The wildest pitches in Colorado Rockies history

Our colleagues at our sister site, Motor City Bengals, recently looked at the wildest pitches in Detroit Tigers history after left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto dealt a pitch that made the top five list of the wildest in the Statcast era (2015 to the present) so we decided to look at the wildest pitches in Colorado Rockies history in the Statcast era.

You can check out some of the wildest pitches (or nearly every pitch, in general) thrown since 2015 (with all pitches from 2018 onwards available) here on the Baseball Savant website.

And we start with a guy that might not be surprising to Rockies fans.

Bryan Shaw: 4.05 feet to the left of home plate (from center field view)

What a way to start off your career as a Rockie! This was the very first pitch that Bryan Shaw threw at Coors Field as a member of the Rockies.

It was a foreboding sign of how he would be at Coors Field and with the Colorado Rockies, in general.

But now, he’s back with Cleveland in their bullpen and pitching well for them yet again so maybe it was a Coors thing?

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Tyler Matzek: 4.09 feet to the right of home plate

There’s no video available on this one since it was all the way back on May 6, 2015, but it was not a good day for Tyler Matzek.

This was at the end of his “yips” period and it was at the end of his “yips” period because this pitch was in the final full inning of his final game with the Rockies.

Since the pitch was to the right of home plate (from center field) and the pitch was against former Diamondbacks first baseman and Rockies killer Paul Goldschmidt, the pitch was well behind Goldschmidt in the right-handed hitter’s batters box.

Matzek was pulled before retiring a batter in the third inning after he allowed four runs and walked six in two innings.

It was the second game of a double-header and the Rockies lost both games and manager Walt Weiss was ejected from the second game for arguing balls and strikes so it was not a good day in general for the Rockies.

Peter Lambert on June 16, 2019: 8.77 feet above the zone

Maybe Peter Lambert was distracted by Coors Field flooding at the time?

Whether he was or not, who knows but this is the pitch that is furthest off the plate for the Rockies in the Statcast era. Not exactly a title you want to have but Lambert has it nonetheless.

Peter Lambert: 3.21 feet below the strike zone

A few months later, Peter Lambert had the lowest pitch that Rockies have ever had, at least in the Statcast era. A nearly twelve-foot contrast in pitches is quite an accomplishment.

Lambert wasn’t that wild in 2019 (3.4 walks per nine innings) but he did struggle during his rookie campaign (7.25 ERA in 19 starts) and he has been out with Tommy John surgery since the end of the 2019 season.