Editing Colorado Rockies (section)

==History==
{{main article|History of the Colorado Rockies}}
{{see also|1993 Major League Baseball expansion}}
[[File:1911 Denver Grizzlies.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The 1911 [[Denver Bears (Western League)|Denver Grizzlies]] were recognized as one of the [[The National Baseball Association's top 100 minor league teams|100 greatest minor league teams of all time]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.milb.com/milb/history/top100.jsp |title=Top 100 Teams |publisher=MiLB.com |date=2001 |accessdate=May 9, 2017}}</ref>]]
[[Denver]] had long been a hotbed of [[Minor League Baseball|minor league baseball]] as far back as the late 19th century with the original [[Denver Bears (Western League)|Denver Bears (or Grizzlies)]] competing in the [[Western League (1900–1958)|Western League]] before being replaced in 1955 by a [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] team of the same name. Residents and businesses in the area desired a Major League team.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Routon, Ralph |title=Op-Ed: Major League Baseball in Denver a Nice Thought |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52227074/op-ed-major-league-baseball-in-denver/ |access-date=May 27, 2020 |work=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph |date=January 25, 1978 |pages=21 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102183922/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52227074/op-ed-major-league-baseball-in-denver/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Pirates81">{{cite news |title=Pittsburgh Pirates could move to Denver if ... |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52226413/pittsburgh-pirates-could-move-to-denver/ |access-date=May 27, 2020 |work=The Daily Sentinel |date=November 10, 1981 |pages=15 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102183947/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52226413/pittsburgh-pirates-could-move-to-denver/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Denver's [[Mile High Stadium]] was built originally as Denver Bears Stadium,<ref>{{cite news |title=Denver Always Rebuilding, Can't Seem to Finish Job 1960-1970 history |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52227724/denver-always-rebuilding-cant-seem-to/ |work=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph |date=January 4, 1970 |pages=41 |access-date=May 27, 2020 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102184001/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52227724/denver-always-rebuilding-cant-seem-to/ |url-status=live }}</ref> a minor league baseball stadium that could be upgraded to major league standards.<ref name="Pirates81" /> Several previous attempts to bring Major League Baseball to [[Colorado]] had failed. In 1958, New York lawyer [[William Shea]] proposed the new [[Continental League]] as a rival to the two existing major leagues. In 1960, the Continental League announced that play would begin in April 1961 with eight teams, including one in Denver headed by [[Bob Howsam]]. The new league quickly evaporated, never playing a game, when the National League reached expansion agreements to put teams in [[New York Mets|New York City]] and [[Houston Colt 45s|Houston]], removing much of the impetus behind the Continental League effort. Following the [[Pittsburgh drug trials]] in 1985, an unsuccessful attempt was made to purchase the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] and relocate them. However, in January 1990, Colorado's chances for a new team improved when Coors Brewing Company became a limited partner with the AAA [[Denver Zephyrs]].<ref name="ColoradoReady">{{cite news |title=Colorado must be ready when major leagues beckon |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52227422/colorado-must-be-ready-when-major/ |work=The Daily Sentinel |date=January 7, 1990 |pages=29 |quote=Denver received a big boost this past week when Coors Brewing Co. signed a letter of agreement to become a limited partner in the Denver Zephyrs, a Class AAA franchise playing in the American Association. ... "The addition of Coors is a tremendous boost to our efforts, said Suplizio. Multiple ownership is a requirement by Major League Baseball and no one else has the muscle that we've been able to muster in the Rocky Mountain region. |access-date=May 27, 2020 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102184005/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52227422/colorado-must-be-ready-when-major/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1991, as part of Major League Baseball's two-team expansion (along with the [[Miami Marlins|Florida (now Miami) Marlins]]), an ownership group representing Denver led by John Antonucci and [[Michael I. Monus]] was granted a franchise.<ref name="OfficiallyRockies">{{cite news |title=It's official: Colorado Rockies in |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52226721/its-official-colorado-rockies-in/ |work=The Daily Sentinel |date=July 5, 1991 |pages=10 |access-date=May 27, 2020 |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102184002/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52226721/its-official-colorado-rockies-in/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They took the name "Rockies" due to Denver's proximity to the [[Rocky Mountains]], which is reflected in their logo; the name was previously used by the city's [[Colorado Rockies (NHL)|first NHL team]], now the [[New Jersey Devils]]. Monus and Antonucci were forced to drop out in 1992 after Monus's reputation was ruined by an accounting scandal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&sportCat=mlb&id=3074665|title=Rockies born of Monus' work, but he never saw his baby grow up|first=Gene |last=Wojciechowski|work=ESPN.com|date=October 22, 2007|accessdate=June 1, 2024}}</ref> Trucking magnate [[Jerry McMorris]] stepped in at the 11th hour to save the franchise, allowing the team to begin play in 1993. The Rockies shared Mile High Stadium with the [[National Football League]] (NFL)'s [[Denver Broncos]] for their first two seasons while [[Coors Field]] was constructed. It was completed for the [[1995 Major League Baseball season]].
[[File:Rockiescelebratewin.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|The Rockies in June [[2007 Colorado Rockies season|2007]]. Later the same year, Colorado won its first NL pennant]]
In [[1993 Major League Baseball season|1993]], they began play in the [[National League West]]. That year the Rockies set the all-time Major League record for attendance, drawing 4,483,350 fans, still the MLB record. The Rockies were MLB's first team based in the [[Mountain Time Zone]]. They have reached the [[Major League Baseball postseason]] five times, each time as the National League [[wild card (sports)|wild card]] team. Twice ([[1995 Major League Baseball season|1995]] and [[2009 Major League Baseball season|2009]]), they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. In [[2007 Major League Baseball season|2007]], the Rockies advanced to the [[World Series]], only to be swept by the [[2007 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]]. The team's [[Glossary of baseball (S)|stretch run]] was among the greatest ever for a Major League Baseball team. Having a record of 76–72 at the start of play on September 16, the Rockies proceeded to win 14 of their final 15 regular season games.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/COL/2007-schedule-scores.shtml 2007 Colorado Rockies Schedule and Results]. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2014.</ref> The stretch culminated with a 9–8, 13-inning victory over the [[San Diego Padres]] in a [[2007 National League Wild Card tie-breaker game|one-game playoff]] for the wild card berth. Colorado then swept their first seven playoff games to win the [[2007 National League Championship Series|NL pennant]]. At the start of the World Series, the Rockies had won a total of 21 out of 22 games. Fans and media nicknamed their improbable October run "Rocktober".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Saunders|first=Patrick|date=October 23, 2012|title=Rocktober: When the Rockies accomplished the impossible in 2007|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2012/10/23/rocktober-when-the-rockies-accomplished-the-impossible-in-2007/|access-date=December 22, 2020|website=The Denver Post|language=en-US}}</ref>

Colorado made postseason berths in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, the Rockies became the first team since the [[1922 Philadelphia Phillies]] to play in four cities against four teams in five days, including the 162nd game of the regular season, [[2018 National League West tie-breaker game|NL West tie-breaker]], [[2018 National League Wild Card Game|NL Wild Card Game]] and [[2018 National League Division Series|NLDS]] Game 1,<ref>{{Cite episode
 | series         = NLDS Game 1: Colorado Rockies at Milwaukee Brewers
 | network        = Fox
 | station        = FS1
 | date           = October 4, 2018
| minutes        = <!--(Bottom of 4th inning)-->
}}</ref> eventually losing to the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.

Like their expansion brethren, the Marlins, they have never won a division title since their establishment and they, along with the Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates, are also one of three MLB teams that have never won their current division. The Rockies have played their home games at [[Coors Field]] since 1995. Their [[spring training]] home, [[Salt River Fields at Talking Stick]] in Scottsdale, Arizona, opened in March 2011 and is shared with the [[Arizona Diamondbacks]].

In 2023 and 2024, the Colorado Rockies lost over 100 games each season (103 games in 2023 and 101 in 2024). In 2025, the Rockies obtained the worst start to a season of any team through 39 games, starting off at 6-33 (.154 winning percentage).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-11 |title=What are the worst records in MLB history? |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/40711227/what-worst-records-mlb-history |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref> The Rockies then fell to 30 games below .500, accomplishing that mark in just 44 games. Their record was 7-37, a .159 winning percentage.

=== Controversies ===
On June 1, 2006, ''[[USA Today]]'' reported that Rockies management, including manager [[Clint Hurdle]], had instituted an explicitly Christian code of conduct for the team's players, banning men's magazines (such as ''[[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]]'' and ''[[Playboy]]'') and sexually explicit music from the team's clubhouse.<ref>{{Citation |last=Nightengale |first=Bob |title=Baseball's Rockies seek revival on two levels |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/rockies/2006-05-30-rockies-cover_x.htm |access-date=September 26, 2007 | work=USA Today | date=June 1, 2006}}</ref> The article sparked controversy, and soon-after ''[[The Denver Post]]'' published an article featuring many Rockies players contesting the claims made in the ''USA Today'' article.<ref>{{Citation |last=Renck |first=Troy E. |title=Team takes issue with portrayal |url=http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3885222 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070404231929/http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3885222 |archive-date=April 4, 2007 |access-date=September 26, 2007 |work=Denver Post |date=June 1, 2006}}</ref> Former Rockies pitcher [[Jason Jennings]] said: "[The article in ''USA Today''] was just bad. I am not happy at all. Some of the best teammates I have ever had are the furthest thing from Christian," Jennings said. "You don't have to be a Christian to have good character. They can be separate. [The article] was misleading."

On October 17, 2007, a week before the first game of the [[2007 World Series]] against the Boston Red Sox, the Colorado Rockies announced that tickets were to be available to the general public via online sales only, despite prior arrangements to sell the tickets at local retail outlets. Five days later on October 22, California-based ticket vendor Paciolan, Inc., the sole contractor authorized by the Colorado Rockies to distribute tickets, was forced to suspend sales after less than an hour due to an overwhelming number of attempts to purchase tickets. An official statement from the Rockies claimed that they were the victims of a [[denial of service attack]]. These claims, however, were unsubstantiated and neither the Rockies nor Paciolan have sought investigation into the matter. The United States [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] started its own investigation into the claims.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jane |last=Slater, 7NEWS Reporter |url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/14425776/detail.html |title=FBI Looking Into 'Malicious Attack' During Ticket Sales&nbsp;– Denver Sports News Story&nbsp;– KMGH Denver |publisher=Thedenverchannel.com |date=October 25, 2007 |access-date=November 12, 2011 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927010038/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/14425776/detail.html |archive-date=September 27, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/playoffs2007/news/story?id=3080873 |title=FBI opens investigation into 'attack' on Rockies ticket system&nbsp;– MLB |publisher=ESPN |date=October 26, 2007 |access-date=November 12, 2011}}</ref> Ticket sales resumed the next day, with all three home games selling out within two and a half hours.

In March 2021, [[Ken Rosenthal]] and Nick Groke reported in ''[[The Athletic]]'' that, during the {{mlby|2020}} season, the Rockies had made baseball operations personnel work as clubhouse attendants in addition to their front office duties, resulting in work days lasting up to 17 hours.<ref name="Groke">{{cite news |last1=Groke |first1=Nick |last2=Rosenthal |first2=Ken |title=Communication failures, poor decisions and messy breakups: How it all went wrong for the Colorado Rockies |url=https://theathletic.com/2467223/2021/03/22/communication-failures-poor-decisions-and-messy-breakups-how-it-all-went-wrong-for-the-colorado-rockies/ |access-date=April 4, 2022 |work=[[The Athletic]] |date=March 22, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Former staffers described doing laundry for players while team personnel asked them for scouting and statistical information. The article further described a general atmosphere of dysfunction and unaccountability in Colorado's front office.<ref name="Groke" /> General manager [[Jeff Bridich]] resigned the following month.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Groke |first1=Nick |title=Jeff Bridich steps down as Rockies GM after months of turbulence, Dick Monfort extends his influence |url=https://theathletic.com/2544847/2021/04/26/jeff-bridich-steps-down-as-rockies-gm-after-months-of-turbulence-dick-monfort-extends-his-influence/ |access-date=April 4, 2022 |work=[[The Athletic]] |date=April 26, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

On April 10, 2024, during a charter flight on a United Airlines Boeing 757, coach [[Hensley Meulens]] posted a video of himself seated in the captain's seat mid-flight.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Rocky flight: FAA probes MLB coach's video post |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39976154/rockies-coach-posts-video-cockpit-prompting-faa-probe |access-date=April 19, 2024 |website=ESPN.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hradecky |first=Simon |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Incident: United B753 enroute on Apr 10th 2024, Rockies' coach in captain's seat |url=https://avherald.com/h?article=5179b8a6&opt=0 |access-date=April 19, 2024 |website=The Aviation Herald}}</ref> The [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) is investigating the incident.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sider |first=Alison |date=April 18, 2024 |title=FAA, United Investigate Cockpit Visitor During Colorado Rockies' Flight |url=https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/faa-united-investigate-cockpit-visitor-during-baseball-teams-flight-3aaa1cf9 |access-date=April 19, 2024 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref>