Colorado Rockies: The 4 greatest offensive performances in team history

There are plenty of great moments at the plate in the history of the Colorado Rockies, but which ones are the best of the best? Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Entering the 2022 season, there are four games in Rockies history where a player has accumulated 14 total bases in a single game. For the sake of this article, that is the offensive metric we will be looking at when tabulating the best offensive games in franchise history.

Here are the 4 best offensive performances in Colorado Rockies history

Let’s start with the most recent one, and that comes from Ryan McMahon. During a 10-8 loss in 13 innings to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on April 6, 2021, McMahon went 4-for-6 at the plate, including three home runs (leaving the yard in the second, fourth, and seventh innings) and adding an RBI double in the 13th.

McMahon would plate four of the eight runs scored by the Rockies that night. His three home runs would be part of an eight-homer performance in the month of April, the most McMahon had in a single month all season.

What makes this performance unique: It is the only one of the four greatest games we will examine to come in a Rockies loss.

The first Hall of Famer for the Colorado Rockies, Larry Walker had some incredible moments on the diamond. While many scoff at Walker’s numbers because he played at Coors Field, it is perhaps ironic that his finest game in a Rockies uniform actually came outside of Denver.

Larry Walker’s best game as a member of the Colorado Rockies

On June 25, 2004, the Rockies opened up a three-game series in Cleveland against the then-Indians. Walker would lead Colorado to a 10-8 win with three home runs, including a two-run blast in the bottom of the 10th inning that would provide the winning margin.

Walker also blasted a two-run homer in the second inning and a solo shot in the sixth, plus a fourth-inning double to make him 4-for-4 on the day with five RBI. Walker would also walk twice and make a difference on defense, adding an outfield assist on a throw to third base to nail Cleveland’s Ben Broussard as he tried to stretch a sixth-inning double into a triple.

Walker was just 1-for-6 on the season before breaking out in Cleveland. He didn’t make his season debut until June 22 after starting the season on the injured list with a strained groin after undergoing offseason surgery on his left shoulder and right knee in the offseason.

Less than two months after his best game as a member of the Rockies, Walker was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.

What makes this performance unique: It was the only one of the four to come on the road.

Jeff Cirillo spent just two seasons as a member of the Rockies during his 14-year Major League career. However, his 2000 campaign will be remembered by Colorado fans for years to come.

Traded to the Rockies from the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason as a part of a three-team swap, Cirillo made a quick impact in Colorado, earning an All-Star Game nod (his second and final one of his career) and having one of the best games in franchise history.

How Jeff Cirillo became a part of Colorado Rockies history

On June 28, 2000, in what can only be called a “Coors Field game,” the Rockies outlasted the San Francisco Giants 17-13. There were plenty of offensive heroes that day on both sides of the diamond, but none shined brighter than Cirillo.

Cirillo would start his day with a double to lead off the second inning, then would add a two-run homer in the third, a solo homer in the fifth, and a two-run shot in the seventh to round out a 4-for-5 day with six RBI out of the cleanup spot in the order.

By the way, Cirillo would slash .403/.472/.607 with an OPS of 1.078 in 318 at-bats at Coors Field that season.

What makes this performance unique: It was the first time anyone with the Rockies had totaled 14 bases in a game. Earlier in the season, Todd Helton totaled 13 in a single game, marking the sixth time a Rockies player had ever done that.