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Rockies’ Historic Run Leads to First Ever World Series Appearance
October 18, 2007 08:16 PM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The unheralded Colorado Rockies play their way into the history books, with a late season winning streak that rivals some of baseball’s greatest.
30-Second Summary
The Colorado Rockies were close to being eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 15. But they finished the regular season by winning 13 out of 14 games, tying the San Diego Padres for the wild-card playoff spot.
The Rockies won the “play-in” game and then swept the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Now this 15-year-old franchise, which has one of the youngest and lowest-paid rosters in Major League Baseball, heads to the World Series for the first time, riding the momentum of one of Major League Baseball’s greatest late-season streaks.
The only other teams in history to put together comparable streaks this late in the season are the 1977 Kansas City Royals and the 1935 Chicago Cubs.
The Royals won 24 of 25 games from Aug. 31 to Sept. 25 before losing the American League pennant to the New York Yankees.
And the 1935 Cubs won 21 consecutive games from Sept. 4 through Sept. 27—a number that remains unmatched today—before losing the World Series to the Detroit Tigers.
Colorado is also the first team to win their first seven playoff games since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds.
In addition to their autumn streak, the Rockies have set the single-season MLB record for fielding percentage with an astounding .98925.
For now it seems like all eyes are on Colorado, as the sports world waits to see how far the Rockies’ streak can take them.
The Rockies won the “play-in” game and then swept the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Now this 15-year-old franchise, which has one of the youngest and lowest-paid rosters in Major League Baseball, heads to the World Series for the first time, riding the momentum of one of Major League Baseball’s greatest late-season streaks.
The only other teams in history to put together comparable streaks this late in the season are the 1977 Kansas City Royals and the 1935 Chicago Cubs.
The Royals won 24 of 25 games from Aug. 31 to Sept. 25 before losing the American League pennant to the New York Yankees.
And the 1935 Cubs won 21 consecutive games from Sept. 4 through Sept. 27—a number that remains unmatched today—before losing the World Series to the Detroit Tigers.
Colorado is also the first team to win their first seven playoff games since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds.
In addition to their autumn streak, the Rockies have set the single-season MLB record for fielding percentage with an astounding .98925.
For now it seems like all eyes are on Colorado, as the sports world waits to see how far the Rockies’ streak can take them.
Headline Links: Colorado wins the pennant
Before this year, the Colorado franchise endured six straight losing seasons and only two playoff appearances in its 15 seasons of existence. After beating the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the National League pennant and ensure their place in the World Series, Rockies first baseman Todd Helton told The Denver Post, “I'm experiencing emotions I didn't even know I had ... We are living the dream. Just can't explain it.”
Source: The Denver Post
Major League Baseball’s official Web site offers video footage of the Rockies’ last game, player interviews, and the team’s post-victory clubhouse celebration.
Source: The official Web site of Major League Baseball
Background: The road to the Series and a Rockies timeline
On Sept. 15 the Florida Marlins handed the Rockies their second straight loss, moving Colorado 6.5 games behind the National League West leaders, the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, the next day the Rockies trounced the Marlins 13-0 in what would become the beginning of their phenomenal run to the World Series. Sporting News offers a game-by-game recap of the Rockies’ road to winning the pennant.
Source: Sporting News
The Colorado Rockies played their first major league game on April 5, 1993 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. That first year the franchise's popularity exploded, and it became the fastest club in history to reach the one, two and three million fan attendance marks. The official Web site of Major League Baseball offers an extensive timeline of important dates in Rockies history.
Source: The official Web site of Major League Baseball
Reactions: Denver comes of age
Doubling as fans and politicians, Denver’s civic leaders think the Rockies’ success signals a coming-of-age for sports and culture in the Mile High City. “This is how civic identity is built,” former Gov. Bill Owens told The Denver Post. “It puts you into the major leagues, makes you part of a fraternity of successful teams. It's kind of like the old days. You knew that if the Rockies started winning, that magic would come back.”
Source: The Denver Post
Key Players: Team Owners Charlie and Dick Monfort, General Manager Daniel O’Dowd, and Manager Clint Hurdle
The key figures in the Rockies’ front office are Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles K. Monfort, who was formerly an agricultural food executive, Vice Chairman Richard L. Monfort (Charles’s brother), and Executive Vice President and General Manager Daniel J. O’Dowd. The Rockies’ official Web site has profiles of the franchise’s executive officers.
Source: The official Web site of the Colorado Rockies
The Rockies’ historic run has brought a measure of redemption for the Monfort brothers, who drew the ire of loyal fans for the Rockies’ losing records over the past six years.
Source: Rocky Mountain News
Clint Hurdle has been the Colorado Rockies’ manager for six years. Before this season, his team had neither ranked better than fourth in the National League West nor finished a season with a record above .500. But according to Hurdle’s players, he’s developed and matured as a manager alongside them: “As we've gotten older and we have a little bit more experience, he's let us go out and play and just kind of sat back and made the moves he needs to make,” outfielder Matt Holliday told The Arizona Republic.
Source: The Arizona Republic
Clint Hurdle was named Rockies’ manager on April 26, 2002, only the fourth person to hold that position in franchise history. Since debuting in the 2002 season, Hurdle has accumulated 441 wins and 509 losses. As a player, Hurdle was drafted in the first round by the 1975 Kansas City Royals as a 17-year-old; he eventually played ten years in the Major Leagues for five teams.ESPN provides a short profile of Clint Hurdle’s baseball career.
Source: ESPN
The Rockies’ official site offers a more comprehensive biographical profile of Hurdle, in addition to information on the team’s entire coaching staff.
Source: The official Web site of the Colorado Rockies
Historical Context: The greatest winning streaks in sports
From the 1916 New York Giants, with their MLB-record 26 consecutive wins, to the 2003-04 New England Patriots’ historic 21-victory run, Sports Illustrated offers an eye-catching slideshow of some of the most memorable winning streaks in sports’ history.
Source: Sports Illustrated
In 2002, the Oakland Athletics went on a late-season tear through the American League, winning an AL-record 20 games in a row from Aug. 13 through Sept. 4. The streak catapulted the As from 4.5 games behind in the AL West, to the number one spot in the division. Unfortunately, the team took a dramatic downturn in the postseason losing the first round in five games to the Minnesota Twins.
Source: Sports Illustrated
The last baseball team to win their first seven playoff games were the 1976 Cincinnati Reds—also known as “The Big Red Machine.” The Reds swept the Philadelphia Phillies to win the National League Championship in three games, then went on to sweep the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Reds became the first team in baseball to remain undefeated in the playoffs.
Source: Reds History
The powerhouse 1970 Baltimore Orioles nearly won seven playoff games in a row by sweeping the Minnesota Twins in the American League Championship Series and winning the first three games of the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Orioles lost game four before winning the Series in five games.
Source: The official Web site of the Baltimore Orioles
Led by Hall of Fame catcher Gabby Hartnett, the 1935 Chicago Cubs won 21 consecutive games in the month of September; a number that remains unmatched today. However, the 2007 Rockies have come close, becoming the first team since 1935 to win at least 21 of 22 games after Sept. 1.
Source: Sporting News
In 1916 the New York Giants went on baseball’s longest ever winning streak, chalking up 26 consecutive wins in the month of September. However, the Giants ended their season in disappointing fashion, losing the pennant race to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Baseball blog “Baseball Guru” recounts the Giants historic run victory-by-victory.
Source: Baseball Guru
Opinion: Rockies fans deserve it
Sports blog “Deadspin” congratulates the Rockies’ fans, despite their relative newbie status among the nation’s angst-ridden veterans: “The Rockies' fan base is often underrated due to its age. We can understand Red Sox, Cubs and Indians fans, familiar with far more extended periods of suffering, mocking the Rockies; ooh, you waited 14 years. How AWFUL. But we think that's probably unfair. If you were from Denver and never had a team of your own, you've spent a decade and a half waiting for something, anything to happen with your team. And this is not necessarily a Johnny Come Lately fan base; they continue to hold the all-time single-season attendance record, 4.5 million, from their first season. Maybe you can't talk to your grandfather about how he suffered with the Rockies as a boy, but that doesn't mean the jubilation isn't earned.”
Source: Deadspin
Related Topics: The team of the interior West
The Rockies’ fan base extends far beyond the mountainous borders of Colorado. Because the Centennial State borders six large states without professional franchises of their own—Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico—the Rockies have become the de facto team for a large number of team-less baseball fans all over the interior West. With the help of about 40, primarily small, radio stations, Rockies games are enjoyed by fans as far south as Texas and as far north as South Dakota.
Source: The New York Times (may require free registration)
Reference Material: Colorado’s low salaries and young players, and the probability of streaks
With a cumulative salary of $54,424,000, the Colorado Rockies are the sixth lowest paid team in MLB, just above the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Pittsburgh Pirates. In contrast, the two highest paid teams, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, pay their players a total of $195,229,045 and $143,123,714 respectively. ESPN provides salary totals and individual player earnings for all 30 MLB teams.
Source: ESPN
Colorado is a relatively young team, with an average player age of 28.4 years. That makes the Rockies the seventh youngest team in MLB and the second youngest team in the NL West behind Arizona. Rocky Mountain News writer Tracy Ringolsby ranks the average age of all the major league teams.
Source: Rocky Mountain News
Following the 2002 Oakland Athletics’ 20-game winning streak, Jim Albert, professor of statistics at Bowling Green State University, decided to research the statistical probabilities behind streaks. In a 2003 paper titled “Streakiness in Team Performance,” Albert wrote that any one team with a winning percentage comparable to the ’02 Athletics (.648 percent) would have under a 1 percent chance of winning 20 or more consecutive games. Albert went on to write that according to his figures, such streaks should occur about every 25 years. The full text of Albert’s study is available as a PDF file on Bowling Green State University’s Web site.
Source: Prof. Jim Albert’s homepage on the Bowling Green State University Web site
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