Top 5 players to play for the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds

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Reds fans wait in line outside Great American Ballpark just before the Opening Day game starts, Thursday, April 1, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio.Reds Opening Day In Downtown Cincinnati /

Well, here we are in the middle of yet another Colorado Rockies away series. Last night’s game was hard to watch, but at least the home runs were pretty … if you’re a Reds fan.

Great American Ballpark currently holds the distinction of being the most home run-friendly park in the majors, not Coors Field, so it might surprise you to see that this list has three pitchers on it. If you really think about it though, if it a pitcher is good at either of these ballparks, they deserve acclaim.

Let’s break down the top 5 players to wear a Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds uniform.

Total Number of Shared Players: 79

Players to play exclusively for the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds:

Jose Acevedo

Ashton Goudeau

Jeff Hoffman

Marcus Moore

Greg Reynolds

Chris Sexton

Robert Stephenson

Pat Watkins

Honorable Mentions:

Royce Clayton

Jeff Francis (for one game … lol)

Ron Gant

Jeff Hoffman

Todd Hollandsworth

Matt Kemp

Jason Marquis

Jordan Pacheco

Jeff Reed

Drew Stubbs

Willy Taveras

Greg Vaughn

5. Jeremy Affeldt

The 2007 Colorado Rockies bullpen was one of the best in franchise history and certainly better than the bullpens of late. Jeremy Affeldt was a key piece of that bullpen.

Affeldt has the distinction of being the only pitcher to appear in all four games of the Colorado Rockies World Series run in 2007. Across all four appearances, Affeldt did not allow a single run.

It is rare to see, but Affeldt seemed to find his “stuff” at Coors Field. Before 2007, Affeldt had only posted an ERA below 4.00 one time across his five years in the majors. After joining the Rockies, Affeldt would see his ERA above 4.00 only two more times in his remaining nine seasons in the league.

Following the 2007 season, Affeldt signed with the Reds, joining yet another pretty good bullpen. In 2008, however, the Reds’ bullpen was the only good thing on that roster not named Joey Votto. Affeldt saw time in the greatest bullpen in Rockies history and was a critical part of the one bright piece of a bad Reds roster, earning a spot on this list.

Colorado Rockies’ Denny Neagle pitches in the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals 09 April 2001 in St. Louis. Neagle pitched six innings giving up four hits, including a two run home run to rookie Albert Pujols. AFP PHOTO/Scott ROVAK (Photo by SCOTT ROVAK / AFP) (Photo credit should read SCOTT ROVAK/AFP via Getty Images) /

4. Denny Neagle

In 2020, the 1999 and 2000 Cincinnati Reds would have been playoff teams. In 2000 especially, Denny Neagle was key to the starting pitching rotation. Neagle was a prize traded to the later future World Series-winning New York Yankees near the trade deadline in 2000. Neagle was so good in the first half of the season on the Reds that he managed to finish the season with the highest amount of WAR across any of the starting pitching rotation and fourth-highest WAR on the entire team, despite only playing half the season with the team.

After his brief stint in New York, Neagle signed with the Colorado Rockies and, from 2001 to 2003, served on the team’s rotation. Now, these pre-humidor rotations were not good, but Neagle was at least fun to watch. In 2001, Neagle led the Colorado Rockies in strikeouts and was second in 2002. Neagle was sixth and eighth on the team by WAR in 2001 and 2002, respectively.

Neagle was a talented pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and a fun pitcher for the Colorado Rockies.

3. Jeffrey Hammonds

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Top prospect Jeffrey Hammonds was supposed to take the league by storm. However, 13 years and a lot of injuries later, Hammonds retired with only three full seasons as a starter in the league.

While he would see his career summed up to a “what could have been,” his time with the Reds and Rockies was a snapshot of his realized potential.

His full season in Cincinnati was the second-best of his career, especially when compared to his other seasons with 100+ games.

His best season, by far, was in 2000 with the Colorado Rockies. Hammonds was so good that he earned his one and only appearance in the All-Star Game. He would finish the year with the fourth-highest batting average in the National League at .335.

Hammonds was almost the early 2000s version of Troy Tulowitzki, a player with so much potential that is stunted by injuries. His years in Cincinnati and Colorado were snapshots of a career that could have been. I hope an appearance on this list is in somewhat a small solace in service of a career that could have been.

25 Jul 1999: Dante Bichette #10 of the Denver Rockies swings at the ball during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at the Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport /

2. Matt Belisle

Matt Belisle had an erratic start to his career. Like many pitchers, Belisle was brought up in the Reds system as a potential starter. As he figured himself out as a player, Belisle transitioned to the bullpen, where he saw progress.

After six years in the Cincinnati system with mixed results, Belisle moved to the mountains of Colorado and became an ace out of the bullpen. Belisle dominated and actually was third and fifth on the team in WAR during the 2012 and 2010 seasons, respectively. Belisle appeared twice during the Rockies’ unfortunate postseason loss in 2009 with great results. He only allowed only a single walk across his two appearances in the series.

The story of Matt Belisle is interesting just because of how rocky it started out. Despite the odds, he developed into a skilled player and one of the best Colorado Rockies relief pitchers of the late 2000s to early 2010s.

1. Dante Bichette

Once I saw a Blake Street Bomber on this list, I knew there were very few that could top him.

Dante Bichette was an original Colorado Rockie, being one of the first trades the Rockies made on draft day. Bichette was an incredible player for the team, earning four All-Star appearances and even hitting the first-ever Colorado Rockies home run.

In 1995, Bichette was the leader of the playoff Blake Street Bombers, earning himself the spot of runner-up MVP, an All-Star Game, and a Silver Slugger. That year, he was two positions off of the first-ever Rockies Triple Crown, finishing first in the NL in RBI (128) and homers (40) while finishing third in batting average (.340).

Bichette’s performance did not stop in the regular season. During Colorado’s first-ever postseason run, Bichette remained dominant, batting .588 with an OPS of 1.552, 3 doubles, 3 RBI, 6 Runs, and a homer during the series.

The Rockies traded Bichette to the Reds in 2000 for Stan Belinda and Jeffrey Hammonds. Bichette was productive for the Reds, keeping the batting average near .300 and hitting 16 home runs across 125 games, despite no longer playing at Coors Field.

The Reds would trade Bichette to the playoff hope Red Sox before the season ended, and Bichette would retire only a year later.

Dante Bichette is one of the greatest Colorado Rockies players in history, so, of course, he gets the top spot on this list.

Next. Top 5 players to play for the Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins. dark

Note: Data for this article was found using Baseball-Reference and Wikipedia

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