Given that the Rockies have had such a short history as a professional franchise we must do two things when examining who the best players in franchise history are, loosen our standard of the word great, and allow for players that spent a brief piece of their career with the team to be considered. That is not to belittle the talent they have had come through the organization, just a fact as they have not yet had the time to build an impressive roster of greats that have played the majority of the career in Coor's Field. What follows is my brief listing of the best Roclies to this point in history.

Todd Helton is the easy and obvious first choice when looking at Rockie's greats. Todd was a Rockies first round pick and has spent his entire career with the organization which has allowed him to pile up many of the teams offensive standards. In twelve seasons he has posted 310 homers with a .328 batting average along with over 1100 runs scored and driven in. Helton is a five time All-Star with three Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers as well as the owner of a batting title earned via a .372 mark. Beyond all that he took to being the face of the franchise and has been a durable cog peciled into the lineup almost everyday.

Larry Walker spent ten of his season seasons in Colorado and was their first superstar player and MVP award winner. His best years were spent in Colorado including his .379 batting season. In that time he hit over .300 seven times, four of those over .350, and an amazing three in a row over .360! He hit for power, drove in runs, and even stole more than his fair share of bases. Many argue he was the product of the thin air in Denver as he never put thos numbers up anywhere else but the point is moot. He played the hand he was dealt and did so exceptionally well to the tune of five All-Star appearances, seven Gold Gloves, and three Silver Slugger awards to augment his three consecutive batting titles.

Dnate Bichette spent half of his fourteen year career in Colorado and like Bichette they were his best. During his stay he only failed to hit over .300 one time and that was a .298 effort. He was an MVP runner-up, four time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner once. Bichette and Walker made one of the most formidable offensive tandems of the era as Bichette was just as adept at the plate as Walker in many regards. His career statline will never land himin Cooperstown but for now he is a Rockies great.

Colorado has yet to have a great pitcher. Actually they haven't even had a sixty game winner yet. However just to represent that aspect of the game, and I can hardly believe I'm saying this, by the numbers Jason Jennings is the Rockies most successful pitcher over time. he posted 58 wins with the Rockies and 622 strikeouts in 181 games. It's tough to say much about him that is good as he actually was a losing pitcher, but in a few years someone will eclipse his marks, at least Rockies fans have to hope so. he is a selection based only by time in the uniform, not so much on skill or dominance. I don't consider him great or even serviceable but in regards to the Rockies for six years he was, well he was there, and he is only here because I felt the need to represent the position.

In time, maybe even three or four years this list will change significantly. There just isn't a large pool of players to choose from and so many have passed through for a mere year or two that it is difficult to consider them in the discussion of franchise greats. In the guidleines of what there is to work with these are the best Rockies of all time.

Learn more about this author, Amanda Fox.
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