The Diamondbacks ' first major league game was played against the Colorado Rockies on March 31, 1998, at Bank One Ballpark before a standing-room only crowd of 50, 179.

The first game in Rockies history was played on April 5, 1993, against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.

Prior to the 1995 season, the Rockies acquired free-agent outfielder Larry Walker, previously of the Montreal Expos, who replaced Kingery as the 4th member of the " Blake Street Bombers "— named after the street on which the new ballpark ( Coors Field ) was located — along with Galarraga, Bichette, and third baseman Vinny Castilla, who had played sparingly with the major-league club during the previous season.

On April 4, 1999, the Rockies made history as they played their Opening Day game against the defending National League champion San Diego Padres at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico – marking the first time Major League Baseball opened the regular season outside the United States or Canada.

On September 25, the Rockies played host to the St. Louis Cardinals.

On April 17, 2008, during the series against the Colorado Rockies at PETCO Park, the Padres played the longest game in team history, in terms of innings ( 22 ), losing 2 – 1.

Notable athletes are Whitehorse born hockey players Bryon Baltimore, who made it to the Los Angeles Kings in 1974, and Peter Sturgeon who played for the Colorado Rockies in 1974, Whitehorse born olympic cyclist Zachary Bell, Whitehorse raised olympic weightlifter Jeane Lassen who won medals in several world competitions, Whitehorse born basketball players Aaron Olson, and 1984 Olympics centre for Team Canada Greg Wiltjer.

* Víctor Santos ( born 1976 ), MLB relief pitcher who has played for the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and the Baltimore Orioles.

* Jeffrey Hammonds, outfielder with the Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals ; played in the 2000 All-Star Game.

From 1989 through 2005, Walker played for the Montreal Expos ( 1989 – 1994 ), Colorado Rockies ( 1995 – 2004 ), and St. Louis Cardinals ( 2004 – 2005 ).

His dad also played in Colorado as a member of the Colorado Rockies hockey team.

He has previously played for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies.

A baseball purist ( or " traditionalist ") heartily dislikes the changes that have taken place in Major League Baseball over the years, which include regular season interleague play ( prior to 1997, the teams in the American League never played the teams in the National League during the regular season ), the addition of a wild card team in the post-season playoffs, the four new expansion teams ( the Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Rays ) added in the 1990s, and the reconfiguration of the leagues into three divisions.

George Robert Ramage ( born January 11, 1959 ) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) for the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota North Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers.

In 2004, Herrera played with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

He played four games for the Rockies in addition to playing for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

He previously played for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays.

Gregory Lamont Vaughn ( born July 3, 1965 ) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for the Milwaukee Brewers ( 1989 – 96 ), San Diego Padres ( 1996 – 98 ), Cincinnati Reds ( 1999 ), Tampa Bay Devil Rays ( 2000 – 02 ) and Colorado Rockies ( 2003 ).

He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets ( 1997 ) and Colorado Rockies ( 2000 ), primarily as an outfielder.

On April 17, 2008, the Padres and Rockies played in a 22-inning game, the longest game in Petco Park history.

He played for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks.

He played in 113 games for the NL West third place Rockies ( 83-79 ) and batted. 285 with seven home runs and 45 RBI.

Estrada played with the Milwaukee Brewers ( 1999 – 2000 ) and Colorado Rockies ( 2001 ).

He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles from 2001 to 2005, New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006, and the Florida Marlins in 2007 before being traded to the Rockies for Byung-Hyun Kim.

However, in 1991, as part of Major League Baseball's two-team expansion ( they also added the former Florida ( now Miami ) Marlins ), an ownership group representing Denver led by John Antonucci and Michael I. Monus were granted a franchise ; they took the name “ Rockies ” due to Denver's proximity to the Rocky Mountains, which is reflected in their logo.

As is the case with many expansion teams, the Rockies struggled in their first year.

Despite the club's poor record, several Rockies hitters gained notoriety for their exploits at the plate, assisted by the thin and dry air of Denver, which purportedly allows balls to carry farther than they would at sea-level ballparks.

As in 1996, though, the team's pitchers struggled and had a 5. 25 ERA, and the Rockies could not improve upon their finish from the previous season.

Colorado Rockies celebrate their second straight victory against the New York Yankees in Coors Field on June 19, 2007.

Instead, the Rockies dropped even further, finishing 72 – 90 and in last place in the West as the Diamondbacks won the division in just their second year of existence.

Under previous general manager Gebhard, the Rockies had largely neglected their farm system and mostly relied on signing veteran free agents from other clubs ; this was possible due to the high attendance numbers in the club's first few years of attendance.

In 1999, the Rockies spent their first-round draft pick on Baylor University pitcher Jason Jennings ; three years later, Jennings went 16 – 8 with a 4. 52 ERA.

The Rockies went on to play in the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who swept their own NLDS against the Chicago Cubs.

The NLCS sweep earned the Rockies their first National League pennant in franchise history.

Baseball America named the Colorado Rockies the " Organization of the Year " for their accomplishments during the 2007 season.

Los Angeles, however, would win the next two games, and with their Wild Card lead down to 3, the Rockies traveled to San Francisco for another 3-game set.

When they returned to San Francisco for their final series with the Giants on September 14, the Rockies had once again built a large Wild Card lead.

On September 29, their lead down to 2 games and their magic number at 5, the Rockies opened their final home series against Milwaukee.

During the game, Atlanta had their 7-game win streak snapped by Florida 5 – 4, meaning the Rockies could reduce their magic number to 3 with a win.

The Braves would lose again the following night, and the Rockies 10 – 6 win set their magic number at 1.

Despite making the race very close, in the 161st game of the season, the Dodgers snapped their five-game losing streak – and the Rockies ' five-game winning streak – to clinch the West title.

The Colorado Rockies have had Hi Corbett Field as their spring training home for many years.

: San Francisco Giants first baseman-outfielder Mark Sweeney, who spent 2003 and 2004 with the Rockies, said, " You wonder if some people are going along with it just to keep their jobs.

The team continued this run of success with wins over the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS ( 3 games to 1 ) and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS ( 4 games to 1 ), to become the first Phillies team to win back-to-back pennants and the first National League team since the 1996 Atlanta Braves to have an opportunity to defend their World Series title.

The Padres opened their 1999 season in Monterrey, Mexico versus the Colorado Rockies.