Looking at the Colorado Rockies season

It has been a whirlwind ride the last few days for the Colorado Rockies – and their fans.  On September 30th, the Rockies defeated the Washington Nationals by an impressive score of 12-0, to end the regular season (further, Colorado had won 9 of their last 10 games).  They ended up with a record of 91-71 – the same record as the Los Angeles Dodgers.  So the two teams had to play a 163rd game to determine who was going to win the National League West Division crown.  The Dodgers won that game by a score of 5-2.  It is a disappointment that Colorado was unable to achieve their first division title; but kudos to the Dodgers.

Next up for the Rockies is a Wild Card Elimination Game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago.  As I write these words, the game is going to start in a few hours (for those who think that I should have composed this blog after this crucial game, you are probably right, but I’ve decided to write this content now, and we’ll go from there).  The Cubs have walked a similar path in that they too lost the opportunity to win a division title; on their 163rd game, they were defeated by the Milwaukee Brewers by a score of 3-1.  Tonight’s game is going to be played in Chicago because the Cubs ended up with a better record; they ended up going 95-68.  Without a doubt, this Cubs team is going to be a huge challenge for the Rockies.

With all of that stated, I want take a step back and look at the Colorado Rockies regular season as a whole.  With the loss to the Dodgers, in the winner-take-all 163rd game, the Rockies ended up with a regular season record of 91-72.  What I find amazing is that this record, speaking from nothing more than number of wins, is the second best season in Colorado Rockies history!  The 2009 Rockies notched a record of 92-70 (this team went to the playoffs but lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Divisional series).  The only time the Rockies went to the World Series was in 2007; that team’s record was 90-73 Source: http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/col/history/year_by_year_results.jsp

It’s been a fun season, but I am certainly rooting that the Rockies season continues past this do-or-die game against the Cubs.  To be continued!

Kevin

(Update for posterity - written on 10/3: The Rockies defeated the Cubs by a score of 2-1.  It took 13 innings for the game to be decided, but "Rocktober", as it has been dubbed, continues!)