Colorado Rockies: The 10 best players in franchise history

We continue with our list of the Top 50 Colorado Rockies of All-Time today with Numbers 10-1.

Welcome back for the final time, to my top-50 All-Time Colorado Rockies list. This, like my top-10 best lineups, will be highly subjective as I reiterate this is my list.

I only looked at each player’s Rockies career, so even though some players may have had good careers before arriving/after leaving LoDo, only those that excelled while in purple and black were considered. For example, although Bret Saberhagen had a great career, his stint in purple and black was very short so as a result, he will not be making an appearance on this list.

This is the fifth and final installment as we count down to the best Colorado Rockie of all-time. All stats are per Baseball-Reference.com. I leaned heavily on Rockies career WAR, dWAR, and OPS+/ERA+. The biggest factor, though, 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.

You can view:

20-11 here.

30-21 here.

40-31 here.

50-41 here.

9. Charlie Blackmon (Rockies Career WAR 17.1)

This is one that people might argue should be higher. But he and DJ being next to each other are to perfect. Not to mention, I believe, you will not be angry at the remainder of my list, because you know, the Internet is nice.

But to the reason for his placement, he’s the best. That’s it, thanks for coming. Obviously I jest, you really think I won’t take the chance to espouse the greatness of Chuck Nazty? The man has never had less than a 102 OPS+ in a full season, ever. He has never hit below .287 in a full season, and only his rookie year when he was beset by injuries in 98 AB’s did he hit below this line. His 2017 showed how he was above us mere mortals.

He slashed .331/.399/.601 from the leadoff spot. He added 37 HR, 104 RBI (MLB Record for leadoff hitters), 14 triples, 35 doubles, 213 hits, and the list goes on. He led the entire league in Total Bases, Triples, Hits, Runs, and Plate Appearances. He won the Silver Slugger, NL Batting Title, finished 5th in MVP voting, and made an All-Star appearance. Again, this was ONE season as a leadoff hitter.

He has a total of 4 All-Star appearances, 2 Silver Sluggers, and that batting title with another 5 years left on his contract. He has the chance to top this list before he is done as long as he stays healthy and a Rockie for life.

This is also why I laugh at those saying the Rockies don’t have a DH. They do, and he usually resides at the top of the lineup. The same place the next one on the list occupied in his first year at a Mile High, that was until they found out just how many bombs rested in his bat.

8. Vinny Castilla (Rockies Career WAR 17.5)

This is the second-to-last Blake Street Bomber on this list (I am sure you can figure out who the last one is). Regardless of the time spent in Atlanta and other stops, he is forever a Rockie. I chose that picture specifically to show that what Vinny has meant to this organization goes FAR beyond what he did on the field.

But what he did on the field, more than justifies him being 8th on this list. In his Rockies career, he hit below .275 only once, his sophomore campaign. He only made the All-Star game twice but was in the top-25 of MVP voting 4 times.

His best year came in 1998 where he slashed .319/.362/.589 adding 46 home runs and 144 RBI while striking out only 89 times. He was another of those power hitters with patience that made up so many mid-90’s lineups in LoDo. He struck out over 100 times only three times in 16 seasons. Today, people would be claiming I made those numbers up.

7. Ubaldo Jimenez (Rockies Career Pitching WAR: 18.9)

I can already hear some screaming:  “He only spent 4 full seasons in Colorado, how can he be the best?” Simple, the Rockies pitching history is horrible.

But that’s the lazy reason, the real reason is that in those 4 short seasons he racked up a higher pitching WAR than the 14th player on this list Aaron Cook who spent 10 years in Denver (Cook had 17.1 Pitching WAR). His otherworldly 2010 single-handedly changed the perspective that you cannot pitch in Coors Field. That year he had a record of 19-8, a 2.88 ERA (2nd-lowest in Rockies history to Kyle Freeland’s 2.85 in 2018), and 214 strikeouts in 221.2 IP for an ERA+ of 161 (7.5 WAR).

He started the All-Star game that year, finished 3rd in Cy-Young (biggest snub in history), and 23rd in MVP voting. Watching his effective wildness (he lead the NL in wild pitches in 2010 with 16 and win percentage at 70.4 percent) and the unease of batters terrified of where that 100+ MPH fastball would land was beyond fun to watch. It was also the bright spot in an otherwise forgettable 2010 for the Rox.

6. Matt Holliday (Rockies Career WAR 18.5)

Let go ahead and get it out of the way. He DID touch home, you Padres homers can go find an echo chamber, it’s not here.

Now on to the next argument, yes like the last player on the list, he only spent a short 4 full-seasons in Colorado. In those 4 seasons though, he racked up more WAR than just 6 other players in Rockies history. From his rookie season of 2004, up until his return in 2018 as a power bench option, no one can deny the skill this man displayed on the field. His career slash line of .299/.379/.510 and 316 HR’s speak to his borderline HOF resume. Yes, I will die on that hill.

If it wasn’t for getting Carlos Gonzalez back in the trade that sent him to Oakland I don’t know if I would have forgiven them for that. His best season as a Rockie came in the best season of Rockies history, 2007. That year he slashed .340/.405/.607 with 36 HRs and 137 RBI for an OPS+ of 151 and 6 WAR (career-high). He led the NL in batting average, total bases (386), RBI, doubles, and hits.

He finished 2nd in MVP voting (yet another travesty of biased voting), started in the All-Star game, and won a Silver Slugger. He went to a total of 3 All-Star games, won 3 Silver Sluggers, finished 5th in Rookie-of-the-Year voting, and was in the top-15 of MVP voting 4 times.

5. Carlos Gonzalez(Rockies Career WAR 23.7)

If you can somehow disagree with the placement, I know there’s one thing we can all agree on: CarGo has the sweetest swing any of us have seen since Ken Griffey, Jr.

He made everything on the baseball field look effortless, and lit up the park with his smile the entire time. Nobody but maybe Gerardo Parra has more fun playing the game than Carlos. His stats back up the eye test, 4 straight seasons of 20/20 play is a testament to that (the record is 7 set by Bobby Bonds ’69-’75 and tied by Bobby Abreu ’99-’05). His resume included 3 All-Star starts, 3 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Sluggers, and a top-3 MVP finish.

His best year is actually not one of those All-Star campaigns: 2010. That season he slashed .336/.376/.598 with 34 home runs, 117 RBI, an OPS+ of 143, and WAR of 5.9. This is when he finished 3rd in MVP voting, won a GG and SS, but yet again, did not make the NL All-Star team.

4. Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies Career WAR 39.5)

If you played shortstop in Colorado and didn’t do a jump-throw yelling “TULO” every chance you got,  you weren’t doing it right. The chants of “TULO” still echo in Coors Field. Although Trevor Story has done his best to quiet those echoes, the stamp Troy left on the organization is eternal. The relationship with Bridich might be irreparable, but that just puts him in the same boat as many fans.

Picking the best season for Tulo is like picking your best child. It’s almost impossible, but for me, it’s his 2010 campaign. This season saw him slash .315/.381/.568 with 27 HR’s, 95 RBI for an OPS+ of 138, and WAR of 6.7 in only 122 games. He started in the All-Star Game and won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger at shortstop while finishing 5th in MVP voting.

Tulo idolized Jeter but emulated A-Rod. As with most of the players high on this list, injuries and front office issues hindered him from leading this list. Tulo has never had an OPS+ lower than 100 in any season he played more than 100 games but one. Now we move from the best SS to the best OF in Rockies history.

3. Larry Walker (Rockies Career WAR 48.3)

This might not be the number 1 player on my list, but he is the number 1 player in my heart. This man single-handedly made me unconditionally love the sport of baseball. This man is the reason I sit here writing this for your consumption. So please, send him your thanks.

We all know what his best season was in 1997: the only MVP season in Rockies history. This year saw him slash .366/.452/.720 with 49 HRs, 130 RBI for an OPS+ of 178, and WAR of 9.8.  He led MLB in slugging percentage, OPS (1.172), and total bases (409). He led the NL in homers and OBP.

He started in the NL All-Star Game and in addition to winning the MVP, he won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. The true Triple-Crown in my opinion. He is still the Rockies All-Time leader in batting average, OBP, slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+. All this and I still haven’t mentioned the fact he is the only Rockie in the Hall of Fame. All of these testaments to greatness is why I wore 33 growing up, played RF, and even tried to teach myself how to bat left-handed (Thank God this was before the era of cell-phones, let alone smart-phones).

2. Nolan Arenado(Rockies Career WAR 39.5)

Nolan being Nolan, that’s what this photo portrays. Nolan does what he wants on the field. He not only has the ability to be the best Rockie of All-Time but the best third-baseman and possibly overall player ever.

He has been the starting 3B on the NL All-Star team for 5 consecutive years. he has won a Gold Glove at 3B in the NL every year he has been in the league (7 consecutive years, the record is 9 by Mike Schmidt from ’76-’84). But even the great Mike Schmidt didn’t win his first GG until his 5th season, Nolan already had 5 by his 5th. The record for most Gold Glove’s also belongs to Schmidt with 10, which means Nolan should obliterate that record. He’s also a true iron man, as he already has played more games in a Rockies uniform than just 6 other players.

I haven’t even gotten to his offensive prowess, where he is no slouch. Having 5 consecutive years of 37+ HR/110+ RBI. His batting average has not dropped below .289 since his rookie season. His best year came in 2016 when he led the NL in Total Bases (352), RBI (133), HR (41), and games played (160). He slashed .294/.362/.570 for an OPS+ of 129 and WAR of 5.9. He also had an All-Star Game start at third, his 4th consecutive Gold Glove, and 2nd of 4 consecutive Silver Slugger awards.

The only argument that can be made as he should just be put at 1, but I think you may change that once you see who is numero uno.

1. Todd Helton (Rockies Career WAR 61.8)

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The Toddfather is the G.O.A.T. for the Colorado Rockies, hands down. There is no debate.

Why you may ask? He is still the Rockies career leader in

• Games Played (2247)
• At-Bats (7962)
• Plate Appearances (9453)
• Runs Scored (1401)
• Hits (2519)
• Total Bases (4292)
• Doubles (592)
• Home Runs (369)
• RBI(1406)
• Walks (1335)
• Singles(1521)
• Runs Created (1848)
• Extra Base Hits (998)
• Intentional Walks (185)

And the list goes on. He also holds the record for seasons played with 17 to match the jersey. The release of joy we all got to enjoy when the Rockies clinched the NL Pennant in 2007 will be the most iconic image in Rockies history until they finally win a World Series.

Nobody personified a Mile-High ballplayer as Todd did. His best season came in 2000 when he led the MLB in Total Bases (409), OPS (1.162), Slugging (.698), OBP(.463), batting average( .372), RBI (147), Doubles (59), and the NL in hits with 216. He was the HR title away from the Triple-Crown, had he juiced like the majority of the ones above him on the leader-boards that year, he probably would have.

But then we wouldn’t have the untainted greatness that is the Toddfather. A resume that includes all the above plus 5 NL All-Star games, 3 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Sluggers, and 6 top-15 MVP finishes. Not to let the writers off the hook, his 2nd place finish to Kerry Wood in the ROY voting for 1998 is yet another travesty of their unwarranted Coors Field bias.

Well, that’s it, folks, that’s my list. Please feel free to lambast me in the comments or any of my social media. I would love to debate about how you are wrong. Only kidding, maybe. In all seriousness, thank you all that stuck with me and made it to the end. I truly hope I made it worth the wait. I know I have had a blast putting this list together, and I look forward to all the future lists I make for you to hate.