The 1993 Colorado Rockies season was the inaugural season for the expansion team in Major League Baseball (MLB) located in Denver, Colorado, which were established as a member of the National League (NL), competing in the NL West division, and based at Mile High Stadium. The first manager named for the Rockies was Don Baylor.
First baseman Andrés Galarraga represented the Rockies at the MLB All-Star Game, held at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Colorado finished with a record of 67–95, in sixth place and 37 games behind the NL West division-champion and NL pennant-winning Atlanta Braves, ahead of only the San Diego Padres. At Mile High Stadium, better known as the home of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL), the Rockies sold 4,483,350 tickets to their home games, setting the Major League record for attendance, which still stands .
Galarraga concluded the season winning the NL batting title with a .370 batting average, also leading the major leagues. Shortstop Vinny Castilla was the last player from the Rockies' inaugural season to retire, playing his last game at the end of 2006.
Offseason November 9, 1992: Neifi Pérez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Colorado Rockies. November 16, 1992: Andrés Galarraga was signed as a free agent by the Colorado Rockies. November 17, 1992: Dante Bichette was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Colorado Rockies for Kevin Reimer.Dante Bichette Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com December 7, 1992: Bruce Ruffin was signed as a free agent by the Colorado Rockies. December 7, 1992: Bryn Smith was signed as a free agent by the Colorado Rockies.Bryn Smith Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
Draft picks The following players were selected in the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. John Burke was drafted by the Rockies in the first round. Mark Thompson was drafted by the Rockies in the second round. Roger Bailey was drafted by the Rockies in the third round. Jason Bates was drafted by the Rockies in the seventh round. Garvin Alston was drafted by the Rockies in the tenth round. Craig Counsell was drafted by the Rockies in the eleventh round. Juan Acevedo was drafted by the Rockies in the fourteenth round. Angel Echevarria was drafted by the Rockies in the seventeenth round. Quinton McCracken was drafted by the Rockies in the 25th round. Mark Strittmatter was drafted by the Rockies in the 28th round.
Expansion draft As opposed to previous expansion drafts such as the 1961 draft, players from both leagues were available to the expansion clubs. Each existing club could protect fifteen players on their roster from being drafted and only one player could be drafted from each team in the first round. Then for each additional round National League teams could protect an additional 3 players and American League teams could protect 4 more. All unprotected major and minor League players were eligible except those chosen in the amateur drafts of 1991 or 1992 and players who were 18 or younger when signed in 1990.
Round 1 PickPlayerPositionFromNote1David NiedRHPATL3Charlie Hayes3BNYY5Darren HolmesRHPMIL7Jerald ClarkOFSD9Kevin ReimerOFTEX Was dealt the same day to MIL for Dante Bichette11Eric Young2BLAD13Jody Reed2BBOS Was dealt the same day to LAD for Rudy Seánez. Seánez played briefly in the Rockies' minor league system before being released in July 199315Scott AldredLHPDET17Alex ColeOFPIT19Joe GirardiCCHC21Willie BlairRHPHOU23Jay OwensCMIN25Andy AshbyRHPPHI
Round 2 PickPlayerPositionFromNote28Freddie BenavidesSSCIN30Roberto Mejía2BLAD32Doug BochtlerRHPMON Played in the Rockies' minor league system before being traded to SD in the Brad Ausmus deal in July 199334Lance PainterLHPSD36Butch HenryLHPHOU38Ryan HawblitzelRHPCHC40Vinny CastillaSSATL42Brett MerrimanRHPCAL Was traded to MIN before the 1993 season for Gary Wayne44Jim Tatum3BMIL46Kevin RitzRHPDET48Eric WedgeC/1BBOS50Keith ShepherdRHPPHI52Calvin JonesRHPSEA Never pitched in the Majors again; never even played in the Rockies' minor leagues
Round 3 PickPlayerPositionFromNote54Brad AusmusCNYY Was traded to SD on July 26 and made MLB debut 2 days later56Marcus MooreRHPTOR58Armando ReynosoRHPATL60Steve ReedRHPSF62Mo SanfordRHPCIN64Pedro Castellano3BCHC66Curtis LeskanicRHPMIN68Scott FredricksonRHPSD70Braulio CastilloOFPHI Played 39 games for AAA Colorado Springs before being traded to HOU for Mark Grant, but never played in the Majors again72Denis BoucherLHPCLE Traded before the season to SD for Jay Gainer
1992 MLB June amateur draft and minor league affiliates The Rockies and Florida Marlins, set to debut in 1993, were allowed to participate in all rounds of the June 1992 MLB first-year player draft. The Rockies selected 27th overall in the first round, with pitcher John Burke their top pick. Of the 50 amateur free agents selected, ten made the major leagues, including Burke and—most prominently—Craig Counsell (11th round) and Quinton McCracken (25th)."1992 Colorado Rockies Picks in the 1992 June Amateur Draft" Baseball Reference The Rockies affiliated with two minor league clubs during 1992 to develop drafted players.
1992 farm system
AZL club affiliation shared with Chicago Cubs
Regular season
Opening Day starters Freddie Benavides Dante Bichette Jerald Clark Alex Cole Andrés Galarraga Joe Girardi Charlie Hayes David Nied (Bryn Smith was the starter for the home opener) Eric Young Sr.1993 Colorado Rockies Roster by Baseball Almanac
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1993 Colorado Rockies Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches (pitching) (first base) (hitting) (third base) (bench) (bullpen) (bullpen)
Transactions April 3, 1993: Dale Murphy was signed as a free agent by the Colorado Rockies.Dale Murphy Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com April 29, 1993: Scott Aldred was selected off waivers by the Montreal Expos from the Colorado Rockies. May 14, 1993: Mike Munoz was signed as a free agent by the Colorado Rockies. May 19, 1993: Gerald Young was released by the Colorado Rockies. June 2, 1993: Bryn Smith was released by the Colorado Rockies. July 16, 1993: Kent Bottenfield was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Colorado Rockies for Butch Henry. July 26, 1993: Brad Ausmus was traded by the Colorado Rockies with Doug Bochtler and a player to be named later to the San Diego Padres for Bruce Hurst and Greg Harris. The Colorado Rockies sent Andy Ashby (July 27, 1993) to the San Diego Padres to complete the trade.
Draft picks The following players were selected in the 1993 Major League Baseball draft. Jamey Wright was drafted by the Rockies in the first round. Bryan Rekar was drafted by the Rockies in the second round. John Thomson was drafted by the Rockies in the seventh round. Edgard Clemente was drafted by the Rockies in the tenth round. Derrick Gibson was drafted by the Rockies in the thirteenth round. Mark Brownson was drafted by the Rockies in the 30th round. Terry Jones was drafted by the Rockies in the 40th round.
Major League debuts Batters: Jay Gainer (May 14) Pedro Castellano (May 30) Jayhawk Owens (Jun 6) Roberto Mejía (Jul 15) Pitchers: Scott Fredrickson (Apr 29) Lance Painter (May 19) Curtis Leskanic (Jun 27) Marcus Moore (Jul 9)
Game log
|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 1 || April 5 || @ Mets || 3–0 || Gooden (1–0) || Nied (0–1) || || 53,127 || 0–1 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 2 || April 7 || @ Mets || 6–1 || Saberhagen (1–0) || Ruffin (0–1) || || 27,290 || 0–2 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 3 || April 9 || Expos || 11–4 || Smith (1–0) || Bottenfield (0–1) || || 80,227 || 1–2 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 4 || April 10 || Expos || 9–5 || Nied (1–1) || Martínez (0–2) || || 65,261 || 2–2 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 5 || April 11 || Expos || 19–9 || Jones (1–0) || Henry (0–1) || || 66,987 || 2–3 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 6 || April 13 || Mets || 8–4 || Saberhagen (2–0) || Holmes (0–1) || || 52,087 || 2–4 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 7 || April 14 || Mets || 6–3 || Fernandez (1–0) || Smith (1–1) || Maddux (1) || 57,489 || 2–5 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 8 || April 15 || Mets || 5–3 || Nied (2–1) || Gooden (1–2) || || 52,608 || 3–5 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 9 || April 16 || @ Expos || 3–2 || Bottenfield (1–1) || Henry (0–2) || Rojas (4) || 17,483 || 3–6 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 10 || April 17 || @ Expos || 9–1 || Ruffin (1–1) || Martínez (0–3) || || 23,166 || 4–6 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 11 || April 18 || @ Expos || 4–2 || Hill (2–0) || Wayne (0–1) || || 25,034 || 4–7 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 12 || April 20 || @ Cardinals || 5–0 || Arocha (3–0) || Smith (1–2) || Olivares (1) || 30,516 || 4–8 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 13 || April 21 || @ Cardinals || 11–2 || Nied (3–1) || Magrane (0–2) || || 25,434 || 5–8 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 14 || April 22 || @ Cardinals || 5–2 || Perez (2–1) || Wayne (0–2) || Smith (6) || 34,218 || 5–9 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 15 || April 23 || Marlins || 5–4 || Reed (1–0) || Hammond (0–3) || Holmes (1) || 57,784 || 6–9 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 16 || April 24 || Marlins || 2–1 || Aquino (1–1) || Ashby (0–1) || Harvey (5) || 58,263 || 6–10 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 17 || April 25 || Marlins || 11–1 || Bowen (2–1) || Smith (1–3) || || 71,192 || 6–11 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 18 || April 26 || Cubs || 6–3 || Harkey (3–0) || Nied (3–2) || Myers (6) || 48,768 || 6–12 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 19 || April 27 || Cubs || 11–2 || Henry (1–2) || Morgan (1–4) || || 48,328 || 7–12 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 20 || April 28 || Cardinals || 7–6 || Murphy (1–1) || Holmes (0–2) || Smith (9) || 49,765 || 7–13 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 21 || April 29 || Cardinals || 5–2 || Tewksbury (1–3) || Ashby (0–2) || Smith (10) || 57,472 || 7–14 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 22 || April 30 || @ Marlins || 6–2 || Reynoso (1–0) || Bowen (2–2) || || 42,535 || 8–14
|- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 23 || May 1 || @ Marlins || 7–6 || Harvey (1–1) || Reed (1–1) || || 43,583 || 8–15 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 24 || May 2 || @ Marlins || 2–1 || Henry (2–2) || Armstrong (2–3) || Holmes (2) || 41,370 || 9–15 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 25 || May 4 || @ Cubs || 14–13 || Blair (1–0) || McElroy (1–1) || || 32,199 || 10–15 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 26 || May 5 || @ Cubs || 3–2 || Hibbard (2–2) || Reynoso (1–1) || Myers (8) || 20,266 || 10–16 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 27 || May 6 || Braves || 13–3 || Smoltz (3–3) || Nied (3–3) || || 50,618 || 10–17 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 28 || May 7 || Braves || 13–5 || Freeman (1–0) || Parrett (0–1) || || 65,429 || 10–18 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 29 || May 8 || Braves || 8–7 || Mercker (2–0) || Fredrickson (0–1) || Stanton (11) || 64,614 || 10–19 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 30 || May 9 || Braves || 12–7 || McMichael (1–1) || Reed (1–2) || || 70,786 || 10–20 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb;" | 31 || May 10 || Giants || 7–4 || Reynoso (2–1) || Wilson (0–3) || || 50,705 || 11–20 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 32 || May 11 || Giants || 5–3 || Swift (4–1) || Nied (3–4) || Beck (8) || 49,072 || 11–21 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 33 || May 12 || Giants || 8–2 || Black (3–0) || Henry (2–3) || || 50,105 || 11–22 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;" | 34 || May 13 || Giants || 13–8 || Burkett (6–0) || Ruffin (1–2) || || 58,833 || 11–23 |- style="text-align:center; background:#fbb;"