Ongoing Attempts, May 16, 2024: Do the Rockies have a representative on this list?

Nikola Jokic delivered a masterpiece in the Denver Nuggets’ win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. The Joker had 40 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds, and zero turnovers. He did that in game 5 of a playoff series that was tied 2-2.

I think it was one of the best individual performances I have ever seen from a professional athlete on the Colorado teams that I cheer for. It certainly goes on the list of outstanding playoff performances from Jokic, headlined by the Nuggets winning the championship last year.

It got me thinking about the list of truly great players I have gotten to watch in my lifetime. First of all, I’m pretty lucky. There are multiple championship runs to consider as the list comes together. So, I tried to be selective and keep the list short.

There’s Jokic. There’s John Elway and Terrell Davis. There’s Patrick Roy. Von Miller probably chins his way up onto the list. There are probably two or three others. And then there’s a question: who goes on this list from the Rockies?

A (short) exercise in looking back on great Rockies performances

To be clear, the history of the Rockies offers its fair share of great individual performances. What it lacks, however, is any meaningful list of candidates to join a list like the one I was going through at the top - the players who rose to the top in the biggest moments.

The franchise’s limited success in the postseason makes it a short list. They have two Hall of Famers now in Larry Walker and Todd Helton. But for the purposes of this question, Helton was the only one who came to mind for me as a candidate for the list. And he came to mind because of one season.

Even though they didn’t win it all, the Rockies’ most memorable season was the 2007 Rocktober run that ended with a National League pennant. It started with one of the most memorable moments in Rockies history.

It wasn’t just that home run for Helton and that historic winning streak. The Toddfather posted a .385/.485/.633 slash line in September and October of that season. He delivered five home runs, drove in 22 runs, and put up 12 doubles over that stretch. That’s all-time great stuff.

The playoffs weren’t so great, however, with Helton batting just .220 with just three extra base hits. Combine that with the Rockies falling short in the World Series, and it’s harder to place Helton’s run among those all-time great performances.

There’s also the nature of baseball to consider. A baseball player gets four or five at-bats a game and whatever balls come to him in the field. Jokic touches the ball every possession. Star NFL players play roughly half the snaps in the game. There’s only so much one baseball player can do. Just ask Mike Trout.

Is Rocktober memorable enough to put Helton on that list of Colorado all-timers? Maybe yes, if you want to give a little boost because he’s in the Hall of Fame and was outstanding as an individual. Maybe no, because the Rockies fell short. Maybe no, because baseball is just different.

For what it’s worth, Helton was similarly great down the stretch when the Rockies reached the playoffs in 2009: a .323/.430/.427 line in September and October to cap off a season in which he received MVP notes. Those playoffs didn’t go well either, however, and that was it for Todd and the playoffs.

This is probably a different exercise altogether for MLB franchises that have actually enjoyed success over the years. Those fans might even need to leave guys off the list who performed well and won championships. As for the Rockies, it raises an interesting question to consider with a beloved franchise figure.

Maybe someday there will be more successful teams and more Rockies to consider. Not anytime soon - we’ll get to that shortly. But maybe someday.

Quote of the week

The Philadelphia Phillies can really pitch. Aaron Nola was especially masterful in his start against the New York Mets on Tuesday, throwing a complete game shutout while striking out nine and walking zero. Here’s how his catcher described the performance (via MLB.com):

I really enjoy Stubbs using the video game comparison and then immediately coming clean that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We could use more of that kind of honesty.

The Phillies have run out to an absurd 31-13 record as of this writing. A big part of that is their pitching. They rank near the top of the league with a 3.19 team ERA (126 ERA+). At least so far, the pitching is just as stellar as everyone expected it would be entering the season.

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