Luke Wortman | March 27, 2025
The Colorado Rockies are not be known as one of the greatest baseball franchises of all-time, but for fans in Denver, recognizing how great the memories and moments at Coors Field has been over the last 30 years feels incredibly important.
Since their inaugural season in 1993, fans have been able to see Hall of Famers, All-Star and other talented athletes play at the game’s highest level on the corner of 20th and Blake Street.
Despite the challenges of playing at altitude, the team has a .537 winning percentage at home. While there has been lows, the whole journey of being a Rockies fan has brought people closer together over the years and has made the highs in the Mile High City even better.
In this series celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Coors Field, Blake Street Banter will look at the 30 greatest events in Coors Field history, starting with nos. 26-30.
Read about the other moments here
- Coors Field Moment No. 1 – Game 163: Colorado completes their improbable run to Rocktober
- Coors Field Moment No. 2 – Dante Bichette christens the Rockies’ new baseball cathedral
- Coors Field Moment No. 3 – Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki and the Colorado Rockies are World Series bound
- Coors Field Moment No. 4 – Nolan, Bloody Nolan: Arenado’s walk-off cycle spurs Rockies to end postseason drought
- Coors Field Moment no. 5 – The Toddfather delivers a walk-off domino for Rocktober
No. 26: Ellis Burks pinch-hit walk-off homer – June 2, 1995
When you think about the most dramatic events in single game of baseball, what comes to mind? The final out of a perfect game, stealing home or robbing a home run. However, the most exhilarating moment might be a walk-off win, especially when it’s a pinch-hit, walk-off home run.
On June 2nd, 1995, Ellis Burks did exactly that. It was the first pinch-hit walk-off homer for the Rockies at Coors Field. Burks, arguably one of the most clutch players in club history, is also the only player to hit a walk-off in Mile High Stadium. The oft-forgotten member of the Blake Street Bombers also hit the first inside-the-park home run at both Mile High and Coors.
One of only two players ever (John Vander Wal being the other) to hit a pinch hit walk-off home run for Colorado, Burks is one of the most underrated Rockies ever and, arguable, one of the most overlooked in the history of the game with his career 49.8 WAR, .291 batting average and 352 home runs.
Video of Ellis Burks’ walk-off homer
No. 27: Jason Jennings makes history once again – July 9, 2005
A short list of the most impactful pitchers ever for the Colorado Rockies is required to include Jason Jennings. He’s not just the only NL Rookie of the Year award recipient in team history, but he provided 941 very impactful innings over six seasons with the club.
Playing back in the days when pitchers were still allowed to hit, Jennings was worth an impressive 1.5 WAR over his limited at-bats as a hitter, including a .306 average in his ROY campaign.
On July 9th, 2005, Jennings threw a complete game shutout that resulted in a 1-0 win for your pals in purple. This would be the first ever 1-0 game to occur in Coors Field. Though it took over 10 years for this to happen for the first time, it has occurred 12 times in the past 19 seasons at Coors Field.
Even in his departure, Jennings made an impact. He was traded to the Houston Astros following the 2006 season in a deal that sent three key cogs — Jason Hirsh, Willy Taveras and Taylor Buchholz — to Denver to aid the 2007 club reach the World Series.
No. 28: Vinny Castilla hits first postseason homer in Denver – Oct. 3, 1995
While there has not been nearly enough postseason games in Denver, the ones that have taken place have easily lived up to the hype. On October 3rd 1995, Vinny Castilla went against a future Hall of Famer in Atlanta’s Greg Maddux. Despite the odds being against him, Castilla hit the first ever postseason homer for the Rockies in Denver.
This was one of the first times that all of America was getting to know the Rockies, especially as they went against arguably one of the best dynasties of all time. The squad would unfortunately lose this game 5-4, but Castilla, one of most beloved players in team history, would continue to stay hot throughout the NLDS. He added a second homer against Maddux as well as one against another HOFer in John Smoltz.
No. 29: Germán Márquez nears no-hitter in historic performance – July 29, 2021
Coors Field isn’t known for many great pitching performances. It won’t ever. But in 2021, Germán Márquez delivered one of the best pitching performances the stadium has ever seen.
Márquez took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 21. Sure, he wasn’t able to keep the Buccos hitless, but he did finish with a complete game shutout and the first ever one-hitter by a Rockies hurler in Denver.
If that’s not enough, he finished with a very efficient 92 pitches thrown and a game score of 89, one of the best for any pitcher ever in the state capitol.
German Marquez’s near no-hitter!
No. 30: The Blake Street Bomber strike for the first (but not last) time – July 7, 1995
On July 7th, 1995 the Blake Street Bombers would strike on a warm summer day at Coors Field. The trio of Larry Walker, Andrés Galarraga and Vinny Castilla combined to hit three consecutive home runs. Back-to-back-to-back.
The Bombers would do this four times from 1995 to 1997. Showcasing how special that quintet of slugger were at the time, Colorado has homered three-in-a-row only four times over the past 28 seasons with the last occurring in 2018.
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