Ten years after Rocktober, memories live on

By Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post

It began with a home run and a curtain call. On Sept. 16, 2007 — 10 years ago, Saturday — Todd Helton belted the 300th home run of his career in the Rockies’ 13-0 victory over the Marlins at Coors Field.

“That’s the first curtain call I’ve ever had here,” Helton said at the time. “It was pretty neat and special, they did it up right.”

The Rockies were treading water before that game. They had lost three straight and owned a 76-72 record. They were a young, talented and extremely tightknit group of players and friends, but nobody could have predicted what happened next.

Over 29 days, the Rockies won 21 games and lost just once. They beat the Padres 9-8 in 13 innings in Game 163, one of the greatest games in baseball history. They swept the Phillies in three games in the National League Division Series and broomed the Diamondbacks in four games in the NLCS.

Impossibly, incredibly, historically and unforgettably, the Rockies streaked into the World Series.

“Every night, somebody different comes through for us. It’s been amazing,” Matt Holliday said during a run that made Colorado the center of the baseball universe.

“Hopefully, 50 years from now, this will be talked about about the way I’ve heard ‘The Drive’ talked about in Denver, Colorado,” manager Clint Hurdle said, referring to John Elway’s 98-yard masterpiece in the Broncos’ 1986 AFC Championship Game in Cleveland. “There will be talk of ‘The Streak.’ People will ask, “Where were you during ‘The Streak?’ ”

This weekend, 17 players from the 2007 Rockies gathered in Denver to celebrate “Rocktober.” They wore their National League championship rings, swapped stories, played golf at Castle Pines, tipped back a few beers and recalled some of the greatest moments of their lives.

ITTIThose of us on the outside looking in will never know the joy that engulfed the players and staff 10 years ago. But we do have our own memories of Rocktober; mental and emotional snapshots that stick with us.

Picture Helton, rounding the bases and then leaping into the celebratory mosh pit at home plate after hitting a two-run, twostrike, walk-off homer off Dodgers closer Takashi Saito on Sept. 18.

Envision Brad Hawpe, smacking an improbable, late-night home run in the 14th inning of a 2-1 victory at San Diego’s Petco Park on Sept. 21.

Recall Josh Fogg, “The Dragon Slayer,” pitching six shutout innings at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 26.

Remember Ubaldo Jimenez pitching a no-hitter for six innings in Colorado’s 4-3 win over the D-backs at Coors Field in Game 162.

Revel in Holliday’s crash-landing slide at home plate to score the winning run in the 13th inning of Game 163. (And debate, if you must, whether Holliday ever touched home plate).

Conjure up the Sports Illustrated cover featuring left-hander Jeff Francis pitching in Philadelphia in the NLDS, accompanied by the headline, “Out of Thin Air … The Colorado Rockies Work a Mile High Miracle.”

Don’t forget the “Tulo chant,” the wave of purple that swamped Lodo, and that signature moment when Helton raised his arms over his head at first base when the Rockies clinched a trip to the World Series.

Twenty-one wins in 22 games. Ten years later, it still stirs our emotions.

HPatrick Saunders is president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America: psaunders@denverpost.com or @psaundersdp

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