Colorado Rockies: The best Rockies to wear each uniform number (#31-#40)

We continue our series on the best Colorado Rockies players to wear each and every uniform number with numbers 31-40.

Since the Colorado Rockies first started playing games in 1993 and since then, Rockies players have worn 76 different uniform numbers. Today, we will go through the numbers 31-40.

For this installment, we consulted three different sources because two of the sources had anomalies: Baseball-Reference, Baseball Almanac, and the Rockies media guide. More on the anomalies in a moment. We are also only considering the time that the player wore that specific uniform number.

Included in this installment will be a number that is retired by the Rockies and a few battles for the best player to wear the uniform. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Number 31- Roger Bailey

Here’s where the anomaly was between Baseball-Reference and Baseball Almanac. Baseball-Reference says Roger Bailey wore #38 in 1995 and 1996 but he wore #31 from 1995-1997 (if a player has multiple tenures on the team, it just has the first and last year they wore it). Baseball Almanac says he wore #38 in 1995 and 1996 and #31 only in 1997.

However, the Rockies media guide says that he wore it in 1995 and 1997 so that is what we are going with on this list. The likely reason for the anomalies is that Bret Saberhagen wore the number in 1995 but he was acquired in late July. Bailey wore the number until Saberhagen was acquired. Saberhagen had the number in 1996 when he was injured for the entire season and once he left via free agency, Bailey reclaimed the number in 1997.

With Saberhagen being acquired on July 31, Bailey only wore the number from April to July in 1995. In that span, he pitched to a 3-4 record with an ERA of 4.81 exclusively out of the bullpen, which was better than his 4.98 ERA (108 ERA+) for the season. He also made some spot starts in August and September.

Once he reclaimed the number in 1997, he pitched to a 9-10 record with an ERA of 4.29 (121 ERA+) in 29 starts with a bWAR of 3.7.

Number 32- Jason Jennings

This was a really close battle between Tyler Chatwood and Jason Jennings but the winner is Jennings. Chatwood wore 32 from 2012-2013 and again in 2016-2017 (LaTroy Hawkins wore it from 2014 through 2015). However, Chatwood only made four starts in 2014 before getting Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2015 season.

In the four seasons that he wore the number, he pitched to a 9.5 bWAR (excluding his hitting) with a 33-35 record and an ERA of 4.17 (114 ERA+).

Jennings, on the other hand, pitched to a 54-55 record with an ERA of 4.75 (103 ERA+) and a bWAR of 10.1 in the five seasons that he wore number 32. The main thing that made me personally put Jennings ahead of Chatwood is that he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2002 and Chatwood did not get any accolades but either way you go, it’s really close.

Number 33- Larry Walker

No shocker on this one. Considering that only Chris Jones and Justin Morneau were the only guys who wore the number, Walker didn’t have much competition but considering that he is going into the Hall of Fame as a Rockie, it wasn’t a competition.

In 10 seasons as a Rockie, he hit .334/.426/.618 with an OPS+ of 148. He was an All-Star four times, six NL MVP rankings including his 1997 win, five Gold Glove wins, and two NL Silver Slugger Award wins. In those 10 seasons, he also amassed a bWAR of 48.3.

Number 36- Gabe White

Number 36 hasn’t been worn by a ton of players since pitching coaches Larry Bearnarth, Bob Apodaca, and Steve Foster wore the number from 1993-1995, 2003-12, and 2017-present.

Ironically, for players, Tommy Field is the only position player to wear the number as he wore it for two plate appearances in 2012. For the pitchers, the best one to wear number 36 is Gabe White.

White spent part of two seasons as a Rockie (2000-2001). The Rockies acquired him just a few days after Opening Day in 2000 and his 2000 season is why he won. In 68 games out of the bullpen, he went 11-2 with an ERA of 2.36 with an ERA+ of 247, a WHIP of 0.940, and a pitching bWAR of 4.5.

He regressed a lot in 2001, though, as he pitched to a 1-7 record and a 6.25 ERA in 69 games.

Number 37- Joe Kennedy

Joe Kennedy spent part of two seasons as a Rockie (2004-2005) and in 2005, he was the Rockies Opening Day starter.

In the 1.5 seasons as a Rockie, he pitched to a 3.9 bWAR. He pitched to a 5.6 bWAR in 2004 so obviously, he regressed a lot in 2005. The Rockies traded him to Oakland in July along with Jay Witasick for Eric Byrnes and Omar Quintanilla.

Just over two years after the Rockies traded him to Oakland, he died at the age of 28 due to hypertensive heart disease due to a degenerative mitral valve.

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Number 38- Ubaldo Jimenez

No battle here. Ubaldo Jimenez is, arguably, the best pitcher in Colorado Rockies history. While he was a Rockie, he pitched to a 56-45 record with an ERA of 3.66 (128 ERA+) and he pitched to a WAR of 18.9 in six seasons.

The best season of those six was 2010 when he pitched to a 19-8 record with an ERA of 2.88. He was an All-Star as he was the starter for the NL, came in third in NL Cy Young voting, and 23rd in NL MVP voting.

Number 39- Steve Reed

There’s a debate on whether Jimenez is the best pitcher in Rockies history but for the best reliever in Rockies history, there isn’t much debate: it’s Steve Reed.

In parts of six seasons as a Rockie (1993-97, 2003-04), he wore number 39 for all of those seasons and he pitched to a 33-29 record with an ERA of 3.63 (140 ERA+) and he pitched to a bWAR of 11.8.

Number 40- Brian Fuentes

Darren Holmes was also a good candidate for this but considering that Brian Fuentes is probably the second-best reliever in Rockies’ history after Steve Reed, he gets the nod.

Fuentes wore number 40 for six of his seven seasons as a Rockie and in those six seasons, he pitched to a 3.28 ERA in 397 games with an ERA+ of 148. He was an All-Star in three of those six seasons as well.

Stay tuned as we will soon continue on with this series with the installment of numbers 41-50.