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After a fourth-place finish in the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year voting, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Armando Galarraga suffered a sophomore slump in 2009 that saw his ERA balloon by nearly 2 points. And things were not looking any better heading into the 2010 campaign, after manager Jim Leyland sent the 28-year-old to […]

In 1997 Todd Helton was one of baseball’s most prominent prospects – and a subject of controversy in the Colorado Rockies’ struggle to sustain their early-expansion success. Mundane matters triggered his big-league debut that summer: one player’s looming disciplinary action, another’s batting slump, and a calf injury to a third. But Helton’s takeover of the […]

Early in the 1987 season, a large chart was hung on the wall of the Expos’ clubhouse with a small box for each game on their schedule. Players could select a square, and whoever correctly guessed the game in which a much-anticipated milestone took place would win the money in the pool.1 The event that […]

The required result was simple: Win and they’re in. In their third season as a major-league franchise, the Colorado Rockies stood on the brink of qualifying for the baseball postseason faster than any previous expansion team. To be sure, the Rockies’ postseason quest was aided by the introduction of the wild card, an innovation that […]

The first National League Division Series in major-league history got underway in Denver on October 3, 1995. Unlike the Conference Series and the World Series, the NLDS was a five-game series.1 The Rockies, in just their third year of existence, were hosting the Braves. Colorado had played hard to the end of the season, finishing […]

The game between the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies was one of the most exciting games of the year at Coors Field. The Braves entered the game with a 76-48 record, 2½ games ahead of the second-place New York Mets in the National League East Division. The Rockies were 62-63, good enough for fourth place, […]

There are some players, in some seasons, who definitely experience the home-field advantage. In 1996 Larry Walker was one of those players. He played 43 games at home (Coors Field) and 40 games on the road.1 He batted .393 with a 1.248 OPS in Denver — but only .142 (.523 OPS) away from his home […]

It would be very understandable to think that 26-year-old first baseman Jay Gainer would welcome a trade to another team while playing in the Texas League for the Wichita Wranglers, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, considering how his path to the majors was being blocked by perennial All-Star and future Hall of […]

After decades of waiting, Denver would finally have a major-league Opening Day of its own. The expansion Colorado Rockies, along with the Florida Marlins, joined the National League for the 1993 season. Expectations for on-field success were appropriately tempered, but the excitement for big-league baseball was palpable. Five thousand spectators showed up at Mile High […]

Many baseball fans are familiar with the story of Armando Galarraga’s lost perfect game in 2010.1 In the days before instant replays were used to review close plays at first base, an honest mistake by umpire Jim Joyce with two out in the ninth inning was all that separated Galarraga from perfection. What is less […]

The Montreal Expos hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates for a two-game midweek series that completed Montreal’s next to last homestand of the season. The 73-71 Expos were third in the National League East Division, 13½ games behind the division-leading New York Mets. Montreal had clobbered the St. Louis Cardinals in their preceding two games, 14-2 and […]

When the fifth-place Montreal Expos limped into Los Angeles for a three-game set at Dodger Stadium on July 26-28, 1991, there was little indication that history would be made that weekend. Not only would two Expos throw dramatic pitching gems in the series, but some of baseball’s long-standing records would be reclassified as a result […]

August 18, 1995, was a warm day in Denver. Thunderstorms popped up before game time and a fine mist lingered until after the game started. It was very unusual during the early years of the Colorado Rockies for them to start a game when precipitation was falling. However, this time it was decided to start […]

Like most forces of nature, Paul Lo Duca’s twin eruptions in June 2007 were remarkable for both their spontaneity and the havoc they left behind. Frustrated with his team’s recent struggles and what he considered undue expectations from the press, on June 23 the New York Mets catcher littered the diamond with his equipment after […]

Wrigley Field has seen its share of wild games over the past 100-plus years, and the September 24, 1985, contest between the Montreal Expos and the hometown Chicago Cubs ranks right up there. Andre Dawson belted three home runs – two in one inning – to help the Expos build a 13-run lead, only to […]

It was a delightful morning on April 4, 1994, when the Colorado Rockies and defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies began batting practice on Opening Day at Mile High Stadium in Denver. The temperature was near 70 degrees,1 but weather reports called for falling temperatures, with wind and snow developing before the end of the […]

Heading into the game that came to define his career, 21-year-old rookie left-hander Rick Ankiel wasn’t nervous. “I was not hurt. I was not afraid. I was not sick or distracted or particularly anxious,” he wrote 17 years later. “In game one of the National League Division Series, on a warm and sunny afternoon with […]

When Tommy Greene graduated from Whiteville High School in June 1985, the North Carolina native was one of the most sought-after young pitchers in the country. As a senior he had a 0.10 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 67 innings.1 For his high-school career, he tossed nine no-hitters. The Atlanta Braves selected Greene in the […]

Andrés Jose Padovani Galarraga was known as the Big Cat, or El Gran Gato, during his 19-year major-league baseball career, a career in which he became the Colorado Rockies’ first big star. He looked like a slugger but what made him so popular, and helped secure his nickname, was his quickness around the first-base bag. […]

In their inaugural season of 1993, few will dispute that the biggest bat in the Colorado Rockies lineup belonged to Andres “Big Cat” Galarraga. Aided by the rarefied air in Denver, Galarraga won the NL batting title that year with a .370 average, had an OPS of 1.005, and drove in 98 runs in 120 […]

Bob Gebhard, the man who became the first general manager in the history of the Colorado Rockies, emerged from modest working-class roots in rural Minnesota.1 Born on January 3, 1943, Gebhard grew up in Lamberton, population 1,100, about 150 miles southwest of Minneapolis. He is of German and Scandinavian heritage, and his family has called […]

Gonzalo Márquez, one of the earlier Venezuelans in the majors, never played a full year in “The Show.” From 1972 through 1974, he got into just 76 regular-season games with Oakland and the Chicago Cubs. Márquez’s primary position was first base, and he was a good fielder — but he lacked power. Across his entire […]

On Saturday, May 9, 2020, the Oscar Charleston SABR Chapter in Indianapolis held a virtual meeting and heard a presentation from Professor Todd McDorman of Wabash College. McDorman built off of his 2019 presentation at the Baseball Hall of Fame called “‘Nobody’s Perfect’: Armando Galarraga’s (Im)Perfect Game and Instant Replay.” You can watch a replay […]

This appendix accompanies the article “Player Win Averages” written by Pete Palmer and published in the Spring 2016 Baseball Research Journal. To scroll down to pitchers, click here.   Player Win Averages-Batters Player Games PW RW Barry Bonds 2986 120.3 123.2 Henry Aaron 3298 97.2 94.6 Willie Mays 2992 95.7 87.5 Mickey Mantle 2401 92.4 […]