October 21, 2007
Who's on first
An amazing streak of 21 wins in 22 games was only the beginning as the unheralded Colorado Rockies head to the World Series for the first time
By BOB ELLIOTT, SUN MEDIA
DENVER -- Who are these guys anyway? The Colorado Rockies won 13 of their final 14 regular-season games to create a sudden-death playoff with the San Diego Padres for the National League wild-card spot. They scored three times off career saves leader Trevor Hoffman in the bottom of the 13th to defeat the Padres and earn the post-season berth.
Then, they won seven games in a row against the Philadelphia Phillies (NL division series) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (NL championship series) to reach the World Series.
Now that is some kind of streaking -- 11 wins in a row, then a loss, then 10 in a row, 21 wins in 22 games.
Who are these guys?
Fifteen things you should know about the Rockies:
THE CLOSER
Manny Corpas -- 10 saves and a win during the streak and 19-for-22 since taking over from Brian Fuentes -- is from Panama and was signed by international scout Tim Ireland, who has never been to Panama.
Ireland had a chance meeting with Corpas at a convenience store in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, during the world junior championship eight years ago.
The bilingual Rockies scout asked what country this long-armed 16-year-old pitched for and Corpas answered Panama. Off the two went to meet his coach, a bullpen session was arranged and Corpas' fifth pitch was an 85-mph fastball. Ireland gave Corpas a $17,500 US signing bonus and the Rockies had another arm.
Not that Corpas is different from most in the wacky world of closers, but often he'll throw underhand in the bullpen before beginning his warmup session.
Which is tougher: Win 21 of 22 games -- the first 13 must wins -- or find a closer in a convenience store in Taiwan?
THE FACE OF THE FRANCHISE
Todd Helton, 33, played in 1,578 games before making his first post-season appearance -- third- longest among active players.
It was fitting when, with two out in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NLCS, the Diamondbacks' Eric Byrnes, representing the tying run, bounced a roller to short. Troy Tulowitzki fielded on the run and fired a low strike. Helton stretched, made the grab and raised his arms to the heavens in celebration.
It was the picture that best described the Rockies' triumph.
Not quite the same as June 9, 2001, when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman handed the Stanley Cup to Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, who gave the Cup to Ray Bourque, a 22-year veteran.
But in 11 seasons this is Helton's third winning season, his team's overall are a combined 56 games under .500. Helton is a pup compared with Bourque.
Helton almost was dealt to the Boston Red Sox in the off-season. Imagine had he been traded only to see the Rockies playing Cleveland in the World Series.
He entered the season as one of five players to own a career .330 average or better, a .400 on-base percentage and a .590 slugging percentage. The others: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams and Albert Pujols.
We first met Helton at Asheville, N.C., in 1995. We'd flown into Atlanta and somehow wound up with a rental car with Tennessee plates. Helton came over and talked for five minutes asking about "things back home," before we straightened out the mixup.
THE MANAGER
Clint Hurdle, a former No. 1 pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1975, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1978.
"Maybe the worst player ever on the cover," Hurdle said jokingly.
Hurdle has a leathery face from too many afternoons in the sun and a whisky voice from too many nights talking over what went right and what went wrong.
He reminds us of Blue Jays manager John Gibbons and with good reason. The two are close friends from their days in the New York Mets organization and Gibbons has called to wish his pal congrats every step through the post-season.
An example of Hurdle's outlook: "One of the most challenging moments this season when one of our guys dropped the words 'crushing and debilitating' on me after a loss. That day I had received a call from a mother at Children's Hospital that she wanted me to come by to see her son. He was going to pass away that night. That was debilitating."
Hurdle's daughter, Madison, 5, was born with Prader-Willi syndrome, a complex genetic disorder caused by a lack of several genes.
THE MAN
While Helton may be the face, of the team, left fielder Matt Holliday is the Colorado hitter opposing pitchers fear. Holliday is a legitimate NL most valuable player award candidate along with Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins and Milwaukee's Prince Fielder.
Holliday hit 36 homers, and led the NL in average (.340), hits (216), RBIs (137), extra-base hits (92) total bases (386) and doubles (50). He passed Larry Walker's franchise record by reaching base in 38 consecutive games. Walker's record was 35.
Holliday's .332 career average is second only to Ichiro Suzuki among active players.
Holliday is the son of North Carolina State Wolfpack associate head baseball coach Tom Holliday, the brother of Arizona State Sun Devils assistant coach Josh Holliday, and his uncle is Dave Holliday, a Rockies scout.
HUT-HUT
Helton came to baseball as a first-round pick in 1995 after quarterbacking the Tennessee Volunteers. Helton beat out freshman Peyton Manning for the No. 2 spot behind Jerry Colquitt with the Vols.
When Colquitt was hurt in the season opener, Helton took over in a 25-23 loss to UCLA. He started the next game, a 41-23 win over the Georgia Bulldogs, then lost 31-0 to the Florida Gators. He injured a medial collateral ligament in the first half of a 24-21 loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Manning took over to become Tennessee's career leading passer.
Backup outfielder Seth Smith, meanwhile, backed up Eli Manning in three seasons at Ole Miss. Smith says he was a backup in name only -- he never took a snap.
Holliday was ranked among the top high school quarterbacks -- with Carson Palmer, Ronald Curry and Michael Vick -- and was recruited to play for the Oklahoma Sooners, but the Rockies' seventh-round draft choice in 1997 chose baseball.
THE STUD
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was the fourth-best prospect heading into the 2005 draft, according to Baseball America.
The Blue Jays scouts, choosing sixth, were on Tulowitzki but decided pitching was of more import. They chose lefty Ricky Romero from Cal State Fullerton.
After Romero was picked by the Jays, Tulowitzki went to the Rockies on the next pick, having played two all-American seasons with the Long Beach State Dirtbags. He signed June 10, 2005, and within days walked into the Rockies clubhouse saying "I hope I make it here some day."
He made it in a baseball heartbeat, reaching the majors as a September callup in 2006. Now, "Tu-Lo, Tu-Lo" chants ring out every time he steps up to the plate. His range, arm and bat are impressive.
He's a rookie of the year candidate after hitting 24 homers, driving in 99 runs and batting .291.
THE ACE
They come from far -- Japan (Kaz Matsui), the Dominican (centre fielder Willy Taveras, right-hander Ubaldo Jiminez), Venezuela (catcher Yorvit Torrealba, left-hander Franklin Morales) and Panama (Corpas) and they come from here -- Jeff Francis is from North Delta, B.C., and is married to Allison Padfield of Rodney, Ont., near London.
All the former University of British Columbia star did was win 17 games this season, win the NLDS opener against Philadelphia, and win the NLCS opener over Arizona. He'll start Game 1 of the World Series.
Francis was nicknamed "Boomer" by his grandpa -- not after ex-Jays lefty David Wells, but former Montreal Canadiens great Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion. He was a late bloomer, in terms of velocity.
He went 19-0 in 1998 and 18-1 in 1999 for North Delta, with an 82 mph fastball.
With an SAT score of 1210 (out of 1600) and a 4.0 grade point average, Francis was an academic rather than a prospect when he left high school. Oregon State and San Diego State showed a little interest, but Francis elected to stay home and attend UBC.
THE MAGIC
The Rockies winning streak was in its fledgling stage -- they had won two in a row -- but were trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth on Sept. 18. Dodgers closer Takashi Saito was on the mound. The Rockies hitters were struggling, hitless in the previous 16 at-bats with 10 strikeouts. It did not look good.
With two out, Holliday singled and Helton hit a walk-off homer.
THE FANS
In the winter of 1993 before the Rockies ever had played, then manager Don Baylor went to a hoops game. He and his wife, Becky, overheard the couple behind them.
"That's our new manager," the man whispered to his wife.
Here's the twist: Baylor wasn't in Denver, he was in Salt Lake City at a Utah Jazz game.
The Rockies are a regional franchise drawing fans from various states, including Wyoming, Nebraska and Oklahoma. In their initial year the Rockies sold season tickets to people from 36 different states, drawing 4,483,350 to Mile High Stadium, breaking the Jays' attendance record of 4,028,318 set in 1992.
THE WEATHER
Playing baseball in late October can be a dicey proposition. The long-term forecast indicates temperatures could be above normal come the World Series, but snow in October in Denver is common.
The average first snowfall is Oct. 15, and the Rockies are scheduled to be home for World Series games Oct. 27-29.
No fewer than 19.1 inches fell during a 24-hour period Oct. 24-25, 1997. The Bronco Blizzard hit in 1984 during a Monday Night Football game. By the time the game ended four inches of snow was on the field. Denver had 15 inches of snow in early October 1991.
In Game 3 of the the NLCS against Arizona it was 3C. For Game 4 it was 21C and sunny. Denver has Calgary's weather.
SMOOTH AS SILK
Who are these guys? Well, they can pick it. They had a major-league leading fielding percentage of .98925, committing 68 errors in 6,326 chances.
They are led by shortstop Tulowitzki (11 errors in 834 chances), first baseman Helton (two clanks in 1,545 opportunities) and second baseman Matsui (four errors in 515 chances). Helton and Matsui were teammates with the 1995-96 Maui StingRays in Hawaii.
POWER AT THE CORNER
Southern Californian Garrett Atkins has 67 homers and 320 RBI in three full seasons at third base. He's a cool one. In the off-season he served as best man at the wedding of Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, a former teammate at UCLA.
THE ROLLING STONE
Outfielder Jeff Baker was born in Bad Kissingen, West Germany, and has lived in nine cities around the world. His father was in the U.S. Army.
THE LONG SHOT
Reliever Ryan Speier, who gained the save in Game 2 against Arizona, was undrafted after pitching for the Radford Highlanders. He was strong in the Cape Cod League in 2001 and was signed.
BIG-TIME POP
Right fielder Brad Hawpe hit a three-run homer off USC Trojans pitcher Mark Prior to help the LSU Fighting Tigers win the College World Series in 2000.
Who are these guys?
Butch Cassidy always asked the same question during the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Sundance finally answered: "They're very good."
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COLORADO ROCKIES
First year: 1993.
First at-bat: Eric Young April 9, 1993, leadoff homer in front of 80,227.
Previous post-season appearance: 1995, lost 3-1 to Atlanta.
2007 attendance: 2,376,250 (28,978 average).
Team batting average: .280 (1st in NL).
Team ERA: 4.32 (8th in NL).
Fielding: .989 (1st in NL).
Injuries: Lost three of their starters -- Rodrigo Lopez (arm injury) July 27,
Jason Hirsh (fractured leg) Aug. 8 and Aaron Cook (oblique strain) Aug. 11.
Blue Jays connection: First base coach Glenallen Hill.
GM: Dan O'Dowd.
Owners: Charles and Richard Monfort (ConAgra Foods).
Career leaders
Homers: Todd Helton 303.
RBIs: Helton 1,087.
Wins: Jason Jennings 58.
Award winners: Larry Walker, MVP 1997, batting champ 1999, 2000, 2001, seven-time Gold Glove winner.