1995 Colorado Rockies season

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1995  Colorado Rockies
National League Wild Card Winners
League National League
Division West
Ballpark Coors Field
City Denver, Colorado
Record77–67 (.535)
Divisional place2nd
Owners Jerry McMorris
General managers Bob Gebhard
Managers Don Baylor
Television KWGN-TV
(Dave Campbell, Charlie Jones)
Radio KOA (AM)
(Wayne Hagin, Jeff Kingery)
KCUV
(Francisco Gamez, Carlos Bido)
  1994 Seasons 1996  

The 1995 Colorado Rockies season was their 3rd in Major League Baseball and their 1st season at Coors Field. Don Baylor was the manager.

Contents

The team competed in the National League West, finishing with a record of 77−67, second in the division. The Rockies simultaneously won the first-ever National League wild card berth in the first season of the revised postseason format and first postseason appearance in franchise history. They faced the eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series (NLDS), who won this first round series in four games, with the Rockies taking game three.

Offseason

Regular season

The start to the 1995 MLB regular season was delayed over three weeks by the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike that ended on April 2. As a result, the season only lasted 144 games (instead of the typical 162 game season) and "official" opening day for Coors Field was changed to April 26. The Colorado Rockies played two exhibition games on April 2 and 3 against the New York Yankees as the first baseball to be played at Coors Field.

In his Rockies debut and inaugural game of Coors Field on April 26 versus the New York Mets, Larry Walker doubled three times, including one that tied the score with two outs in the ninth inning. [8] Dante Bichette hit a walk-off home run in the fourteenth inning for an 11−9 win. On May 7, 1995, Walker hit his 100th career home run versus Hideo Nomo of Los Angeles. [8]

The Rockies led the NL in hits (1,406), runs scored (785), triples (43, also the most in the majors), home runs (200), runs batted in (749), batting average (.282) and slugging percentage (.471). Conversely, they also allowed the most hits (1,443), runs (783), earned runs (711) and produced the fewest shutouts (1). [9]

A quartet of Rockies hitters who became known as "The Blake Street Bombers", consisting of Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Andrés Galarraga (Walker's former Expos teammate), and Larry Walker, each contributed at least 30 home runs in 1995. The Rockies simultaneously won the first-ever National League wild card berth under the revised postseason format and first playoff appearance in franchise history in just their third season of play.

On October 1 for the final regular season game, the Rockies needed a win at Coors Field versus the San Francisco Giants to avoid playing a tie-breaker game with the Houston Astros for the National League Wild Card post-season berth. [10] [11] Using seven pitchers during the nine inning game, Curt Leskanic earned his 10th save and threw the final pitch of the game in a 10–9 victory for the Rockies. During a post-season interview, Leskanic recalled the pitching mound shaking like a mild earthquake with the vibrations from fans in the stadium anticipating their first ever appearance in the MLB post-season.

During the playoffs, Larry Walker collected three hits in 14 at bats in the National League Division Series (NLDS) versus the Atlanta Braves. He hit his first career postseason home run off Tom Glavine in the sixth inning of a 7−4 Game 2 loss. The Braves defeated the Rockies in four games. [12]

Season standings

NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 7866.54239333933
Colorado Rockies 7767.535144283339
San Diego Padres 7074.486840323042
San Francisco Giants 6777.4651137353042

Wild Card standings

Team W L Pct. GB
Colorado Rockies7767.535
Houston Astros 7668.5281
Chicago Cubs 7371.5074
San Diego Padres 7074.4867
New York Mets 6975.4798
Philadelphia Phillies 6975.4798

Record vs. opponents


Sources:
TeamATLCHCCINCOLFLAHOULADMTLNYMPHIPITSDSFSTL
Atlanta 8–48–59–410–36–65–49–45–87–64–25–27–17–5
Chicago 4–83–76–78–45–87–53–54–36–18–55–75–79–4
Cincinnati 5–87–35–76–612–14–38–47–59–38–53–63–38–5
Colorado 4–97–67–55–74–44–97–15–44–28–49–48–55–7
Florida 3–104–86–67–58–43–76–77–66–75–83–25–34–3
Houston 6–68–51–124–44–83–29–36–65–79–47–45–39–4
Los Angeles 4–55–73–49–47–32–37–56–64–99–47–68–57–5
Montreal 4–95–34–81–77–63–95–77–68–54–47–57–64–3
New York 8–53–45–74–56–76–66–66–77–64–36–75–83–4
Philadelphia 6-71–63–92–47–67–59–45–86–76–36–66–65–4
Pittsburgh 2–45–85–84–88–54–94–94–43–43–64–86–66–7
San Diego 2–57–56–34–92–34–76–75–77–66–68–46–77–5
San Francisco 1–77–53–35–83–53–55–86–78–56–66–67–67–6
St. Louis 5–74–95–87–53–44-95–73–44–34–57–65–76–7

Transactions

Major League debuts

Roster

1995 Colorado Rockies
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

OutfieldersManager

Coaches

Game log

1995 Game Log
April (4–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 26 Mets 119 (14) Thompson (10) Remlinger (01)47,22810
2April 27 Mets 87 Reed (10) Lomon (01)38,08720
3April 28@ Astros 21 Leskanic (10) Kile (01) Ruffin (1)30,40530
4April 29@ Astros 21 Olivares (10) Hampton (01) Ruffin (2)19,07440
5April 30@ Astros 31 Brocail (10) Leskanic (11) Hudek (1)14,45541
May (13–15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
6May 1 Padres 83 Holmes (10) Mauser (01)40,11751
7May 2 Padres 65 (11) Bailey (10) Williams (01)38,38761
8May 3 Padres 127 Bailey (20) Hamilton (01) Ruffin (3)37,19371
9May 5 Dodgers 64 Martínez (21) Olivares (11) Seánez (3)46,39572
10May 6 Dodgers 1711 Williams (10) Acevedo (01)48,39473
11May 7 Dodgers 1210 Daal (20) Reed (11) Valdez (1)48,11774
12May 9 Giants 106 Ritz (10) Wilson (21)41,30784
13May 10 Giants 85 Holmes (20) Bautista (01)43,69094
14May 11 Giants 104 Acevedo (11) Mulholland (22) Reed (1)45,609104
15May 12@ Marlins 106 Swift (10) Gardner (04) Ruffin (4)22,267114
16May 13@ Marlins 82 Witt (12) Freeman (01)33,626115
17May 14@ Marlins 63 Ritz (20) Rapp (03) Ruffin (5)20,490125
18May 15@ Braves 40 Mercker (11) Olivares (12)27,009126
19May 16@ Braves 153 Smoltz (22) Acevedo (12)25,516127
20May 17@ Braves 65 Holmes (30) Maddux (21) Ruffin (6)27,070137
21May 18@ Braves 32 McMichael (30) Munoz (01) Borbón (2)26,205138
22May 19@ Reds 20 Schourek (12) Ritz (21) Brantley (2)25,688139
23May 20@ Reds 109 (10) Smith (11) Bailey (21)29,4011310
24May 21@ Reds 52 Acevedo (22) Jarvis (12) Holmes (1)23,6291410
25May 22 Cubs 98 Munoz (11) Myers (01)47,3251510
26May 23 Cubs 76 Foster (32) Freeman (02) Myers (9)43,2261511
27May 24 Cubs 53 Castillo (31) Bailey (22) Myers (10)45,3671512
28May 26@ Pirates 42 Wagner (15) Acevedo (23) Miceli (6)11,1831513
29May 27@ Pirates 94 Neagle (41) Swift (11)16,0821514
30May 28@ Pirates 63 Freeman (12) White (01) Ruffin (7)15,0161614
31May 29@ Cardinals 65 (11) Habyan (11) Bailey (23)26,8891615
32May 30@ Cardinals 85 Hill (40) Grahe (01) Henke (10)15,2511616
33May 31@ Cardinals 53 Acevedo (33) Petkovsek (01) Holmes (2)19,2971716
June (15–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
34June 2 Pirates 74 Holmes (40) McCurry (01)45,8281816
35June 3 Pirates 76 Ritz (31) Lieber (15) Holmes (3)48,1441916
36June 4 Pirates 41 Grahe (11) Wagner (17) Leskanic (1)48,0612016
37June 5 Cardinals 95 Petkovsek (11) Acevedo (34)46,6492017
38June 6 Cardinals 54 Leskanic (21) Parrett (22)46,6212117
39June 7 Cardinals 73 Freeman (22) Jackson (07)46,7042217
40June 8@ Cubs 53 Ritz (41) Foster (43) Reed (2)24,7572317
41June 9@ Cubs 21 (10) Holmes (50) Pérez (04) Munoz (1)21,9052417
42June 10@ Cubs 30 Morgan (21) Acevedo (35) Myers (14)32,4602418
43June 11@ Cubs 51 Thompson (20) Trachsel (24) Leskanic (2)27,2452518
44June 12 Reds 116 Jarvis (33) Freeman (23)47,7082519
45June 13 Reds 64 Ritz (51) Pugh (41) Leskanic (3)48,1982619
46June 14 Reds 104 Grahe (21) Schourek (43)48,2552719
47June 16 Braves 20 Glavine (53) Swift (12)48,1632720
48June 17 Braves 71 Avery (24) Acevedo (36)50,0352721
49June 18 Braves 94 Mercker (43) Freeman (24)48,3022722
50June 19 Marlins 72 Hammond (41) Ritz (52)48,1452723
51June 20 Marlins 72 Mathews (20) Grahe (22)48,1432724
52June 21 Marlins 63 Swift (22) Rapp (24) Reed (3)48,1172824
53June 22@ Padres 32 Reynoso (10) Dishman (01) Ruffin (8)11,6532924
54June 23@ Padres 32 Ashby (44) Freeman (25) Hoffman (10)15,4182925
55June 24@ Padres 20 Hamilton (32) Ritz (53)36,1372926
56June 25@ Padres 113 Grahe (32) Sanders (54)20,7763026
57June 27@ Giants 51 Swift (32) Bautista (24)14,7693126
58June 28@ Giants 21 (11) Barton (10) Munoz (12)15,1363127
59June 29@ Dodgers 30 Nomo (61) Freeman (26)46,2953128
60June 30@ Dodgers 21 Ritz (63) Candiotti (46) Munoz (2)34,2533228
July (17–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
61July 1@ Dodgers 54 Worrell (20) Bailey (24)54,0063229
62July 2@ Dodgers 101 Swift (42) Martínez (76)37,3543329
63July 3 Astros 1510 Bailey (34) Dougherty (31) Holmes (4)50,0283429
64July 4 Astros 168 Hampton (33) Olivares (13)50,1273430
65July 5 Astros 42 Ritz (73) Kile (38) Holmes (5)48,0913530
66July 6 Expos 96 Grahe (42) Fassero (86) Holmes (6)48,0733630
67July 7 Expos 127 Acevedo (46) Heredia (35)50,1113730
68July 8 Expos 83 Reynoso (20) Henry (37) Leskanic (4)48,1903830
69July 9 Expos 41 Freeman (36) Martínez (65)48,1143930
70July 13@ Mets 42 Jones (56) Ritz (74) Franco (10)15,2763931
71July 14@ Mets 134 Pulsipher (24) Reynoso (21)15,3773932
72July 15@ Mets 54 Swift (52) Saberhagen (55) Holmes (7)17,1204032
73July 16@ Mets 21 (10) Franco (41) Thompson (21)25,9944033
74July 17 Phillies 85 Munoz (22) Bottalico (32) Holmes (8)48,0704133
75July 18 Phillies 75 Schilling (75) Ritz (75) Slocumb (22)48,0114134
76July 19 Phillies 53 Rekar (10) Green (86) Holmes (9)48,0874234
77July 20 Phillies 73 Swift (62) Quantrill (76)48,0374334
78July 21 Mets 121 Harnisch (27) Reynoso (22)48,0594335
79July 22 Mets 54 Leskanic (31) Henry (14) Holmes (10)48,0424435
80July 23 Mets 85 Ritz (85) Jones (67) Holmes (11)48,1294535
81July 24@ Phillies 113 Rekar (20) Green (87)25,4244635
82July 25@ Phillies 76 (10) Slocumb (20) Munoz (23)25,8374636
83July 26@ Astros 43 Kile (410) Reynoso (23) Jones (9)19,2094637
84July 27@ Astros 54 (12) Jones (61) Munoz (24)21,7344638
85July 28@ Expos 83 Ritz (95) Urbina (22)19,2214738
86July 29@ Expos 53 Rekar (30) Fassero (108) Holmes (12)23,5954838
87July 30@ Expos 114 Martínez (96) Freeman (37)27,1724839
88July 31@ Expos 32 Reynoso (33) Henry (68) Holmes (13)14,9784939
August (11–17)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
89August 1 Dodgers 96 Valdez (86) Thompson (22) Worrell (19)48,0714940
90August 2 Dodgers 107 Tapani (711) Ritz (96)48,0634941
91August 3 Dodgers 94 Saberhagen (65) Martínez (117)48,0245041
92August 4 Padres 1412 Reed (21) Berumen (23) Holmes (14)48,1255141
93August 5 Padres 73 Reynoso (43) Ashby (76)48,0435241
94August 6 Padres 168 Dishman (34) Thompson (23)48,1575242
95August 8@ Marlins 54 (13) Groom (23) Bailey (35)31,2205243
96August 9@ Marlins 21 Burkett (1010) Ritz (97) Nen (13)31,8055244
97August 10@ Marlins 32 Peña (31) Reed (22)28,0095245
98August 11@ Braves 53 Avery (58) Reynoso (44) Wohlers (16)47,4085246
99August 12@ Braves 164 Leskanic (41) Mercker (67)48,7775346
100August 13@ Braves 32 Wohlers (63) Holmes (51)43,2795347
101August 14@ Reds 40 Burba (72) Ritz (98)23,9455348
102August 15@ Reds 113 Portugal (68) Rekar (31)24,5065349
103August 16@ Reds 64 Reynoso (54) Smiley (112) Painter (1)25,0245449
104August 17 Cubs 125 Bailey (45) Navarro (105)48,0715549
105August 18 Cubs 267 Young (24) Saberhagen (66)48,0825550
106August 19 Cubs 65 Castillo (86) Ritz (99) Myers (28)48,020t5551
107August 20 Cubs 42 Leskanic (51) Wendell (21)50,0875651
108August 22 Pirates 101 Loaiza (85) Reynoso (55)48,0835652
109August 23 Pirates 95 Bailey (55) Neagle (116)48,0275752
110August 24 Pirates 86 Painter (10) Wagner (212) Leskanic (5)48,0415852
111August 25 Cardinals 83 Morgan (57) Rekar (32) Mathews (1)48,0125853
112August 26 Cardinals 54 Fossas (30) Ruffin (01) Henke (28)48,1275854
113August 27 Cardinals 105 Barber (20) Reynoso (56)48,0435855
114August 28@ Pirates 63 Bailey (65) Powell (02) Leskanic (6)8,2425955
115August 29@ Pirates 40 Wagner (313) Ritz (910)7,6345956
116August 30@ Pirates 60 Rekar (42) Ericks (37)8,1206056
September (16–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
117September 1@ Cardinals 54 DeLucia (76) Leskanic (52) Henke (30)21,1646057
118September 2@ Cardinals 61 Bailey (75) Watson (57)26,7966157
119September 3@ Cardinals 54 (11) Holmes (61) Parrett (35) Ruffin (9)22,1886257
120September 4@ Cubs 20 Castillo (98) Rekar (43)31,6016258
121September 6@ Cubs 104 Reynoso (66) Bullinger (116)23,0346358
122September 8 Reds 105 Leskanic (62) Carrasco (26)48,0266458
123September 9 Reds 62 Swift (72) Wells (146) Ritz (1)48,0856558
124September 10 Reds 54 Reed (32) Carrasco (27) Leskanic (7)48,0746658
125September 11 Braves 54 (12) Hickerson (33) Woodall (11)48,0566758
126September 12 Braves 122 Painter (20) Avery (613) Ritz (2)48,0136858
127September 13 Braves 97 Schmidt (20) Bailey (76)48,0116859
128September 15 Marlins 63 Reed (42) Burkett (1312) Leskanic (8)48,0106959
129September 16 Marlins 87 Reed (52) Mathews (44) Ruffin (10)48,0377059
130September 17 Marlins 170 Rapp (127) Rekar (44)48,0357060
131September 18@ Padres 51 Ritz (1010) Hamilton (69) Ruffin (11)10,5967160
132September 19@ Padres 154 Blair (74) Reynoso (67)10,3217161
133September 20@ Padres 102 Swift (82) Dishman (48)10,0957261
134September 21@ Giants 53 Valdez (44) Grahe (43) Beck (31)12,9687262
135September 22@ Giants 61 Ritz (1110) Estes (02)17,7237362
136September 23@ Giants 20 Brewington (54) Rekar (45) Beck (32)28,5387363
137September 24@ Giants 31 Reynoso (77) Leiter (1011) Leskanic (9)34,4727463
138September 25@ Dodgers 43 Martínez (177) Swift (83) Worrell (31)41,9847464
139September 26@ Dodgers 73 Saberhagen (76) Candiotti (714)44,4157564
140September 27@ Dodgers 74 Tapani (1013) Ritz (1111) Worrell (32)53,8567565
141September 28 Giants 124 Brewington (64) Rekar (46)48,0237566
142September 29 Giants 107 Service (31) Leskanic (63) Beck (33)48,0177567
143September 30 Giants 93 Swift (93) Mulholland (513)48,0237667
October (1–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
144October 1 Giants 109 Painter (30) Leiter (1012) Leskanic (10)48,0397767

Playoffs

1995 Post-Season
National League Division Series
GameDateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1October 3 Braves 45 Peña (10) Leskanic (01) Wohlers (1)50,04001
2October 4 Braves 47 Peña (20) Munoz (01) Wohlers (2)50,06302
3October 6@ Braves 75 (10) Holmes (10) Wohlers (01) Thompson (1)51,30012
4October 7@ Braves 410 Maddux (10) Saberhagen (01)50,02713

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Joe Girardi 125462121.262855
1B Andrés Galarraga 143554155.28031106
2B Eric Young 120366116.317636
SS Walt Weiss 137427111.260125
3B Vinny Castilla 139527163.3093290
LF Dante Bichette 139579197.34040128
CF Mike Kingery 11935094.269837
RF Larry Walker 131494151.30636101

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Jason Bates 11632286.267846
Ellis Burks 10327874.2661449
John Vander Wal 10510135.347521
Trent Hubbard 245818.31039
Roberto Mejia 23528.15414
Jorge Brito 185111.21607
Jayhawk Owens 184511.244412
Jim Tatum 34348.23504
Matt Nokes 10112.18200
Pedro Castellano 450.00000
Harvey Pulliam 552.40013
Craig Counsell 310.00000
Quinton McCracken 310.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Kevin Ritz 31173.111114.21120
Bill Swift 19105.2934.9468
Marvin Freeman 2294.2375.8961
Armando Reynoso 2093.0775.3240
Bryan Rekar 1585.0464.9860
Juan Acevedo 1765.2466.4440

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Roger Bailey 3981.1764.9833
Joe Grahe 1756.2435.0827
Mark Thompson 2151.0236.5330
Bret Saberhagen 943.0216.2829
Omar Olivares 1131.2137.3915

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Darren Holmes 6861143.2461
Curtis Leskanic 7663103.40107
Steve Reed 715232.1479
Mike Munoz 642427.4237
Bruce Ruffin 3701112.1223
Lance Painter 333014.3736
Bryan Hickerson 1810011.8812
A.J. Sager 100007.3610
David Nied 200020.773

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox Pacific Coast League Brad Mills
AA New Haven Ravens Eastern League Paul Zuvella
A Salem Avalanche Carolina League Bill Hayes
A Asheville Tourists South Atlantic League Bill McGuire
A-Short Season Portland Rockies Northwest League P. J. Carey
Rookie AZL Rockies Arizona League Jack Maloof

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Colorado Springs [17]

References

  1. "Bobby Jones Stats".
  2. "Joe Grahe Stats".
  3. "Bill Swift Stats".
  4. "Larry Walker statistics & history". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  5. Blum, Ronald (April 12, 1995). "The biggest contract since the end of strike, Larry Walker's 4". Associated Press . Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  6. Chass, Murray (April 9, 1995). "Rockies open their wallet for two stars". The New York Times . Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  7. "Marcus Moore Stats".
  8. 1 2 "Larry Walker stats, fantasy & news (Career biography)". MLB.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  9. "1995 National League Season Summary".
  10. "San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies Box Score, October 1, 1995".
  11. "Houston Astros at Chicago Cubs Box Score, October 1, 1995".
  12. Cohen, Alan (December 21, 2015). "Larry Walker". Society of American Baseball Research . Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  13. Todd Helton Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  14. "Ben Petrick Stats".
  15. Bret Saberhagen Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  16. "1995 National League Baseball Debuts / Rookies by Baseball Almanac".
  17. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007