Who were these unmasked men wearing purple pin stripes? The names of Bichette, Burks, Castilla, Galarraga and Walker went from good hitting baseball players to the famed Blake St. Bombers. They haunted opposing pitchers for half a decade.
The Bombers killed pitcher’s ERA’s and even ruined a career or two in the process. Their secret lair resided on the first base dugout of Coors Field which paralleled the adjacent outside downtown Denver avenue named Blake Street; hence that’s where they got their name.
Since the first game in Coors Field, the Blake St. Bombers found homerun heaven in Colorado. Bichette crisianed the field by launching a 3-run blast into the late Colorado night during the bottom of the 14th inning for a 11-9 victory over the New York Mets. From that moment on both fans and players knew that Coors Field was some place special. For the next five seasons fans would enjoy a spectacular onslaught of homeruns courtesy of the Bombers in the ball park.
Well, they might not have been super heroes, but they produced astonishing offensive statistics over the five year (plus/less) period. This group of sluggers gave away more souvenirs to fans via the homerun ball than Superman, Spiderman, and Batman have had movie sequels put together. And that’s a lot!
Original members included Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga and Larry Walker. The fifth member, Ellis Burks spent the 1995 season injured off and on, and never revealed himself as a slugger until the next season.
Before you blame Dealin' Dan, two of them (Burks & Galarraga) were long gone before Dealin' Dan took over the Rox. Shortly afterwards Dante and Vinny found their tickets punched out of town courtesy of a Dealin' Dan trade. Walker lasted the longest before he found a new home outside of the Rocky Mountains.
O'Dowd NOT Responsible for:
Andres Galarraga – Signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves on November 20, 1997
Andres "Big Cat" Galarraga was part of the initial expansion team line-up. The Big Cat was really the first big time star the Rox have ever had. The Big Cat was a fan favorite in the Rockies for years to come.
In the 1993 Rockies Inaugural Year, The Big Cat was the N.L. batting champion with a .370 average and became the franchise's first ever All-Star. The Big Cat traditionally hit out of the clean-up spot in the batting order and lead the N.L. in HR's in 1996 and RBI's in 1996 & 1997.
Unfortunately with the arrival of 1B prospect, Todd Helton, The Big Cat was let go by the Rockies after the 1997 campaign when he signed with the Atlanta Braves in November.
The Big Cat will always be missed but remembered for his monstrous towering HR's, huge arms, cat-like defensive reflexes and larger than life smile.
2 Time All Star (1993, & 1997)
1993 N.L. Batting Champion
1996 N.L. Homerun Leader
1996 N.L. RBI Leader
1997 N.L. RBI Leader
1996 N.L. 1B Silver Slugger
Ellis Burks – Traded away on July 31, 1998 to San Francisco Giants for Darryl Hamilton, Jason Brester, and Jim Stoops
Burks signed with the Rox in 1994 following their first year. He became an immediate impact with the team while hitting over .400 in the first 25 games of the 1994 season. A wrist injury sidelined him in late May and he was able to return by the end of July just before the player's strike.
Injuries plagued Burks over the course of his Rox career, but in 1996 Burks cemented his place as part of the Blake St. Bombers by having a tremendous year hitting .344, 211 Hits, 40 HR's, 128 RBI's, 32 SB's and leading the N.L. in runs scored with 142. Burks finished third in N.L. MVP voting in 1996.
Burks continued to be part of the Bombers by hitting 32 HR's in 1997 and 16 HR's in 1998 before being dealt at the trade deadline to the San Francisco Giants. Afterwards Burks continued his HR onslaught by tallying totals of 31, 24, 28, and 32 over the next four seasons.
1996 All Star
1996 N.L. Hits Leader
1996 N.L. OF Silver Slugger
O'Dowd's Part in the Destruction:
Dante Bichette – traded away on October 30, 1999 to Cincinnati Reds for Jeffery Hammonds and Stan Belinda
Dante was another original member of the Inaugural Rox team in 1993. Dante quietly hit .310 that first year before ending the season with a wrist injury in mid September. He did come back as a pinch runner to score a run 10 days later.The 1994 campaign landed Dante in the All-Star game and his legacy as a Bomber was starting to emerge. Dante led the N.L. in games and AB's while hitting 27 HR's and driving in 95 RBI's.
As the Rox moved into the new ballpark in downtown Denver, the arrival of the Blake St. Bombers became official. Dante found the new home a hitter's paradise as he put on an offensive display and lead the Rox to playoffs.
In a season in which I thought that he should have been MVP (finished 2nd to Cincinnati Reds SS Barry Larkin...Larkin was good, but probably got the "You've been around baseball for a while" nod in the voting), Dante led the N.L. in Hits, HR's, RBI's, and finished 3rd in average. Dante was very close to acheiving the first Triple Crown in 28 years (at the time).
Dante hit over .300 in every year as a Rox except 1998 (.298 ave). He also became a member of the 30-30 club in 1996 when he stole 31 bases and knocked out 31 HR's.
If there were a "Rock Star" of the Blake St. Bombers...he would have been Dante. He even had his own celeberty T-shirt, "Bichette Happens". It's been a long time since I've seen a fan at Coors Field supporting that shirt, but I'm sure someone still has one out there.
Another trademark of Dante's legacy was the music played as he was announced to the plate. Raise your hand if Peter Gabriel's ♫ "Sludgehammer" ♫ automatically pops in your head. Now try the reverse scenario. When you hear that opening beat of ♫ Sludgehammer ♫, do you think of Dante? For me...both happens. But I guess that's why Bichette Happens.
Barely over a month into O'Dowd's tenure, Bichette was dealt away to the Reds for OF Jeffrey Hammonds and Stan Belinda. Bichette was later traded the next season to Boston. After his Rox departure he only played two more seasons while slugging out 35 more HR's.
4 Time All Star (1994,1995,1996, & 1998)
1994 N.L. Games Leader
1994 N.L. AB Leader
1995 N.L. Hits Leader
1995 N.L. HR Leader
1995 N.L. RBI Leader
1998 N.L. Hits Leader
1995 N.L. OF Silver Slugger
Vinny Castilla – Traded away to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on December 13, 1999 for Aaron Ledesma and Rolando Arrojo
Vinny Castilla was picked by the Rox in the expansion draft from the Braves prior to the start of their first year. Vinny broke into the league as a light hitting SS-3B. Vinny actually held the Rox rookie record for HR's in a season with 9...that eventually fell.Just like other Bombers, once the gates at Coors Field opened...it was blast off time! Vinny fell into the spotlight during the 1995 season hitting career highs in almost every offensive category including HR's (32) and RBI's (90). Vinny made the All-Star game in 1995 for the first time.
Vinny produce astonishing numbers until his departure from the Rox. He was known for swinging for the fences on a first pitch fastball...despite the scouting reports, pitchers still challenged him and threw it. Vinny also had the luxury of following many HR's by a Bomber with a launching of his own on the next pitch.
In 1998 Vinny made the All-Star game and participated in the HR derby. By the way just in case you might have forgotten...the 1998 All-Star Game was played at Coors Field.
Vinny was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays (then called Devil Rays) 44 days after Bichette was traded away. Vinny did have his number called on by the Rox again as he signed back with the team as a Free Agent in 2004.
Once again Vinny found Coors Field to be his old stompin' grounds as he hit 35 HR's and drove in a N.L. high 131 RBI's in 2004. Vinny signed with the Washington Nationals the next season.
In 2006 found his way calling the dugout on Blake St. home once again as he signed back with the Rox on August 14, 2006. This time it was the last time he would suit up for a major league team as he finished his playing days with the Rox. Vinny ended up having the second longest career as a Blake St. Bomber. Vinny did come back as a coach for the Rox for a season.
- Resigned on December 11, 2003; released on October 29, 2004;
- Resigned on August 14, 2006
2 Time All Star (1995 & 1998)
1998 N.L. Games Leader
2004 N.L. RBI Leader
3 Time Silver Slugger
1995 N.L. 3B
1997 N.L. 3B
1998 N.L. 3B
Larry Walker – Traded away to the St. Louis Cardinals on August 6, 2004 for Chris Narveson, Luis Martinez, and Matt Burch
Larry Walker had the longest career with the Rox as a Bomber despite having numerous injury problems over the years. Walker originally signed with the Rox right before the 1995 season. Walker stepped right into place as Bomber knocking out a then-career high 36 round trippers in 1995. Walker helped lead the Rox into the playoffs with his rocket arm in RF and his long, heavy hitting bat.After an injury riddled 1996 season, Walker returned to the launching pad in 1997 by becoming the first Rox to win N.L. MVP honors. Walker clubbed out 49 HR's, drove in 130 RBI's, swiped 33 bases while settling for a .366 average.
While his .366 average was extremely high, it was not his career high, nor was it high enough to win the batting title. Walker did go on and win three other batting titles in 3 of the next 4 years afterwards.
Walker found himself being last Bomber standing for most of his playing days with the Rox. On August 6, 2004 Walker was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Walker would play another season with the Cardinals before ending his career.
4 Time All Star (1997, 1998, 1999 & 2001)
1997 N.L. MVP
1997 N.L. HR Leader
3 Time Batting Champion
1998 N.L. Batting Champion
1999 N.L. Batting Champion
2001 N.L. Batting Champion
5 Time Gold Glove
1997 N.L. RF Gold Glove
1998 N.L. RF Gold Glove
1999 N.L. RF Gold Glove
2001 N.L. RF Gold Glove
2002 N.L. RF Gold Glove
2 Time Silver Slugger
1997 N.L. OF Silver Slugger
1999 N.L. OF Silver Slugger
As you can see the Bombers compiled massive stats in their Rox careers. The quintet of Bombers only put together:
1 N.L. MVP
13 All-Star Appearances
8 N.L. Silver Slugger Awards
4 N.L. Batting Champions
3 N.L. HR Champions
5 Gold Gloves
4 N.L. RBI Leaders
3 N.L. Hit Leaders
&
A lot of bruised pitching egos
50 Cents on a Dollar:
Here's what the Rox fans received as the return value for the Bombers:
Jeffrey Hammonds made the All-Star game in his lone year as a Rox. Hammonds was a better athlete than Bichette (especially defensively), but eventually signed a big deal with the Milwaukee Brewers in the following off season (3 yr/$21 million).
Stan Belinda was released on July 25, 2000. He signed with Atlanta 4 days later and pitched 10 more games before retiring.
Rolando Arrojo was a previous All-Star for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (in 1998...when the game was at...Coors Field). He started 19 games for the Rox before being on July 27, 2000 to the Boston Red Sox. The deal sent Rox 2B Mike Lansing, P Arrojo and RP Rich Croushore to Boston for P Brian Rose (12 GS, 4-5, 5.51 ERA), P John Wasdin (32 G, 2-4), 2B Jeff Frye (37 games ~ .356 Ave) and P Jeff Taglienti(Never Pitched for Rox).
Aaron Ledesma played 32 games for the Rox. He was not resigned during the off season and never played in the majors again.
Matt Burch and Luis Martinez never played for the Rox. Chris Narveson never pitched for the Rox but was dealt away along with C Charles Johnson to Boston on March 30, 2005 for P Byung-Hyun Kim and cash.
After all was said and done...the Bombers has disappeared from the Rocky Mountain thin air by the end of the 2004 season (with the exception of Vinny's short return in 2006). Out of all the deals the Rox ended up with one All-Star season out of the group received in exchanged. Vinny, Galarraga, and Burks did go on to have some decent careers after departing the hitting haven, but only Vinny was O'Dowd's responsibility.
Fans loved them, and pitchers hated them. Whether or not we'll see a squad like them, only time will tell. Questions and accusations of steroids surround them, but for a time, the Bombers dominated the ball park located on 20th and Blake St. They were the Super Heroes of the Colorado Rockies.
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