The top 50 Colorado Rockies of all time: Numbers 50-41

Let’s start a look at the top 50 Colorado Rockies of all time by looking at the players who come in at numbers 50-41 on the list.

Welcome to my top 50 all-time Colorado Rockies list. This, like my article detailing the 10 best Opening Day lineups, will be highly subjective as I reiterate this is my list. I only looked at each players career with the Rockies so, even though some players may have gone on to/had a great career before arriving/after leaving LoDo, only those that excelled while in purple and black were considered. For example, Jason Giambi, despite his late-game heroics in 2007 and 2008, will not be making an appearance on this list.

This is the first installment of five as we count down to the best Colorado Rockies player of all-time. All stats are per baseball-reference.com. I leaned heavily on Rockies career WAR, dWAR and OPS+/ERA+, but the biggest factor was personal eye-test to differentiate those clustered close by numbers.

I truly enjoyed delving into the best of the team I hold closest to my heart. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did putting it together. As always, please comment below or hit me up on any of my social media accounts linked in the article to let me know what you think of my list and let me know what your list looks like.

50. Justin Morneau (Rockies career WAR 3.8)

This has more to do with brevity than talent. He only spent two of his 13 big league years in the purple pinstripes. But what a two years it was, especially in 2014 as part of the best Opening Day lineup in Rockies history.

That year was also the year that Morneau won the National League batting title (his only one), while slashing .319/.364/.496 producing a 125 OPS+ and  3.4 WAR. He’s also the best defensive first-basemen since Todd Helton retired.

49. Kazuo Matsui (Rockies career WAR 3.9)

New York thought they were getting the second coming of Ichiro when Matsui signed with the Mets in December of 2003. Although Matsui never really lived up to the hype, he had a solid career, accumulating 5.3 WAR, 3.9 of which he earned in two years a mile above sea level. He was the spark plug at the top of the line-up for the 2007 National-League Champions.

48. Juan Pierre (Rockies career WAR 4.1)

Pierre was the top-of-the-order catalyst in every lineup he graced. With all of that speed, he led the league in stolen bases three times and racked up 200 hits four times. However, he only produced an above average season per OPS+ twice. He was a pure speed player that was fun to watch run around, but produced only 18 total home runs in 14 big league seasons.

Despite the low power output, he always seemed to jolt every lineup he lead, the quintessential leadoff hitter from a bygone era.

46. Jeff Reed (Rockies career WAR 4.2)

Reed is the former 12th overall pick by the Twins in 1980 and is one of only two catchers on this list, showing the dearth of talent we have had behind the plate in the teams history.

He never truly lived up to his draft status and only spent 2.5 years of his 17-year career in Denver. But that included his career-best year in 1997 as part of the second-best lineup in Rockies history. He slashed .297/.386/.535 with 17 long balls, setting career highs in every offensive statistic, while also playing solid defense, sporting a .989 fielding percentage and a stellar 36% caught-stealing rate (league average was 32%).

45. Michael Cuddyer (Rockies career WAR 4.3)

Cuddy was so much more valuable than what the stats can convey. The way he was able to keep a clubhouse loose and having fun to play entertaining baseball is immeasurable. The fans in Denver only got to enjoy three seasons of his 15 years of play, but he was able to make some bad teams watchable, culminating in the 2013 season where he slashed .331/.389/.530 with 31 HR and 84 RBI for an OPS+ of 136 and 2.1 WAR. He also won the National League batting title and Silver Slugger as a right fielder. He never had less than 102 OPS+ while averaging six outfield assists and committing only four outfield errors total as a Rockie.

44. Matt Belisle (Rockies career WAR 5.6)

Like the last player on this list, Matt Belisle is a high-round disappointment that had his best years in purple pinstripes. He didn’t always have the lowest ERA, but was above average to All-Star level every year but two while rocking the purple.

He never pitched in less than 66 games in a full season as a Rockie. He led the league with an unreal 80 games pitched in 2012.

43. Jerry Dipoto (Rockies career WAR 5.8)

Most people today can only associate Dipoto with the photo above. What many forget is he was a fairly successful relief pitcher for eight big league seasons, four of which were spend in the Mile High City.

He was above average to All-Star level all but two years of his workman-like career. He never had less than a 110 ERA+ as a Rockie, culminating in his best year of 1998 where he had 19 saves, pitched 71.1 innings, and accumulated a 1.8 WAR.

42. Jay Payton (Rockies career WAR 4.7)

Payton is probably another player no one outside of true seamheads will remember. But he is another example of a productive short-term addition. His career year was 2002 when he slashed .302/.354/.512 with 28 HR and 89 RBI for an OPS+ of 110. He also provided above average defense, which is invaluable in the vast pastures of Coors Field. He never committed more than four errors and averaged six Outfield Assists as a Rockie.

41. Marvin Freeman (Rockies career WAR 5.8)

More from Colorado Rockies All-Time Lists

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• The 10 worst contracts in Colorado Rockies history
• Colorado Rockies: The top 5 home run hitters in franchise history
• Colorado Rockies: What are Trevor Story’s top 5 moments?
• Top 5 players to play for the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers

Freeman was a successful reliever with the Atlanta Braves before he was signed by the Rockies after the Braves released the towering righty (6-foot-7) following an injury-riddled 1993 campaign.

Despite him not starting a single game since 1990, he won a spot in the rotation out of spring training going into the 1994 season. He went on to have one of the magical one-hit-wonder seasons in Rockies history. That insane year saw him pitch to the tune of a 2.80 ERA (still a Rockies record), 10-2 record, an ERA+ of 179, and WAR of 4.5 in this strike-shortened season.

This unfortunate set of events ended a promising season for many a Rockie. However, we can’t complain too much as the strike set up the ability for the completion of our beloved Blake Street Bombers.

I will be back soon with the next installment in the list. Let me know your thoughts so far in the comments section below.