Thread: The Official Colorado Rockies thread--Now with extra awesome!!

Nolan!!!!!!!

Don Baylor, the 1979 American League MVP, died Monday of cancer. He was 68.

"Don passed from this earth with the same fierce dignity with which he played the game and lived his life," his wife, Rebecca, said in a statement.

Baylor played for the Orioles, Athletics, Angels, Yankees, Red Sox and Twins over a 19-year baseball career. He was an All-Star and the MVP winner with the Angels in 1979, when he led the majors in RBIs and runs.

He reached the World Series three straight times at the end of his career from 1986 to 1988 and won the title with the Twins in 1987.

Baylor batted .260 with 338 home runs and 1276 RBIs in his career. He led the majors seven times in being hit by pitches during a season, including taking 35 of them in 1986 with the Red Sox. He drew 267 HBPs in his career.

After his playing career, Baylor served as the manager of the Colorado Rockies for their inaugural season in 1993. He was the team's skipper for six seasons and took the Rockies to their first postseason appearance in 1995, when he also was named National League Manager of the Year. Baylor is one of four men, along with Frank Robinson, Joe Torre and Kirk Gibson, to win both an MVP and Manager of the Year award, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

rest - http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...ls-dies-age-68

RIP Don!

RIP Don.

Bichette, Weiss, Helton among those in Rox community mourning beloved 1st skipper

DENVER -- Even before Dante Bichette became one of the Rockies' earliest stars, manager Don Baylor knew how to ignite the outfielder's underlying confidence.

In the early 1990s, Baylor told Bichette he had the talent to "run the league." After becoming Colorado's manager for the inaugural 1993 season, Baylor made sure the club acquired Bichette, put him in the No. 3 spot in the batting order and watched him blossom into a four-time All-Star.

But it was another confidence-building session that told Bichette more about Baylor, who passed away early Monday from complications from a 14-year battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer that weakens bones.

"I was with Milwaukee, and we had a game in Boston," Bichette said. "I had gone to a Gold's Gym, where I met a woman. Then when I went to hit behind the Green Monster, I told [Baylor], 'I met a woman that I think I could marry.'

"And [Baylor] said, 'Well did you ask her out?' I said no, and he made me go ask Mariana out. She eventually became my wife."

rest - http://m.rockies.mlb.com/news/articl...ager-teammate/

During his playing days, Don Baylor stood 6-foot-1 and weighed a rock-solid 201 pounds. He crowded the plate and dug in with menacing toughness. When he retired at the end of the 1988 season at age 39, he had been hit by pitches 267 times, a major-league record at the time.

His New York Yankees teammate Ken Griffey Sr. once joked that when Baylor got drilled, the trainers would put the ball on a stretcher and carry it off the field.

When the expansion Rockies took the field for the first time at New York’s Shea Stadium on April 5, 1993, Baylor was their manager. In 1995, he led the Rockies to the playoffs in just their third season of existence. He steered the Rockies for six seasons, his steely gaze always steady, his demeanor always intense, as he surveyed the field from his post on the dugout rail.

But there was a gentler, softer side to Baylor, who died Monday at age 68 after a 14-year battle with multiple myeloma. Former Rockies remembered that side of Baylor as news spread throughout baseball that the man affectionately known as “Groove” was gone.

rest, plus great photos of Don
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/07...ockies-legacy/

One of my favorite Yankees of the 80s and one of my favorite Yankee personalities of all time. He was on some talented teams with us but unfortunately that was during the "Bronx Zoo" era of the riff raff nonsense that plagued them throughout most of the decade. But Baylor, the first player who made me appreciate the designated hitter, always stood out to me with his stance, power and personality. He'll always be a reminder of the old stadium which I will always hold close to my heart.

Fun fact, in the infamous Pine Tar Game, the Yankees were down 3-1 late. Don Baylor tied it with a 2 run triple then scored the go-ahead run on either Mattingly or Winfield's single. George Brett's go-ahead 2 run home run in the 9th inning was ruled an out after it was discovered he used too much pine tar on the bat, giving the Yankees the win. The Royals protested, the protest was upheld and the home run stood. The two teams resumed play about a month later and KC eventually won 5-4. I believe George Brett's bat is in Cooperstown. That was a wild game in a wild year.

Alright Holland you can go back to not sucking now thanks.

**** me...

I'm going to throw my 2 cents in here. If I remember correctly, wasn't Tony Wolters the one who had been catching Holland most of the time, before they sent Tony down to Albuquerque?

#bbtw

DENVER — The Rockies unveiled the uniforms and nicknames for the players when the team plays a three-game series in Atlanta on Aug. 25-27 for the first Players Weekend.

The weekend is a player-focused event across Major League Baseball that will allow players to wear nontraditional uniforms and feature alternate designs.

Players can also have a nickname placed on the back of the jersey, and they have the option of wearing T-shirts to focus on a charity or cause of their choice during pregame workouts and postgame interviews.

Some players chose a nickname to put on the back of their jersey.

rest - http://kdvr.com/2017/08/09/rockies-r...ayers-weekend/

The Rockies signed former Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard to a minor league contract, the team announced.

Howard, 37, was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2005, and he won the MVP in 2006, when he hit 58 home runs and posted an OPS over 1.000. He played a big role in the Phillies’ 2008 World Series win as well. Prior to the 2010 season, the Phillies signed Howard to a five-year, $125 million dollar contract extension that kicked in before the 2012 season and ended after the 2016 season.

It was precisely during that 2012 season that things took a turn for the terrible for Howard. The slugger hit .226/.292/.427 in those years, resulting in a 95 OPS+. Things were really bad in 2016, when Howard posted an abysmal .196/.257/.453 batting line.

rest - https://www.purplerow.com/2017/8/12/...or-league-deal

A few minutes ago, Nolan was hit on the left hand while batting. Left game for xrays - NOT GOOD

Patrick Saunders‏Verified account @psaundersdp 5m

It was Arenado's glove hand. His left hand.

I'm watching the game and I think I might vomit.