Page "Colorado Rockies" Paragraph 21

Although previous big-name pitchers, including Bill Swift, Bret Saberhagen, and Darryl Kile, had struggled in Colorado, following the 2000 season O ' Dowd made two very splashy signings in the free-agent market, signing Denny Neagle to a five-year contract worth $ 51 million, followed five days later by signing Mike Hampton to an eight-year, $ 121 million contract.

Two years earlier, Hampton had won 22 games and finished second in voting for the Cy Young Award as a member of the Houston Astros, while Neagle had been a 20-game winner in 1997 for the Atlanta Braves and had won fifteen games in 2000.

The two star pitchers were expected by the Rockies to change the team's fortunes.