Trade Winds: Part A (1999-2000)

Wheelin’ and Dealin’ Dan...

Since landing the job as GM of the Rox Dan O’Dowd has developed the nickname of Dealin’ Dan. Why? It’s pretty simple: the man likes making trades. During his first season on the job, he completed 15 deals that involved 42 big leaguers. His second year he made 13 more deals involving 33 big leaguers. Those are astonishing trade numbers and because of that…O’Dowd got the nickname…Dealin’ Dan.

Laying all the trades out ended up being a complete mess. Dealin’ Dan made enough of them that it looked like a family tree of trades or a spider web of confusion. Players that were traded for usually ended up being traded away themselves before unpacking their bags and settling in.

If there was a drop in Rox jersey sales during this era, well the comings and goings of players probably contributed to it. As a fan it was pretty hard to root or latch on to a player because of Dealin’ Dan. You just simply didn’t know whether or not he would ship them out. It was a frustrating time for Rox fans during this period of player shuffling.

Let’s make a deal and look back and some of the trades that has helped shaped the history of the franchise. Since there are a lot of trades…I mean a lot…I’ve broken down this into four sections:

Part A: O’Dowd’s 1st Season (End of 1999 season through the end of 2000)
Part B: The Madness (2001 Season)
Part C: I Give Up (2002 through the end of the 2003 season)
Part D: Is it over? (2004 to Present)

O’Dowd’s 1st Off Season

Trade #1:

First of all we have the trade of three key members of the Blake St. Bombers. I’ve laid out those trades in more detail during my Destruction of the Blake St. Bombers post (click on link to article) so I’ll just touch up on return portions of the deals. Dante Bichette’s trade to Cincinnati for OF Jeffrey Hammonds and RP Stan Belinda was the first big trade that Dealin’ Dan did. It happened about a month after his hiring as Rox GM.

Right out of the gates Dealin’ Dan made a statement by trading one of the fan favorites off the team. Bichette was a popular Rockie and fit the perfect mold of a player being labeled as a Coors Field product. But let’s face it…Dante was in the twilight of his career. Dealin’ Dan knew it and he did something about it.

O’Dowd got something out of Dante while he still could. In return the Rox received an athletic OF in Jeffrey Hammonds and an aged RP named Stan Belinda. Hammonds was a prized prospect of the Baltimore Orioles in the early 90’s. He was once considered a 5-Tool player and played for the U.S. Olympic Team.

Hammonds professional career never played out as envisioned and bounced around the league trying to find his spot. When Hammonds landed on the Rox for Dante, he found his true home. Hammonds felt right at home as a Coors Field product. In the 2000 season Hammonds made the All-Star game and finished the year as a .300+ hitter with 20+ HR’s and 100+ RBI’s.

From a production stand point, Dealin’ Dan came out on top. O’Dowd successfully traded an aging broken down OF for a younger and more athletic one plus a veteran RP. Well Belinda WAS at the end of his career and was released in mid season, but the Rox got something out of him before his departure. Hammonds had a tremendous year and went into the off season as a free agent.

With his successful 2000 campaign, Hammonds used his resurgence in Denver as a barging chip in the free agent market and signed a lucrative deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for 3 yrs/$21 million. Dealin’ Dan decided not to match the deal and let Jeffrey part ways. Bichette by the way was just about done with his career as he bounced from the Reds to the Boston Red Sox and was completely done within two years of the trade.

Trade #2:

Sandwiched in between the Bichette and Castilla deals was the departure of Darryl Kile. Kile was pretty much the third big name pitcher bust for the Rox, but was really the high priced one. By the way I consider the other two “busts” to be Bill Swift and Brett Saberhagen. Swift’s deal was relatively minor compared to anything we’ve seen from the Rox and Saberhagen…well that was just a lopsided deal from the Mets for a 9 game period leading up to the 1995 playoffs.

Kile though…signed a big deal under O’Dowd’s predecessor, Bob Gebhart. On December 4, 1997 Kile signed a 3 year/$24 million deal with the Rox. Kile had come off a career year with the Houston Astros. In his last year with Houston, Kile went 19-7 with a 2.57 ERA.

The marriage got off to a rocky start as Kile led the N.L. in losses his first year and struggled the majority of the 1998 season. Kile had a reputation for having a nasty breaking curve ball, but in the Colorado thin air it didn’t work. Plagued with mental and physical struggles in Colorado, Kile struggled severely as a Rox.

Towards the end of the 1998 season Kile showed some toughness and promise to his huge contract by stringing together 6 wins in his final 10 games of the year including a 14 strikeout performance against the Montreal Expos on August 20 and a 12 strikeout performance ten days later in a loss to the Cubs.

Kile’s success and the end of 1998 continued through the first two months of the 1999 season. Kile gave up 5 ER or less in 11 of his first 13 starts, but then the wheels quickly fell of the bus. Kile struggled to work deep into games and limit opposing teams run count for the duration of the season. Kile never hit double digit strikeout games in 1999.

After another luck luster performance (based on contract standards) in 1999 and leading the N.L. in ER’s given up, Dealin’ Dan stepped in and ended the relationship by trading Kile, RP Luther Hackman, RP Dave Veres to the St. Louis Cardinals for P Rich Croushore, P Jose Jimenez, 2B Brent Butler, and P Manny Aybar on November 16, 1999. Kile ended up pitching for the Cardinals for the next couple seasons.

Immediately after the trade Kile went 20-9 with a 3.91 ERA and finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting. The following year he was 16-11 with a 3.09 ERA. It was clear that the Rox, Coors Field and Darryl Kile just did not work out for whatever reason (probably more so Coors Field).

On June 22, 2002 while still with the Cardinals, Kile suddenly died in a Chicago hotel room while the club was in town visiting the Cubs. His death was attributed to a 90% blockage in two coronary arteries. Kile was 5-4 with a 3.72 ERA.

I was a little sad to see Veres go in the deal because he was just starting to become a solid closer for the Rox. Veres had just come off a pretty good two year stint with the Rox at the end of the bull pen including 31 saves in 1999. He saved another 48 games for the Cards over the next three years.

In exchange the Rox actually scored some pretty productive talent in return. Butler was one of the Cardinals prized prospects at the time (Top 100 prospects for 1998 and 1999 according to Baseball America). Butler played a season and a half in the Rox minor league system before making his way up to the big club.

Butler spent portions of the next three seasons on the Rox including a platoon starting stint in 2002. Butler never did live up to the potential projected upon him, but he did end up being a serviceable player.


Also coming over from St. Louis was a young starting pitcher by the name of Jose Jimenez. On June25, 1999 Jimenez had thrown a no-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but the Rox had different plans for Jimenez than being a starter. By the end of the 2000 season Jimenez had established himself as the Rox closer. For the next four years Jimenez would become the Rox All-Time closer with 102 saves including 41 in 2002.

The two other returns from the trade Aybar and Croushore didn’t amount to much. Aybar pitched in one game for the Rox and took the loss before getting traded to the Reds. Croushore ended up getting traded to Boston in the Lansing Deal (details down below).

Trade #3:

Forty four days after the first Bomber left the Rox, Dealin’ Dan sent the second one away to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a four team trade. 3B Vinny Castilla (31 years old at the time) packed his bags and headed for the sunshine state. Coming over from the D-Rays were SP Rolando Arrojo and IF Aaron Ledesma.

At this point in franchise history the Rox were still a pitching starved team, so the acquisition of Arrojo was with the hopes of a future great. Arrojo had been an All-Star for the D-Rays in 1998, so the Rox knew there was some promise in him.

Arrojo wasn’t a typical young pup phenom at the time. Arrojo was one of those Cuban players coming into the majors after defecting. As we’ve seen in the past their typical ages were exactly what they told the ball clubs they were. He might have said that he was 31 years old, but in Cuban years we add 2-3 years on top of that.

Arrojo made 19 starts for the Rox and displayed a 5-9 record with an ERA of 6.04. Around the July trade deadline…Dealin’ Dan’s favorite month…Arrojo found himself already on the way out the door when he was shipped to the Red Sox along with 2B Mike Lansing and P Rich Croushore for four prospects. See Trade #12 below for more info. Apparently the Arrojo pitching experiment failed and he wasn’t going to cut it.

Ledesma was a utility infielder that found his way onto the field for 32 games. He hit a whopping .225 average in 40 plate appearances. Basically Ledesma was a veteran player off the bench that the Rox got services from for a year.

Trade #4 :

Apart from sending Vinny to the D-Rays, O’Dowd sent P Jamey Wright and C Henry Blanco to the Milwaukee Brewers for P Scott Karl and 3B Jeff Cirillo and sent minor league P Justin Miller to the Oakland Athletics. It was a big trading for the Rox on December 13, 1999.

Wright was the Rox 1st Rd pick in 1993. He was the prized jewel of their organization for a while. He splashed onto the big stage on July 3, 1996 and pitched extremely well in his first game against the Giants giving up 1 run in 6 innings in a 3-2 victory. Unfortunately he did not get credit for the win that day.

Over the next four seasons Wright put together a 25-33 record for the Rox while spending time going back and forth between the majors and minors. The Rox had finally made the decision that he wasn’t going to be part of their future and shipped him to the Brewers (he did return to the Rox for 2004 and 2005).

Henry Blanco was a pretty good defensive catcher with below average offensive skills. Blanco went on to be a solid backup for several major league teams and continues to play in the majors today (2009 season). Blanco has played in the area of 800 games and has a career average in the .220’s (his stats are still fluctuating).

In return from the Brewers the Rox filled their recently vacant 3B position by receiving a .300 hitter in Cirillo. Cirillo went to have an immediate impact with the Rox and quickly washed away the fond memories that Vinny had given us. Cirillo hit .326 his first year with the Rox drove in 115 RBI’s and finished second in the N.L. with 53 doubles. Cirillo was also an All-Star that year.


Cirillo continued his hitting parade as a Rox in 2001 hitting .313 and a career high 17 HR’s. Everything was working out for the Rox with Cirillo except he was starting to creep up in age and showed some little signs of deteriorating. Cirillo was 31 by the end of the 2001 season and the Rox felt it was time to move him elsewhere in the offseason. See Cirillo 2001 Trade below.

The second piece coming over from the Brew Crew was SP Scott Karl. Karl had been around a .500 pitcher the past five seasons with the Brewers. He was a reliable inning eater who usually had double digit wins and losses each season.

The Rox probably thought he would be a good fit as an average pitcher who could help them out. Well Karl didn’t work out. He pitched in 17 games (starting 9) and ended up being traded to Anaheim on August 22, 2000 as part of a conditional deal (Trade # 15).

2000 Season:

Trade #5:

Starting off the new millennium, Dealin’ Dan continued his roster turn over. On January 14, 2000 Dealin’ Dan sent P Lariel Gonzalez and P Bobby Jones to the Mets for P Masato Yoshii. Jones was a 27 year old prospect that had been a solid starter for the Rox in 1998 and 1999. In his three year tenure with the Rox he compiled a 14-19 record in 69 games and chewed up 273 innings while posting a 5.90 ERA. Jones only pitched in 30 more games over the next four years. Gonzalez pitched his only major league inning for the Rox in 1998.

Yoshii came off a 12-8 year with the Mets and found Coors Field a difficult place to pitch in. Yoshii played only one year with the Rox. Overall the trade between the Mets and Rox was worthless except for the fact that Yoshii had a huge $3 million contract attached to him to pitch one year.


Trade #6:

In March of 2000, Dealin’ Dan made two minor deals prior to the start of the season. On March 29, 2000 he sent OF Edgard Clemente (newphew of Roberto Clemente) to Anaheim for P Jason Dewey and P Norm Hutchins. For those of you familiar with Edgard, he was a highly regarded prospect for the Rox for several years prior to his trade.

Clemente showed promise as a player hitting .353 during a late September call up in 1998. In 1999 Clemente was given a fair shot to show the organization’s brass a little more of what he had to offer. In 57 games (171 AB) Clemente hit .253 with 8 HR’s and 25 RBI’s. Apparently that wasn’t enough to win over Dealin’ Dan as he was shipped to Anaheim.

Clemente played 46 games for the Angels before ending his career. He was once a hot topic of conversation in the Rocky Mountains rumored to be part of several high profile trades in which the Rox were afraid to deal him but in the end he was a bust that was exchanged for two no-name minor league players.

Trade #7:

The second March deal came on the 31st when the Rox acquired OF Carlos Mendoza from the Mets as part of a conditional deal. Mendoza played 13 games and was 1 for 10 at the plate.

Trade #8:

The 2000 season began and shortly afterwards Dealin’ Dan did not like his team and pulled a trigger on another deal. On April 7, 2000, Dealin’ Dan sent RP Manny Aybar (received in Kile deal in November) to the Cincinnati Reds for RP Gabe White. Aybar pitched his one game for the Rox…took the loss…and got shipped out. I guess Dan had enough with him. It was a good move because Dealin’ Dan scores a win in this trade.

White would go on to have a two year career with the Rox before finding himself on the end of another Dealin’ Dan offering. However White did excel in 2000 with the Rox. White posted a 11-2 record with 5 saves and a 2.36 ERA in 67 games that year.


It was a surprising return for such a minor deal. White’s tremendous 2000 season earned him a pay raise in the off season. The big pay check must have been too heavy for White as he fell back to reality and found his 2001 season not so great. White had a 1-7 record with no saves and a 6.25 ERA in 69 games in 2001 and was shipped out back to the Reds in the off season.

Trade #9:

On June 17, 2000 the Rox acquired backup C Adam Melhuse from the L.A. Dodgers for future considerations. Melhuse played sparingly during the next two seasons for the Rox. He appeared in 23 games in 2000 and 40 in 2001. Melhuse never hit over .200 for the Rox.

Trade #10:

On June 28, 2000 Dealin’ Dan traded Ed Vosberg to the Philadelphia Phillies for future considerations.

Trade #11:

As Dealin’ Dan entered his inaugural trade deadline, he began a few weeks early. On July 16, 2000 O’Dowd sent 1B Todd Sears and cash to the Minnesota Twins for 2B Todd Walker and OF Butch Huskey. Who the hell is Todd Sears? A player traded on the wrong end of a bad deal. Score one for Dealin’ Dan!

Sears never went on to amount to much in the majors. He played 86 games for the Twins over the 2002 and 2003 seasons while hitting 2 HR’s and supported a .260 average. He was later traded to the San Diego Padres in 2003 for a minor leaguer and hasn’t popped up in the majors since.

Walker ended up being the steal of the trade for the Rox…at least until they screwed themselves and traded him away later.


Also coming over from the Twins in the deal was OF Butch Huskey. The 2000 season ended up being the last season for Huskey in his major league playing career, but he did enjoy his short time with the Rox. In 45 games he hit .348 with 4 HR’s and 18 RBI’s, a feat still far better than what Sears did for the Twins.

Trade #12:

On July 27, 2000 Dealin’ Dan sent 2B Mike Lansing, SP Rolando Arrojo, RP Rich Croushore and cash to the Red Sox for 2B Jeff Frye, P Brian Rose, P John Wasdin and P Jeff Taglienti.

The trade marked the end of Mike “Laser” Lansing’s days in a Rox uniform. Laser was a Wyoming native who came up through the majors as a 2B for the Montreal Expos. Every time he came to the Mile High City as an Expo he seemed to have an offensive hay day against the Rox. Eventually the Rox brass decided that...if you can’t beat ‘em…join ‘em!

The Rox did just that when they traded for Laser in November of 1997, but gave up a high price for him in sending 1st Round pick P Jake Westbrook along with two other prospects to the Expos. Not to be mistaken, this was a Bob Gebhardt deal. Laser had tremendous upside that Gebhardt even signed him to a lucrative contract extension for 4 years/$23.25 million (making him a top 5 paid player on the ball club) just to make sure he was around for a while.

Laser, a talented offensive second basemen, who was projected to extraordinary things once you factored in the great hitting ball park in Coors Field and the thin air in Colorado. Laser would make everyone forget the departure of fan favorite second basemen Eric Young (who was traded towards the end of the previous season).

That was the belief.

What really happened was something different. Laser went on to have a decent first year with the Rox in 1998. His statistics weren’t what everyone had predicted or envisioned, but nonetheless it was a productive year.

Laser’s second year was pretty much wiped out due to injury limiting him to 35 games. Laser returned in 2000 only to have a poor start. Laser showed more pop in the bat with his HR power, but his average had taken a plunge.

Finally O’Dowd said “enough was enough” and dealt him to the Red Sox marking a lack luster career for another Rox overhyped player. Arrojo (acquired in Castilla Trade #3 deal), Croushore (acquired in Kile Trade #2 deal) and cash (to help pay for Laser’s contract) was also sent to the Sox for four prospects.

Pitching prospects John Wasdin and Brian Rose were the key players the Rox had their eyes on in the deal. Wasdin had the “stuff” to be a big time big league pitcher but never really panned out. Rose was a younger pitcher that was more ready for the big show, which is why he started more games, but was quickly traded away in the offseason for SP Mark Leiter.

The third piece of the trade was utility infielder Frye. Frye had a surprise impact in 2000 as a versatile player in limited action. Frye showed the Rox that he was a good contact hitter (.356 ave) with little power (0 HR’s). Taglienti was traded in the off season to the Reds without even pitching a game for Rox.


Trade #13:

So far Dealin’ Dan has made twelve trades since taking over. Trade #13 comes as his only July 31st (trade deadline) deal of 2000. This trade starts to show the puzzling insanity of Dealin’ Dan because now he’s shipping out players that he brought in own his own. On December 9, 1999 Dealin’ Dan signed CF Tom Goodwin to a deal with the Rox. July 31, 2000 Goodwin is shipped along with cash to the L.A. Dodgers for OF Todd Hollandsworth, Randy Dorame, and Kevin Gibbs.

It was a steal of a deal on Dan’s part, but as a fan I was starting to question what he was really doing. With all the other trades I went along with the notion that he was discarding Gebhardt’s trash for his own players. Whether or not I like the players being moved, I bought into what he was doing…clean house and then make your own bed.

When Goodwin was signed I thought he would actually be around for a couple of years as a stop-gap fill in CF. I didn’t think he would be around for a couple months. The end result happened to be a brilliant move for the Rox, but I and other fans were probably getting skeptical about Dan’s dealings. This would probably be considered the first in a pattern of a number of players that Dan would sign in the offseason and deal out some time later that year.

Well enough with my little thought process rant and back to the trade…

Goodwin had just played 91 games for the Rox before getting sent to the smog center of the U.S. He was one of the league leaders in SB’s at the time with 39 and towards the top in 3B’s with 8. Goodwin proved to be a valuable defensive asset in CF while being a pretty decent leadoff hitter for the Rox (.271 ave).

His sudden departure brought over a more powerful hitting Hollandsworth, a former Rookie of the Year, and also opened the door for another solid speedster to roam the CF grounds in Coors Field, Juan Pierre. Ah…this is why Dealin’ Dan dumped Goodwin. He blocked Pierre from playing, and on top of it we got a power hitter in return.

To be honest, I have no idea what came about with the other two dudes that came over in the deal, but Hollandsworth made the deal lopsided by himself. Hollandsworth became a productive piece to the always changing Rox jigsaw puzzle. He finished the 2000 season with a strong .323 batting average and slugged out 11 HR’s in 56 games with the Rox.

If there was a knock on Hollandsworth it was that he had a case of an injury bug. That bug hit him for the majority of the 2001 season limiting him to 33 games, but it was a productive stretch again. Hollandsworth hit .368 in 117 plate appearances.

Hollandsworth continued his torrid hitting into the 2002 season before getting dealt…again…in another Dealin’ Dan package to the Texas Rangers (see Trade Winds Part C for details).

Trade #14:

A few days after the “trade deadline”…Dealin’ Dan found himself once again unhappy with his current roster and dealt another off season free agent signing on his way before completing a full year with the Rox. On August 6, 2000 OF Brian Hunter was dealt to the Reds for Robert Averette.

Hunter probably was hardly missed by Rox fans because they probably hardly knew he was here. Hunter platooned the OF with several other players at the start of the season, but with the acquisition of Hollandsworth, the emergence of Pierre, and All-Star Hammonds already occupying the three OF spots, Hunter was odd man out. There was Larry Walker going up and down the D.L. along with recently acquired Huskey hitting the laces off the ball in limited duty.

Bottom line was that there were too many OF’s on the team for few spots so Hunter had to go. Hunter played 72 games for the Rox while hitting .275. Averette never played for the Rox.

Trade #15:

August 22, 2000 marked the end of SP Scott Karl’s run as a Rox (acquired in Cirillo deal/Trade #4). Karl was sent to the Angels as part of a conditional deal.

Shipping Karl out to Anaheim marked the end of Dealin’ Dans for the 2000 season and his first year as GM of the Rox. A total of 15 deals went down the pipe starting with the shipment of Dante Bichette to the Reds shortly after the 1999 season.

If you didn’t know why Dan O’Dowd has been given the nickname of Dealin’ Dan hopefully this sheds some light on the matter. But here’s a fair warning…he wasn’t done yet. This concludes Part A of Trade Winds. Stay tuned for Part B (dedicated to the 2001 season).

To Be Continued...

My Baseball Steroids Take:

Everyone can make their own judgements and accusations of every member, but as far as the steroids topic in baseball goes...I don't care.

I watched many baseball games during the mid 90's to present day, and I didn't feel ripped off by the inflated stats. I realized back in the day that something was fishy, but I loved seeing the long ball leave the yard. After all...chicks dig the long ball.

For me the Steroids Era was just another time line in baseball history. I don't think anyone has had that "unfair" advantage over the next. Sure some people used them a little more, but it seems that every week someone's name pops up and is linked to the roids some way. Whether it is the super secret list of 104 MLB that tested positive during the 2003 test or the Mitchell Report has pointed them out it seems that the playing field was really made up of roid-using cheaters. Release All The Names!

I don't care who really used them. In my opinion they all did. If everyone (or majority of them) were using them, then it's not really an unfair advantage now is it? It was just the hitters "juicing up", but pitchers were doing it also. From the big name studs to the little no name relievers, the steroid roots led everywhere.

I know people will bicker and moan about their favorite player who is in their opinion "clean", but I'm not going to give passes to people without any evidence. I'll just consider them all users. It's not fair, but it's better than pointing the finger at one while the other sneakier person gets away with it.

Nothing has ever been proved on how steroids makes a baseball player have that extra advantage over the other. Big Mac is correct when he says that you still need hand-eye coordination to hit the ball and as far as I know being "stronger" doesn't make that happen.

Picking on the Weak

The inflated HR numbers can also be attributed to a couple other factors in baseball. First of all, there was a four team expansion in baseball during that period. Could the numbers be inflated due to bad "thinned" out expansion pitching staffs?

Look at the Rox pitching staff during the first ten years of existence. They flat out had A LOT of bad pitchers. They dug up a lot of bad pitchers out of the grave to have them pitch. The opening day starter at Mile High was Bryn Smith. He was a 38 year old corpse they rolled up to the mound to get any innings out of. Surprisingly he wasn't such a bad inning eater for them during their expansion year.

The expansion Rox sent 25 different pitchers to the hill to try and get a batter out during their first season. Ultimately they gave up a total of 181 HR's to opposing batters that season. In a strike shorten season the following year they had 18 different pitchers give up 120 HR's. In 1995, 20 pitchers gave up 160 HR's.

The expansion Marlins sent out 18 pitchers their first year including 45 year old Charlie Hough, to give up a 135 HR's in 1993. In 1994 the fish dished out 20 pitchers to give up 120 HR's. In 1995, 27 pitchers for 139 HR's.

Once again in 1998 baseball faced expansion as the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the ranks of a league already pitching thinned out from the previous expansion.

The expansion Diamondbacks faired no better than the Rox or Marlins as they sent out 25 different pitchers to give up 188 HR's to opposing batters. The D-Rays put out 22 pitchers to give up 181 HR's.

The patterns between the four expansion teams are similar until the clubs established their own minor league farm systems. Poor pitching was sent out to eat up innings as the expansion teams weathered their early rough starts. A few balls left the parks during those times. There's one possible reason for inflated numbers.

Throw the Ball Out of the Park

A second factor could be the wave of new hitter friendly ball parks. Once upon a time ago, Wrigley Field was the smallest and easiest ball park for HR's...especially when the wind would blow out. Now a days almost all the ball parks are good hitter parks, there are just a hand full that are pitcher friendly (SD, Detroit).

Ball parks built this year are guilty of having short porches for the hitters. About fifteen years ago the media on the east coast were killing Coors Field for being hitter friendly. They made the place sound like a disgrace to baseball. But now that the new Yankee Stadium has turned into a launching pad of HR's due to even smaller dimensions, the media turns their cheek the other way and enjoy the astonishing numbers. What kind of B.S. is that?

They (the media and such) complained that the ball travels quicker and Coors Field should have bigger dimensions or some big wall out there to cut down on HR's. The measurement down the left field line in Coors Field is 347 ft from home plate. That is the second farthest distance only behind...Wrigley's 355 ft LF line. Fenway Park boasts the league low at 310 ft and the new Yankee stadium has a 318 ft LF porch (4th lowest).

The distance of the RF line in Coors Field is 350 ft, once again only second behind...Wrigley's 353 ft. Fenway Park leads the way in smallest distance at 302 ft while the new Yankee Stadium moves up a notch to #3 with a 314 ft RF porch.

Straight dead ahead to CF is a 415 ft shot at Coors Field which ranks third longest in baseball. The shortest...390 ft...at Fenway. The 400 ft mark seems to be the baseball favorite (or average) as ten parks holds that mark. To be fair, the Yankees have a 408 ft mark to CF which is still less than that softball number producing park in Colorado.

Is it a coincidence that the two teams with the most titles over the past fifteen years has the smallest ball park dimensions?

As you can see over that span baseball parks around the league got smaller, but that couldn't have factored into the increase in power numbers...it was all steroids.

A Technology Driven World

A third possible factor in the increase of numbers could be the use of new technology. There was a time when Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn was considered insane for watching hours and hours of video tape on opposing pitchers. Gwynn was the first one to use video evidence to his advantage. Now it's a common practice amongst teams.

Video tape is used in all aspects of the game. It's used to correct batting stances to help get out of "funks". Video tape is also a major part in scouting. Hours and hours of tape reveals pitchers and hitters tendencies, and weaknesses. Would a hitter benefit from this inside information? To quote a famous recent VP Candidate..."You betcha!"

Is it a fair advantage when a player knows the other players weakness? Unfortunately it's not even a debate. That's just part of the game now. If the hitter knows what pitch to look for or "lay off" of that just benefits him. Once again that probably never led to any HR's because steroids are still the culprit behind HR's.

Staying on the topic of technology, how 'bout the advances in equipment? Every player has his arsenal of personalized bats...longer, lighter, or heavier whatever the player preference is, they have a bat for it. Moving off the playing field baseball has advanced in other ways to help the batter.

Many ball parks have a hitting cage just right outside the dugout so a player can take a few swings before coming up to the plate. That's just another advantage to the hitter.

Another way is the many, many devices used for a hitter to work on their swings. We've all seen the commercials of so and so endorsing his Ultimate Hitting Machine or something along the way. Hitting devices that has baseballs bungeed to it so the person never has to chase the ball. Not every hitter has one, but there are many, many devices out there like it to improve hitting techniques or just simply cut down in the time chasing a ball down and give that extra time back to the hitter to work on his thing.

A Better Athlete

A fourth factor that could be the driving force behind the increase of HR's is the player turned athlete. Steroids or not...today's player on any sport field is just a plain better athlete of the one's of yesterday. I look back at baseball cards of guys who played during the 60's, 70's, 80's and early 90's and I just say to myself, "Wow, there's a lot of overweight, out of shape looking dudes."

It seems like the 70's and 80's were made up of a bunch of dudes who would have fit into your dad's summer softball beer league. I could picture most of them poppin' open a PBR after a game and B.S.-ing on the tailgate of the truck. The majority of the athletes didn't really look like the guys on rosters today.

Scroll up and down a locker room in today's league and you're going to find a lot of chiseled and sculpted looking guys who are stronger, and can run faster than anyone back then. Today's athletes take their bodies seriously nowadays (with an exception of a few...I'm talking to you Prince Fielder). The job is year round now.

Baseball, football, basketball, etc., etc. seasons never end. Baseball starts in February (reporting to training camp) and season ends in late October sometimes November. There's fall leagues in place around the world for the player that needs the extra work load to perfect his game and avoid getting out of shape.

Final Thoughts

I know there are many more factors that I might not have thought of or touched base with, but I don't think steroids alone have been the sole reason for the increase in statistics.

Baseball would be dumb to put an asterisk by the Steroid Era. Every era faces it's own unique challenges during the time. Some eras favor pitchers and some favor hitters, but it's not fair to condemn this era. Not everything has been proven and probably never will be.

Today's players might have benefited from a statistical and money advantage over previous players, but could the heroes of yester-year stand up to some of today's pressures? Would Roger Maris handled the media pressure during the 61 HR year? The constant media spot light probably would have prevented a lot of records from being achieved.

Would Babe Ruth hit as many HR's as he did if he had to face relief pitching instead of the rag-armed starter? Go one step further and throw in the "specialty left handed pitcher" designed to get one out. I think Babe would have seen a few of those if he had played today.

One factor which would be hard to speculate on is the African American movement into baseball. Are all the records before Jackie Robinson's day in history tainted because they were only achieved by a league of all white guys? Some people would bite off my head for that statement, but I think it's a fair question.

Many factors go into a baseball era. It's fun to debate how a player would match up against the talent of another era. I don't hold any era to be less than another. Players show up on the field and face the current situations that are presented before them.

Baseball purist will argue to their grave that the Steroid Era tainted the game, but that same era also saved the game after the strike. Be honest with yourself and ponder the thought...did you like seeing the ball leave the yard during that era?

Destruction of the Blake St. Bombers

Pitchers hated them, fans loved them. Scoreboard keepers…well…let’s just say they had a steady job because of them. Oakland had the “Bash Brothers” in Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, Pittsburgh had the “Killer Bees” in Barry Bonds, and Bobby Bonilla and the Yankees had…just about every great hitter in the universe. The fans of Rox baseball had their own team of super heroes.

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.