Top 5 players to play for the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates

John Vander Wal of the Colorado Rockies and the Pittsburgh Pirates — 7 Apr 1998: Infielder John Vander Wal of the Colorado Rockies in action during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies 12-10. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport

3. John Vander Wal

John Vander Wal was on the Colorado Rockies for five seasons from 1994 to 1998 and was always a bench player for the team, maxing out at 105 games in one season. The reason he makes this is he could be considered one of the forgotten Blake Street Bombers.

While Larry Walker, Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, and Andrés Galarraga dominated the headlines, John Vander Wal was quietly having one of the best seasons of his career. While his position as pinch-hitter did not garner many at-bats, Vander Wal would come in at critical moments and end the season with a .347 Batting Average and a solid 1.026 OPS off the bench.

His performance off the bench was one of many factors that helped propel the Rockies into the playoffs that fateful year. Vander Wal saw arguably his truly best season as a starter in 2000 with the Pittsburgh Pirates when he had career highs in Home Runs, Doubles, RBIs, Runs, and Steals, he batted .299 with a very respectable .972 OPS.

He spent two seasons with the Pirates and was a very productive starter for the team. Vander Wal has every reason to be a part of this list.

Top 5 players to play for the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates

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3. John Vander Wal

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