July 21- Portland Rockies

It’s time to get a little bit old school on y’all. Follow me as we whisk away back to the year 2000. Ok, so it’s not that far back, but it was certainly a life-changing time for me as I had just moved to the Pacific Northwest which I captured so beautifully in my first Portland Beavers post back on March 6^th. It was a harsh reality coming face-to-face with the fact that the only professional baseball team within my proximity happened to be a short season-A club named the Portland Rockies. Portland’s population back in those days hovered in around 530,000 people; however, with Vancouver, Washington to the north (where I lived) there was an added 147,000 people, and another 137,000 people to the south in Oregon’s capital city, Salem. Mix that with all the surrounding towns within a 75-mile circumference and you could probably have over 1 million people. My point with this is that Portland was just too big of a city to be stuck with only a short season-A club, and they did it from 1995-2000.

Now, if you read my previous Beavers post you’d know that the former AAA Beavers were packed up and relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah by then-owner Joe Buzas at the end of the 1993 season. Luckily for Portland there was another team within the state that was having a difficult time drawing crowds and wins who was in the market for relocating themselves. So, at the end of the 1994 season the Bend Rockies, who had only been in existence since the 1992 season, made their way north and set up shop in the desperately-in-need-of-renovation Civic Stadium for the start of the 1995 season.

Had I moved up there prior to their final season I probably would have given a bit more care to the team; however, even in that final year I still made it to 10 games in which they went 4-6 and finished the year with a 32-44 record. For a city of over 500,000 people they were lucky to pull in 1,000 people per game. It was pathetic, especially considering the fact that the stadium is in downtown Portland and pretty easy to get to. Either way, I was one of the few to see the up and coming careers of the likes of Brad Hawpe, Garrett Atkins, Clint Barmes and Cory Vance before they all moved up and on to bigger and brighter futures. But this post isn’t really about them; it’s about the one year in which a team full of nobodies led by then-manager Jim Eppard did the unthinkable in 1997.

In the team’s third year in Portland, Eppard’s first, the Rockies had two players that would touch the Major Leagues even for just a few games, pitcher Justin Miller and first baseman Todd Sears. Sears’s Major League career would last only 40 games in two years with the Minnesota Twins and the San Diego Padres while Miller’s went seven years with Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and a brief stint in Japan. Both of their minor league careers stretch for more than 11 years each and neither were that big of a factor for the Rockies in 1997; however, both were a part of the team that went 44-32 which was good enough for their first division title as they then went on to win their only Northwest League title. After that, the only bit of success the Rockies found was in their second division title in 1999 under then-manager Alan Cockrell.

This cap, which lasted all six years, is one of the last relics from a team that only exists through records and memorabilia. Like a lot of teams whose name is derived from their Major League affiliation, the Portland Rockies logo was designed in the same styling as the Colorado Rockies, but with a few personal touches. Obviously the “PR” is the same as the “CR,” but the added rose is a tribute to the city which is known as the City of Roses which got its name from the perfect climate to grow roses as displayed in the International Rose Test Garden, one of the city’s most famous attractions. The other added feature is the mountain backdrop which could be said is Mount Hood, which can easily be seen from Civic Stadium; however, it is the same pattern which has been featured in the Rockies logo since their inaugural season in 1993. The thing that is most interesting about the use of the mountain is that the Colorado Rockies have only used this graphic on their twice in the team’s history. The first came in 1999 on their Turn Ahead the Clock jerseys, which were used for one game on August 18^th, which the second came this season with the team’s Diamond Era batting practice cap. The only time any team used the graphic before this came before the Colorado Rockies took the field for their first official game. That’s right, the 1992 Bend Rockies. 

Due to the fact that most of the people I listed above had mediocre careers with the Portland Rockies I decided to roll with two guys who actually had profound careers whose talents then translated to the Major League level. The only problem is that I can’t find any record of what jersey number they wore. And while I could assume that the first number they wore in the Majors was in fact their number in the minors, in this case that assumption doesn’t fly as they both played in Portland in 1998.

???- A fourth round draft pick by the Rockies out of Brandon High School in Brandon, Florida in 1997, Chone Figgins had the makings of being a superstar in the Major Leagues. Figgins only played one season in Portland and had a pretty successful season. In 69 games Figgins hit .283 with nine doubles, three triples, one home run, 26 RBI and 25 stolen bases. His three triples led the team and his 25 stolen bases were the second best. Figgins was traded to the Anaheim Angels in 2000 and made his Major League debut on August 25, 2002.

Contrary to popular belief Figgins is not a bust. While his time with the Seattle Mariners (three years) was rather lackluster, the eight years he spent with the Angels were incredibly productive. He made one All-Star Game appearance in his final season in Anaheim in 2009 when he led the league with 101 walks along with his .298 average, 30 doubles and 42 stolen bases. Figgins led the American League in stolen bases in 2005 with 62 and cracked the top-25 in AL MVP voting four times (2004-2005, 2007 and 2009). When Figgins made his debut he wore the #6 all the way through the end of the 2003 season.

???- The other mystery guest was drafted three times, twice by the Mariners in 1995 and 1996 in the lower rounds and then a third time by the Rockies in the 13^th round in 1998 out of the University of South Alabama. 

Juan "Pornstache" Pierre’s first year as a professional came that season in Portland with Figgins, with Pierre having a borderline Hall of Fame first season… for the minors. In 64 games Pierre hit .352 with 93 hits, nine doubles, two triples, 30 RBI, 55 runs scored and a team-leading 38 stolen bases. How the Rockies didn’t win a NWL title that season as well is beyond me.

Pierre only spent two more successful seasons in the minors before getting called up on August 7, 2000 where he finished in sixth place for the National League Rookie of the Year Award batting .310. The following season Pierre would swipe a NL-leading 46 bases and hit .327 in 156 games, but get no love outside of that. Just wrong. Pierre’s Rockies career would only last until the end of the 2002 season as he and pitcher Mike Hampton were traded to the Florida Marlins right before the Winter Meetings. Pierre would end up leading the NL in stolen bases again with 65 while leading the Marlins to their second World Series victory in their 11-year history.

Pierre, somehow, has never made an All-Star team. His two best season came with the Marlins in 2003 and 2004 as he finished in the top-16 in NL MVP voting both of those years behind batting averages of .305 and .326 respectively, a lot of stolen bases and a ton of runs scored. Basically he was the prototypical leadoff hitter of the 2000s.

What’s really interesting about Pierre and Figgins is that they both elected to go with the #6 in their first year(s) in the Majors and then they both changed it to the #9 right afterward. I’d like to think that there is some kind of connection between the two of them to make them do that, but wouldn’t know unless I asked them. Until I get that opportunity, or until a reader has photos of either of them playing in Portland, I’ll have to keep this cap blank and update it accordingly.

June 25- Kinston Indians

This particular cap purchase came as a result of a whim, rather the necessity. I found it at the New Era Flagship store across the street from the MLB Fan Cave in their quite respectable minor league section. I had spent a solid 20 minutes in the store which is way longer than I usually dedicate time toward shopping in one location, unless of course I’m chatting it up with the employees. Sadly, this was not the case. It was still pretty early in my time in New York City and for some odd reason I had the urge to buy a couple hats, but was having a lot of difficulty committing to any of them. This particular Kinston Indians hat I must have picked up and put down at least six times before I finally gave it the green light. My only problem with it is that it’s a custom cap. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, and will continue to mention throughout the year, I always prefer the actual game colors, logos and styles and very rarely pick up a custom cap… unless it’s something worth adding to the collection. Well… this one was definitely up to snuff.

The Kinston Indians wore this cap for all of their home games in 2011, their final season. The only difference between this cap and the one from 2011 is that this one features a gold outline and interior of the feather, as opposed to the tan outline and white interior to the feather featured on the game cap. Personally, I’d actually say that the look of this one is better, and pretty much the main reason why I rolled the dice on it.

Now, it’s pretty rare for me to get really caught up on things “that shouldn’t matter” to the point where it depresses me. I tend to focus on the long term effects and the historical sides of things way too intently. I bring this up because one of the many “things that shouldn’t” bother me is when a minor league team packs up and relocates. The same could easily be said about a Major League franchise, which has only happened once in my lifetime, but in most cases with the minor league system the deep-rooted history that goes along with each team is just laid to waste. It’s a common practice that’s merely part of the business, and very few towns have seen baseball come and go, thrive and die as much as Kinston, North Carolina has.

Established in 1987, the Indians, or "K-Tribe" as they were popularly known, were an advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians and played through the 2011 season. A total of 17 managers led the club since the start of the Indians affiliation including two who have since managed the big league club. The Indians played in 3,458 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 1,925–1,533. Kinston has served as a farm club for ten different major league franchises and one minor league club as professional baseball in the hamlet dates back to a 1908 squad in the Eastern Carolina League. Despite having one of the smallest markets in professional baseball, Kinston has proved its viability for over a century.

Kinston was represented by many excellent amateur clubs since the late nineteenth century, but it was unable to sustain a viable professional team until the mid-1920s. Earlier attempts included an aborted campaign in the Class D Eastern Carolina League in 1908 and an "outlaw league" team in 1921 and 1922. The latter was notable for being managed by former major league pitcher George Suggs and College Football Hall of Fame member Ira Rodgers. Due to the efforts of the city's business leaders, former local amateur star Elisha Lewis, and George Suggs, the town secured a professional team in the Virginia League for the 1925 season named the "Eagles".

The Eagles were a Class B team playing out of a then newly renovated stadium designed by Suggs known as West End Park. The squad had little success against other teams in their league, but was successful enough in gate receipts to validate the city's capacity to sustain a professional team. Kinston's team remained in the Virginia League for three years and then migrated to a newly reformed Eastern Carolina League. This later affiliation collapsed along with the stock market in 1929. The 1920s Eagles' roster included a young catcher named Rick Ferrell, who later had a long playing career and even longer front office career in the major leagues. In 1984, Ferrell became the only former Kinston player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Another player, Frank Armstrong, gave up baseball for a career in the armed services and became one of the most decorated generals in the history of the Air Force.

The Great Depression took a great toll on the minor leagues, with only thirteen teams operating across the U.S. at a 1933 low point. Like most, Kinston sat out the first few years of the Great Depression but reentered play for the 1934 season in the semi-professional Coastal Plain League. By 1937 the circuit had become a fully professional, Class D league as ranked by the National Association. The city remained in the Coastal Plain League continuously until it was disbanded after 1952. As a member of this affiliation, Kinston saw many playoff appearances and won league championships in 1935 and 1947. Among the superior talent during this period was a young player named Charlie "King Kong" Keller who is listed as among the top forty major league players of all-time in terms of on-base percentage (.410). Keller won four World Series titles with the New York Yankees from 1939-1958 and made five All-Star Game appearances in that same stretch.

Kinston was without a team for the three-year period following the dissolution of the Coastal Plain League. In 1956, the owner of the Burlington Bees of the Carolina League moved his team to Kinston. At that time, the Carolina League was a Class B loop with teams located in Virginia and North Carolina. The team, calling itself the Kinston Eagles, were a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate and featured the city's first African-American ball players. In these early days of the Civil Rights Movement, the black players in the Carolina League received much verbal and psychological abuse from the largely white, Southern fan base. The first black players were Frank Washington and Carl Long. Long excelled during the 1956 season, setting an RBI standard of 111 that has never been surpassed by any later Kinston hitter. While the integration succeeded on the ball field, the team failed financially. The Eagles' owner was an inept businessman who brought the club near bankruptcy before it was moved 40 miles away to Wilson in 1957.

Kinston's re-entry into Carolina League baseball in 1962 was successful both on the field and at the turnstile. The Eagles were able to claim the first of its Carolina League crowns. At a time when Kinston's population was only 25,000, the ball club attracted over 140,000 fans. Part of the lure was the talent supplied by Kinston's parent club, the Pirates, which included Steve Blass (17–3, 1.97 ERA, 209 K's), and Frank Bork (19–7, 2.00 ERA). Another fan attraction was that the Eagles were for the first time a community owned team, operating under the non-profit Kinston Eagles Baseball Company, run by an elected eighteen-man, unpaid board of directors. Profits were reinvested into improving the stadium, promoting the team, and supplying playing equipment for the youth of Kinston. This arrangement continued through all thirteen years of Kinston's second tenure in the Carolina League, from 1962 through 1974.

In 1963 minor league baseball was restructured nationwide, with B, C and D classes eliminated. The Carolina League became a advanced-A circuit. The Eagles failed to win any championships during this second era of Carolina League play, but they managed to make the playoffs in six of thirteen seasons. The Pirates stuck with Kinston through the 1965 campaign. During three of those four seasons, the Eagles were managed by Harding "Pete" Peterson, who later oversaw the Pirates farm system, and became the Pirates' general manager, helping to build the late seventies team that won the World Series.

The Eagles became affiliated with the new Atlanta Braves during 1966 and 1967. From 1968 through 1973 the Eagles were affiliation with the Yankees; the fans saw a lot of future all-stars pass through the city including a young Ron Guidry. During the 1970s the popularity of minor league baseball reached its lowest point and the attendance in Kinston fell to only 30,000 for the 1973 season. The city needed a revival of interest, and the Montreal Expos were turned to for help. The young Montreal franchise boasted a strong farm system with a lot of talent. So much talent in fact, that they decided to experiment with having two advanced-A affiliates. Instead of dividing the players evenly between the two, all the top players were placed in the West Palm Beach club, while the newly renamed Kinston Expos had to make do with castoffs. The Kinston team soon found itself overmatched among its Carolina League rivals. The Expos fell to last place and attendance fell to only 27,000 for the year. Montreal declared the experiment a failure and withdrew from Kinston following the 1974 season. With no major league sponsor and very little fan support, Kinston likewise withdrew from the league.

Former airline pilot Ray Kuhlman brought minor league baseball back to Kinston by investing in a Carolina League franchise in the late seventies. The renamed Kinston Eagles flew unaffiliated their first season back in the circuit in 1978. By the next campaign, they were associated with the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto stayed with Kinston for seven years, and the team eventually took on the Blue Jay name. Kinston did not win any championships during the Blue Jays years. Kuhlman and his wife ran the team themselves and saw steady annual increases in attendance each year. The couple brought a string of marketing ideas to the team that have taken hold and remain to this day. These include increasing promotional days, fireworks displays, the introduction of Kinston baseball cards, an increase in branded souvenir merchandise, the establishment of the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, and the hiring of a team mascot. Another fan attraction was a collection of future major league stars including Tony Fernández, Fred McGriff and Cecil Fielder.

Following the 1985 season, the Blue Jays dropped Kinston as a franchise, and professional baseball in the city seemed to be in doubt once again. There was talk of moving the franchise to Charles County, Maryland, but the city remained in the Carolina League with an independent ball club that took on the Eagles name. 1986 proved to be disappointing in the standings and at the gate, and talk of a move was renewed, but ownership secured an affiliation with the Cleveland Indians during the off season. For twenty-five years, Cleveland and the K-Tribe enjoyed a successful partnership which produced seventeen playoff appearances and five Carolina League championships (1988, 1991, 1995, 2004 and 2006). The value of the team has risen along with its on-field success. In 1983, Kuhlman sold the team for $100,000. The franchise was sold again in 1985 for $225,000, and changed hands again in 1989 for $750,000. The team's value in 1992 was estimated at $1.5 million.

Six figure attendance totals became the norm throughout the 1990s and into the new century. General Manager North Johnson fostered closer bonds with the mayor's office and helped create the Mayor's Committee for Professional Baseball in 1987. Dedicated to increasing season ticket sales and promoting ties with businesses, the committee accomplished much in a short span of time. Attendance increased by nearly twenty thousand in 1987 and by more than twelve thousand the following year. By 1991, the number of fans through the turnstiles topped 100,000 for the first time since 1964. Although a new ownership group purchased the franchise in 1994, continuity in day-to-day operations was maintained through general manager North Johnson, and front office mainstay Shari Massengill who took over the reins in 2006. The local government's dedication to keeping baseball in Kinston is evidenced by extensive renovations.

The Kinston Indians were last managed by Aaron Holbert, a former major league infielder. Their General Manager through the 2010 season, Massengill, and former Assistant General Manager, Jessie Hays, made up the only all-female General Manager/Assistant General Manager team in the Minor Leagues. When Hays departed for the 2008 season, her replacement, Janell Bullock, was also female. The final GM was Benjamin Jones, who was previously employed by the Wilson Tobs.

In 2007, the Indians won the Southern Division crown for both halves of the year, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the wild card team, the Salem Avalanche. It was the seventh season in a row that the Indians made the post season, which was a Carolina League record formerly held by the Burlington Bees (1945–1950). It was the second time a Kinston team had accomplished this feat. The Kinston Eagles of the Coastal Plain League also made it to seven post seasons in a row (1946–1952). Kinston's player development contract with Cleveland ended following the 2011 season and in 2012 the Carolina League franchise moved to Zebulon, North Carolina to become the new Carolina Mudcats.

When it came to marking up the cap I decided to keep it with the confines of the time and era.

#11- Somehow I actually screwed up on this one. I wrote the numbers with good intentions a few months ago, but made a mistake or saw a wrong a photo and wrote the wrong jersey number down. In any case, #11 belonged to Tyler Cannon, a catcher/third baseman who batted .246 with six home runs and 39 RBI for the Indians in their final season. But that’s not who I was interested in. I meant to write the jersey number of Drew Pomeranz, the fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft out of the University of Mississippi. His jersey number with the Indians happened to be #51, which I must have misread based on the fact that I was looking off of baseball cards and got one with him in his pitching motion which distorted the number. Oh well! This isn’t a perfect system. Pomeranz went 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 15 starts in 2011 before moving on to Akron with the Aeors, only to be traded to the Colorado Rockies not too long after that as a centerpiece in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade. Pomeranz has since had a few starts in the Majors, the first of which came against the Cincinnati Reds on September 11, 2011. In that game he three five scoreless innings and picked up the win. On May 7, 2012 Pomeranz hit his first career home run off of Edinson Volquez of the San Diego Padres in the third inning of the Rockies’ 2-3 loss.

#’11- I think the saddest part about the Indians playing their final season in 2011 is the fact that they finished the season with a 76-62 record, winning the division title, but lost in the finals against the Baltimore Orioles affiliate the Frederick Keys in four games of a five-game series thanks in part to the Finals MVP, some “no-namer” who goes by Manny Machado. Had the Indians won the title that season it would have made for a wonderful send-off.

May 12- Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are on of the youngest teams currently playing in Major League Baseball and unfortunately with that there isn’t much of a history between them and anyone who has served their country in the United States military. By this I mean that none of the players who have ever donned the black and purple were ever enlisted in the service. For the past two nights this has become a bit of a road block, one of which will fade away as time goes on and when I start talking about the teams who have been around prior to 1950. As it stands now I merely have to work with the games the Rockies have played which happen to fall on Memorial Day.

Two moments in the Rockies’ past have shown a great tribute to the troops who served in the past and present. On May 28, 2007 the Rockies gave away free to anyone who served in the armed services that showed up in uniform, which was also met with a pre-game celebration of their patriotism. On May 31, 2010 the Rockies hosted and recognized distinguished hero Donald G. Stratton, one of 22 USS Arizona survivors, guests of the Freedom Service Dogs organization, and Military Order of the Purple Heart. Stratton, born outside Inavale, Nebraska on July 14, 1922, graduated in 1940 and joined the U.S. Navy that October. After training, he was assigned aboard USS Arizona BB39 as a member of the 6th Division, which set sail for Hawaii on January 23, 1941. On December 7, 1941 he was on board as torpedoes, dive bombers and high altitude bombers pummeled the ship. After Arizona was hit by an 88-KG armor-piercing bomb that blew off 100 feet of the bow, he and five other sailors completed a 70-foot hand-to-hand crawl across a line connected to a sister ship, The Vestal, in order to survive. Stratton had been badly burned - 70 percent of his body - and he was taken to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Pearl Harbor. Eventually medically discharged in September 1942 and having returned to Red Cloud, Nebraska, he re-enlisted and went to sea aboard U.S.S. Stack (DD406) for a tour on the South Seas. In short, Stratton is kind of an American badass.

As of 2012 the Rockies’ record on Memorial Day sits at 13-8. This last season they played and won both ends of a doubleheader against the Houston Astros at Coors Field which will help make better sense as to why they’ve played 21 games in their 20-year existence. While they truly haven’t played enough years in the league to show any real patter of note I can only piece together and interesting tale based on my own findings and conclusions which pertain more to the game the Rockies played against the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon in their 8-2 victory.

4-3: As I mentioned a moment ago the Rockies played the Cardinals this afternoon, at which Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa had a no-hitter going through 6 1/3 innings until David Freese smoked a hard grounder by Rockies first baseman Jordan Pacheco. De La Rosa had a high pitch count going for him and he was removed shortly after giving up a second hit to John Jay. At the time the Rockies were up 5-0 thanks in part to a Troy Tulowitzki three-run homer in the third inning. With the win under his belt De La Rosa’s record moved to 4-3 on the season; however, this, oddly enough, is not why I marked my cap with that record. Come to think of it until I started writing this piece I never realized what De La Rosa’s record was, which makes this article all the more interesting.

In the 21 games that the Rockies have played on Memorial Day the one team they played the most has been the Cardinals. Their first meeting came on May 29, 1995 in which the Rockies fell to the Cardinals in 11 innings by the score of 6-5. Over the next three seasons the Rockies would come out the victors, winning handily by at least two runs in each contest. It would be another seven years (2005) before the teams met up again on Memorial Day, this time with the Cardinals, once again winning by one run (5-4). In 2007 the match went back to Colorado by a score of 6-2, and in 2011 the Cardinals once again beat the Rockies by a one-run differential (4-3).

Now, if you’re playing at home and tallying up the numbers you’ll see that the Cardinals can only beat the Rockies by one run on Memorial Day, but more important, the overall record is 4-3 in favor of the Rockies. 4-3, once again is Jorge De La Rosa’s record as of today after beating the Cardinals. Pretty weird if you ask me.

March 21- Colorado Rockies

During my baseball related travels of 2012 there were unfortunately three stadiums that I never had the opportunity to visit (Tuner Field, Target Field and Coors Field), but more importantly, there was only one team I have still yet to see play live at home or one the road… the Colorado Rockies. I didn’t really put two and two together until one night when I had a two hour layover in Denver International Airport. DEN is one of the few airports that still have smoking facilities on the inside so I made sure to pay a visit to relax having just been stuck on a plane that had left Kansas City, Missouri a few hours prior. It was September 10, and not exactly a particular day that I wanted to be flying, especially considering I hate flying. I was in the bar watching the Oakland Raiders versus the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football with the Rockies game tucked in the back corner on a significantly smaller television. What I didn’t realize until that moment was that the Rockies were playing at home against the San Francisco Giants. It was also in that moment that I realized that moment was the closest I had ever been to seeing the Rockies play in person.

It’s kind of a weird personal stat for me to carry around, especially when considering that I’ve had so many opportunities to catch them when I was living in Bakersfield, California. The Los Angeles Dodgers were two hours away from me, and the Giants were four hours away. But even with such proximity, I always blew the Rockies off. It’s really kind of sad how much love the Colorado Rockies never seem to get. Granted, they’ve only been in Major League Baseball since 1993; however, there are a lot of stats the team compiled in a short time frame which may be unbreakable, at least for the rest of my lifetime. For instance, did you know that the Rockies set the single season attendance record in their inaugural year? Yup! 4,483,350 people went to go see an unproven ball club play in Mile High Stadium. Granted, it did help their figures on account that they played in a NFL stadium, but it’s still impressive nonetheless.

I think one of the things that’s even more impressive is that in the upcoming 20 years the team has been around they managed to hang on to this one baseball cap. The all black with a purple button and purple/white interior “CR” has been one of the few hats to last the test of time. I’ll admit, I don’t give this hat much love, but it is still considered to be one of the best looking hats in baseball by fans and critics. Hell, this was actually the hat the high school (Columbia River) I attended in Vancouver, Washington for my senior year repped the most. It also helped that we had the same colors.

With the Rockies celebrating their 20^th birthday this season I figured I had to do something really special to mark this cap up with. I doubt I’ll get much of an argument. I should also point out that the order in which I threw these numbers on was not by accident. I’ll explain at the end.

#26- Ellis Burks is one of those few guys that many know the name, but very few remember what kind of a career he had despite the fact he played for 18 seasons. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox with the 20^th overall pick in 1983 and made his debut in Bean Town in 1987. His best year came in 1990 when he went .296/21/89 which was good enough for his first of two trips to the All-Star game, 15^th on the American League MVP list and he even got himself a Gold Glove that season. Through 1992 the rest of his Red Sox career was mediocre at best; the same could be said about his one year with the Chicago White Sox in 1993. At the end of ’93 the Rockies came knocking and signed Burks to a five-year deal. He got off to a great start his first season, but the players strike cut it short. 1995 didn’t pan out all that wonderful; however, it was 1996 when Burks make his mark in MLB history. That season he finished third in the National League MVP vote after slugging a career high 40 home runs, a career high 128 runs batted in and even a career high in runs scored at 142. Oh, and he also had a .344 batting average which led the NL that season. Yah, Burks really got hosed that year. Thanks a lot Ken Caminiti. Burks never quite mustered anything even close to the same season he had in ’96 for the rest of his career. His finished at .291/352/1206.

#9- Vinny Castilla is arguably one of the greatest players in MLB history to be born in Mexico. The only other guy I might put ahead of him is Fernando Valenzuela. Castilla’s career began in 1991 with a two-year stint with the Atlanta Braves. He only played 21 games in that time frame so it made the decision easier for the Braves to allow him to get picked up by the Rockies in the 1992 Expansion Draft. From 1993-2000 Castilla was, and still is, one of the most beloved players in Rockies history. His time from 1996-1997 was especially magical as he went .304/40/113 both years. Yes! He posted the exact stats back-to-back years! What are the odds on that happening? I have no clue, and I sure as hell won’t try to figure it out either. In 1998 he went .319/46/144 which was somehow only good enough for 11^th in the NL MVP voting that season. Ludicrous!!! For his career Castilla made only two All-Star game appearances and won three Silver Slugger awards. Should have been more.

#14- Andres “The Big Cat” Galarraga was hands down one of my favorite players growing up, especially during his time on the Montreal Expos (1985-1991 and 2002), but it was his time with the Rockies that he truly shined. From 1993-1997 Galarraga finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting every season except 1995 when he finished in 16^th. His two best years in that stretch, statistically that is, came in 1996 and 1997. In ’96 he went .304/47/150 which put him three spots behind Birks in the voting that season. In ’97 The Big Cat went .318/41/140 which was good enough for seventh in NL MVP voting. Granted, the man did hit a career/League high .370 in his first year with the Rockies, but give the guy a break. Back-to-back 40 home run and 100 RBI seasons, are you kidding me!? (More on Galarraga’s accolades in a future post)

#33- Larry “Booger” Walker, like Burks, was another long term contract signing for the Rockies, but this time right before the start of the 1995 season. From 1989-1994 Walker was a member of the Expos and one of the key offensive factors in their storybook season that was cut short by the players strike. He also had a pretty solid glove, winning two Gold Gloves with the ‘Spos in 1992 and 1993. In 1997; however, Walker played out of his mind batting .366 while crushing a League high 49 home runs and raked in 130 RBI; all good enough for his one and only MVP that season. Walker then went on to win three batting titles in 1998, 1999 and 2001. He finished his career going .313/383/1311 while making five All-Star game appearances and winning seven Gold Gloves. He also served as one of the coaches for the Canadian World Baseball Classic team.

Now, as I mentioned above, there is a particular order in which I put their jerseys numbers on my hat which pertains to a record in MLB history which has only occurred twice. In 1996 Burks, Castilla and Galarraga became the first set of three teammates to record 40+ home runs and 100+ RBI in a season (26-9-14 jerseys). In 1997 Castilla, Galarraga and Walker became the second set of three teammates to go 40+/100+ in a season (9-14-33 jerseys). So, from start to finish, the numbers all line up.

Now, while I probably should have given a bit more focus to the 1995 season in which they became the first NL team to win the Wild Card that season, I didn’t find it to be as impressive, especially considering that the 2007 Rockies made the World Series. One last thing that should be pointed out is that 1997 was also the third time in which four teammates hit 100+ RBI in a season. The four: Castilla, Galarraga, Walker and Dante Bichette.

February 13- Casper Ghosts

Today has been an especially unusual day, and I feel that the hat I’m wearing has some partial blame to it. I’ve always been a pretty superstitious guy, especially when it comes to baseball. I always jump over the chalk, I furiously brushed my teeth before every game like Turk Wendell and I always find patterns in the things that I do/wear when things seem to be amiss. Today is only the third day that I’ve worn this Casper Ghosts cap since I bought it back in August of 2011, and all three days have been especially trying.

The first day I wore it I ended up doing poorly on a photography assignment. Specifically, all of the photos I took were over or underexposed. The second day I wore was during Game 4 of the American League Championship series. The entire day I had been wearing my Detroit Tigers home cap in the hopes that the Tigers would tie the series with the Texas Rangers. It was going really well too; the Tigers and Rangers were tied at the end of the seventh inning. My friend Benji, a huge Tigers fan from Lansing, Michigan had been riding me the whole game for me to go home and grab my Ghosts hat for him to look at, but I wasn’t quite in the mood; at least until the Tigers came back from blowing a 2-0 lead in the top of the sixth. I lived about a 9-iron shot away from the bar I work at, Max’s Tavern, so I ran home to grab it for the remainder of the game. Over the next three innings the Tigers had an effort to score a few times, but came up empty every time. Finally, in the top of the 11^th inning, the Tigers turned to Jose Valverde to put a stop on the Rangers offense. He failed. The Rangers won the game 7-3 and I went home and threw the cap across the room. Today, the MLB Fan Cave Top 30 was announced and two of my friends (Tom Bentley- Mariners and Evan Wansbrough- Blue Jays) didn’t make the cut despite garnering a lot of attention over their campaign. I feel partially responsible for them not making the cut, but not because of the hat. The hat merely aided in the depression that followed.

For those who don’t know too much about this hat, let alone the team, the tale is quite interesting. The team was first established in 2001 when the Butte Copper Kings from Montana had relocated after the 2000 season. From 2001-2007 the Rookie League team was known as the Casper Rockies in honor of their Major League affiliate, the Colorado Rockies. Wanting to bring in new fans and revenue the team held a contest for fans to chime in and rename the team. This process had proved successful in 2003 when the Calgary Cannons had relocated to Albuquerque Dukes had moved to Portland to become the Beavers at the end of the 2001 season. (If you haven’t noticed yet the Beavers and Portland come up frequently in my Minor League hat posts) By an overwhelming 67% majority the fans had chosen the Isotopes as their team name. But I’ll go into more detail in a later post. Unsurprisingly, the fans had chosen the Ghosts as the new team name for the Casper Rockies to start the 2008 season. The team name stuck from 2008-2011, but the team itself did not as they relocated to Grand Junction for the 2012 season. Bad luck all around for everyone it seems.

Keeping with the bad luck theme I did some research and found some interesting choices for my marks. Just a heads up; trying to find jersey numbers for big names in one day in Rookie Leagues is not an easy task, but I think you’ll all approve.

#17- If you know the Rockies, then you certainly should know this number. In 2010 Todd Helton made a rehab trip to Casper for three games: two against the Orem Owls and one against the Ogden Raptors, both of whom have pretty sweet hats. It’s not uncommon for players to do rehab stints, but very few go as far down as Rookie League. In this case the Ghosts were the only nearby affiliate of the Rockies to be playing at home for Helton to get some practice in. Luckily for his sake, he did pretty well. In the three games he played Helton went 5-10 with a double, five RBI and two walks. Just imagine if he had a bad showing.

#40/50- I’ve kept this open for a moment until I can get confirmation of the jersey number, but back in 2009 the Rockies had signed free agent and four-time World Series champion Mike Timlin to a Minor League deal. Guess where he had to start out? Timlin played in two games and threw two scoreless innings for the Ghosts before immediately jumping up to their AAA affiliate the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Unfortunately the 43-year-old was released two weeks later. As far as the 40/50 is concerned, I’m pretty much making an educated guess as to which number he used since those were the two numbers he wore during his time in the Majors. He wore #40 from 1991-2000 and #50 from 2001-2008. Based on logic I would assume he rocked #50, but I’d rather play it safe until I get confirmation. So, if anyone knows the answer, it would be more than appreciated.

February 2- Colorado Rockies

When I woke up this morning the last thing I expected was to spend over an hour doing research on this hat. For the most part I always go into marking up my hats with a pre-set knowledge of what era the hat came from and a list of players and stats that within. But today, I met my match. The Colorado Rockies are the only team still in existence who has not changed their logo. The reason I say “still in existence” is because from 1969-2004 the Montreal Expos had stayed true to their original logo. At it stands now, the Rockies have been going strong with the “CR” since 1993. Today is also the first day where I’ve truly felt that this blog serves some kind of benefit to baseball fans. I’m not in any way putting myself or my previous posts down, but they were mostly for entertainment with a little bit of education to it. What’s really interesting about most Web sites dedicated to uniform and hat history is that the Rockies hats are not isolated by year and use. By this I mean that the premier Web site run by the Hall of Fame does not have each hat used by the Rockies marked by color or separated out. Every style they have listed is the all black style. That’s hardly helpful. On top of that, every other Web site I tracked down had the logo and the proper color schemes listed, but nothing to indicate what color the hat’s bill is. Seriously, check them out some time.

I was able to track down the information on this hat after combing through the entire financial history of the Rockies organization. On January 19, 1999 the Rockies introduced the all black panel cap with the purple bill along with two additional jerseys to their arsenal. While the Rockies have maintained the same logo for the last 20 years, they certainly have mixed it up quite a bit with their hat, pant and jersey combinations like the University of Oregon football team. But at least when marking this hat up, there were two easy choices to stick with.

#17- Todd Helton is one of the few guys left in Major League Baseball who is still playing for the same team that drafted him. More specifically, a guy who has been with the same organization for over 15 years. Helton’s story is quite interesting as he was given athletic scholarships to the University of Tennessee for both baseball and football. On the gridiron Helton played quarterback and served as the backup to Heath Schuler, who later went on to play in the NFL. Going into Helton’s junior year, he was once again #2 on the depth chart behind Jerry Colquitt (yah, I never heard of him either). During the season opener versus UCLA Colquitt tore ligaments in his knee, thus passing the starting job down to Helton. Helton lasted three weeks in the position until suffering a similar knee injury as Colquitt against Mississippi State. Tennessee then had no choice but to turn to their third string quarter back, some no-namer named Peyton Manning. And the rest as they say is history. The rest of the school year wasn’t a total wash; Helton still won the Dick Howser Trophy (Nations to collegiate baseball player) following his junior year, and was still scouted to play in the NFL by the Houston Oilers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, but… baseball was his calling. Helton was drafted eighth overall in the 1995 draft and has gone on to have a solid career: .320/354/1345 with 2420 career hits, three Gold Gloves and five All-Star appearances. Another cool fact about Helton is that he and Derek Jeter are the only two players to hold the franchise record for hits and still be active.

#33- Larry Walker at one point in his career was a first ballot Hall of Famer, primarily because of his time in Denver. Walker started out with the Expos from 1989-94 and was a member of the team when they were on the verge of winning their first World Series in franchise history. But, the strike happened and Larry Walker was a free agent at year’s end. The Rockies, wanting to add some pop to their lineup, signed Walker to a multiyear deal as the strike came to a close and helped the team make the postseason for the first time as the first ever Wild Card winner. In his first season Walker went .306/36/101. Walker then went on to win three batting titles (1998, 1999 and 2001) and an MVP in 1997 with .366/49/130 and an OPS of 1.172. Boom! Walker’s last season with the Rockies came halfway into the 2004 season when he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals and put out to pasture. For the 10 years he rocked the house in Denver, he was clearly one of the best in the game.