Colorado Rockies: The best player to wear each number (#21-#30)

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DENVER, CO – AUGUST 17: Colorado Rockies second baseman Eric Young leaps for a short pop fly to shallow centerfield from New York Mets player Luis Lopez as rightfielder Larry Walker (rear) looks on during their game 17 August at Coors Field in Denver, CO. Young was shaken up on the play as Lopez got a double. (Photo credit should read DOUG COLLIER/AFP via Getty Images) /

76 different numbers have been worn by players in Colorado Rockies history and we are determining which player was the best to wear each and every one of them.

As the calendar turns to May, we continue our series on the top Colorado Rockies players to wear each number. You can check out our choices from #0 through #10 here and #11 through #20 here.

There were a few very close battles in those two installments but not so much in this one. However, in my opinion, this list has the most talent of all of the installments thus far.

We are considering their time wearing that number only and also, to make sure there are no discrepancies in uniform numbers (like there was earlier in the series but we had photographic proof), we are consulting both Baseball-Reference and Baseball Almanac.

Let’s take a look.

Number 21- Young Sr.

Eric Young Sr. was the first Colorado Rockies player to ever wear the number 21 and he is still the best Rockies player to ever wear it.

In parts of five seasons as a Rockie, he hit .295/.378/.412 with an OPS+ of 92 and a WAR of 9.5.

The only other player that has worn the number for more than two seasons is Choo Freeman so this one was pretty obvious. Kyle Freeland currently wears #21 so he could give Young a run for his money if he can put together another season or two as he did in 2018 for the Rockies but, currently, Young has a stronghold on it.

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 19: Walt Weiss #22 of the Colorado Rockies rubs his forehead after making a pitching change in the 10th inning of a game against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field on August 19, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Number 22- Weiss

Walt Weiss and Young were double-play partners from 1994-1997 and when Weiss became the Rockies manager, Young was also on his coaching staff. Now, they are both on Brian Snitker‘s coaching staff in Atlanta.

In his playing career as a Rockie, Weiss hit .266/.375/.347 with an OPS+ of 77 and a WAR of 3.8.

Terry Shumpert wore #22 for four of the five seasons that he was a Rockie but he did not play as well as Weiss did in his tenure so Weiss was the easy choice.

Number 23- Johnson

Charles Johnson only played two seasons with the Rockies and while two others wore the uniform for a longer tenure, Johnson was the best.

In his two seasons as a Rockie, he hit .233/.334/.443 with an OPS+ of 89 with a WAR of 2.1. However, those two seasons were good enough to get him a spot on our list for the top five catchers in Rockies history.

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 09: Dexter Fowler #24 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates in the dugout after scroing against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field on August 9, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Pirates 10-1. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Number 24- Fowler

Dexter Fowler was as a Rockie for six seasons and at least thus far, is the best player to wear #24.

He wore #24 for five of those seasons and in that time, he hit .271/.367/.427 with an OPS+ of 102. He also had a WAR of 9.8.

Ryan McMahon currently wears the numbers for the Rockies so if he spends the foreseeable future with the Rockies and reaches his full potential, in a few years, he might overtake Fowler on the list.

Number 25- Sweeney

You may be rather surprised that Mark Sweeney is the winner of this one but he is the only Rockies player to ever wear the uniform for more than 67 games (Seth Smith in 2008). The reason why that is the case is that #25 has been frequently been worn by Rockies coaches or managers.

Don Baylor wore #25 when he was the Rockies manager from 1993 through 1998 and again when he was the Rockies hitting coach in 2009 and 2010. Buddy Bell wore it during his managerial tenure and Rich Dauer and Blake Doyle wore it while they were on the Rockies coaching staff in the early 2010s.

Before Drew Butera wore the number in 2019, Smith was the last player to wear the number.

For Sweeney, as a Rockie, he was mainly a pinch-hitter but he hit .263/.358/.474 with an OPS+ of 103 and a WAR of 0.6. Now, he’s one of the Padres TV color analysts.

28 Jun 1998: Miguel Tejada #4 of the Oakland Athletics attempts to tag Ellis Burks #26 of the Colorado Rockies out during an interleague game at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Athletics 11-10. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /All /

Number 26- Burks

This was the closest battle in this installment. It was between Ellis Burks and Jeff Francis but considering that Burks had a slightly higher WAR in fewer seasons as a Rockie, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

In five seasons as a Rockie, he hit .306/.378/.579 with an OPS+ of 128 and a WAR of 12.0. Nearly two-thirds of that WAR came in the 1996 season when, in his only season as Rockies’ primary left fielder, he came in third in NL MVP voting.

Even though he was the primary left fielder for one season, it was good enough for him to get on our list for the top five Rockies left fielders of all-time.

David Dahl currently wears #26 so if he has a few more good seasons with the Rockies, he could pass Burks on this list eventually.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – AUGUST 20: Nolan Arenado #28 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates with Trevor Story #27 after Arenado’s two-run home run off of Alex Young of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning at Chase Field on August 20, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. Arenado was playing in his 1,000th MLB game. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

Number 27- Story

Garrett Atkins also wore #27 for parts of six seasons but in just four seasons, Trevor Story is the winner. Just by bWAR, Story was better in 2019 than Atkins was in all six of those seasons combined so it wasn’t particularly close.

In four seasons, he has hit .276/.341/.537 with an OPS+ of 113. He has also accumulated 40 DRS and a WAR of 18.6. In the last two seasons, he has been an All-Star and won a Silver Slugger Award in both seasons and he came in 8th and 12th in NL MVP voting.

Number 28- Arenado

By total WAR, Aaron Cook is the second-best pitcher in Rockies history but he is no match for the player that, if he plays out his entire contract in a Rockies uniform and stays as healthy as he has been before, will be the best player to ever wear a Rockies uniform.

If you’re reading this, you likely know how good Nolan Arenado is but in case you don’t know, in seven seasons, he was won seven Gold Glove Awards, five All-Star appearances, four Silver Slugger Awards, led the NL in homers three times, RBI twice, and come in 8th place or higher in NL MVP voting in each of the last five seasons.

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 7: Jorge De La Rosa #29 of the Colorado Rockies delivers against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on September 7, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. Colorado Rockies defeat the San Francisco Giants 6-5. (Photo by Bart Young/Getty Images) /

Number 29- De La Rosa

Jorge De La Rosa spent nine seasons as a Rockie and he wore #29 for each and every one of those seasons.

He pitched to an 86-61 record with an ERA of 4.35 with an ERA+ of 105 in 209 games (200 starts). He also accumulated 15.5 WAR in his Rockies career, which is good enough for third-best in the Rockies history.

Bryan Shaw and Gary Bennett are the only players to wear #29 in multiple seasons so this was an easy one.

Number 30- Ritz

Kevin Ritz and Justin Speier are the only players to wear the number for multiple seasons so this was another fairly easy one.

Ritz was one of the Rockies’ main starting pitchers from 1994 through 1998 and during that span, he pitched to a 39-38 record with an ERA of 5.20 (100 ERA+) and a WAR of 7.3.

dark. Next. The top 10 Rockies killers of the past decade

Stay tuned as soon, we will continue on with our list with #31-#40.

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