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Top 5 players to play for the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers

By Nathaniel Sunshine

DENVER - JULY 18: Shortstop Juan Uribe #4 of the Colorado Rockies watches the flight of the ball during the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 18, 2002 at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies won 6-4. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
DENVER - JULY 18: Shortstop Juan Uribe #4 of the Colorado Rockies watches the flight of the ball during the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 18, 2002 at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies won 6-4. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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2 Apr 2001: Todd Hollandsworth #27 of the Colorado Rockies moves to swing at the ball during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Fiels in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Cardinals 8-0.Mandatory Credit: Tom Hauck /Allsport
2 Apr 2001: Todd Hollandsworth #27 of the Colorado Rockies moves to swing at the ball during the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Fiels in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Cardinals 8-0.Mandatory Credit: Tom Hauck /Allsport /

4. Todd Hollandsworth

Todd Hollandsworth makes this list as a what could have been for the Colorado Rockies. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the third round of the 1991 MLB Draft. Hollandsworth made his debut in 1995 for the Dodgers. However, his real chance came in 1996 and he ran with it.

Hollandsworth was the Rookie of the Year in 1996, recording a great 113 OPS+ during his rookie season. That year, Hollandsworth found himself in the midst of L.A.’s final postseason run until 2004, hitting .333 during the Dodgers’ NLDS Loss that year. The Dodgers traded him to the Colorado Rockies in the middle of the 2000 season. Hollandsworth was planned to be the starter for the Rockies in 2001, and he ran with that opportunity until a season-ending shin injury in May. At the time of the injury, when he was hitting .368 after 125 at-bats with six home runs.

Hollandsworth was traded by the Rockies to the Rangers the following season and fans were left wondering what could have been. Hollandsworth was on track to be an All-Star. Instead, he found himself traded twice in three seasons. He was a Rookie of the Year. If his career had gone just a little differently, he could have been much higher on this list.

3. Juan Uribe

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Juan Uribe was a critical part of the Dodgers’ mid-2010s postseason runs, ranking fourth in team position player WAR in both 2013 and 2014. Uribe was known primarily for his defensive prowess. In L.A., however, he showed off both his glove and bat, producing some of the highest WAR seasons of his career.

Uribe was great for L.A. in those seasons, but he had to start somewhere. That team was, of course, the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies originally signed Uribe out of the Dominican Republic in 1998. Uribe made his debut for the Rockies in 2001 and was a starter for the team the following season and then was traded to the White Sox in 2003.

While he was not great with the Rockies, he showed potential as a player. The Rockies helped him develop into the player that would play in the NLCS in a time when their own team was in some of its darkest times. He was an important player for both franchises and performed well, especially with his glove, certainly consistent enough to earn number 3 on this list.

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