With Coors Field, and Denver in general, being a playground for hitters, the Rockies have had quite a number of greats in their short history. One would be hard pressed to even guess who sits atop any of the all-time offensive categories. Consider this, since their debut in 1993, the Rockies have had three different players hit over .370 is a season (Andres Galarraga, Larry Walker and Todd Helton). How many teams could even say that if you go back to 1950?

Many hitters have come and gone, but Todd Helton remains. In 12 seasons he has hit 310 home runs, 1116 RBI, and 1,957 hits, while hitting a career .328 with the club. Helton is actually ahead of every former Rockies player in most categories. But consider that, in addition to Helton, five other players on the club have hit 40 or more home runs in a season: Galarraga, Walker, Vinny Castilla, Dante Bichette, and Ellis Burks. It's a race between these players for the second best hitter in Colorado history, but that would likely go to Larry Walker, with 258 career home runs, 848 RBI, and 1,361 hits.

Walker, Helton and Burks each had at least a season of over 130 runs scored. Helton has had three. Walker and Helton each had seasons of over 400 total bases, with Helton having two. And six Rockies have had over 130 RBI is a season, including Preston Wilson with 141 in 2003.

And, while Helton continues to crush the ball, a young player named Matt Holliday has come onto the scene to join in the numbers game. The two-time All-Star finished second in the MVP voting in 2007 and has a lifetime .322 batting average thus far, with 120 home runs and 453 RBI. He is fast on the trail of the Heltons and Walkers.

Pitching, of course, and pardon the pun, gets a little rocky in Colorado. Consider that the all-time ERA leader is Aaron Cook with a 4.32 average. The single-season record is 3.66, set by Joe Kennedy in 2004. It's hard to hand the pitching crown to anyone. Pedro Astacio is the leader in strikeouts and complete games, while also being second in wins, but he's ninth in ERA at 5.43. That said, Astacio's best years might have been in Colorado, as he has had much higher ERAs since with the Mets, Rangers and Nationals.

So Coors Field, perhaps even more so than Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, is a hitter's ballpark. They've had many great hitters to prove it. For while these players may not be considered among the likes of Ted Williams, they were certainly pounding the ball at Coors.

Learn more about this author, Michael Frissore.
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