

How about two other numbers? Let’s take a look at the candidates…

How about the number 28? We all know that Nolan Arenado currently wears it and the rich history he has brought to the number since he first donned it in the 2013 season. But what about the players who wore it before Arenado?

Aaron Cook claimed the number from 2003-2011 and posted a 72-68 mark during his seasons in Denver. That includes a 16-9 mark during his All-Star season of 2008. He also holds the franchise record for number of games started (206) and most innings pitched (1312.1). Both he and Arenado were voted to the all-time 25-man roster last season.

Fellow pitcher Lance Painter was the first to wear the number 28 in Colorado, donning it from 1993-1996). Also wearing the number has been Bryn Smith (1993), Darnell Coles (1997), Rene Gonzalez (1997), Greg Colbrunn (1998), Terry Shumpert (1998), Lenny Harris (1999) and Mike Myers (2000-2001).

The last candidate for number greatness is the number 33. Not many players have worn the number … but those who have have made an impact.

Of course, the most associated with the number is Larry Walker, who both deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame as well as having the number 33 retired in his honor by the Rockies. Walker wore the number from 1995-2004 and you can read all about his accomplishments and reasons why he belongs in Cooperstown by clicking here.

It would be 10 seasons before anyone else wore number 33, but Justin Morneau made the number shine again while winning the National League batting title in 2014. He would wear the number again the next season and would be the last person to wear the number to current times.

But what about the player who first wore number 33 for the Rockies? Can you guess who that was? Maybe you can win a bar bet with the answer of Chris Jones, who wore it in 1993 and 1994.

Next. A history of the Rockies shortstop position. dark

So what do you think? Which is the number with the best pedigree in Rockies history? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Born as an expansion team for the 1993 season, the Colorado Rockies have pieced together quite a history in a short amount of time.

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