There's one, here he is going, and there's one, there's one, there's one, there's one,
it is going, it is gone.
It's sort of like having an artist sit down and take his brush to canvas.
Ozzie from the outfield grass. Is he sweet or what?
The defensive end of the game to me is the most exciting part.
Griffey going back to the one-eighth track, leaps high in the air, and he's got it!
And that's a shot up the middle, a diving stop by Cruz, over to Gey and double play!
If there was any fun on the field, for me it would be great play.
Right back and off the ground, and he will not, Mike Smith with a play to Gey!
Boll on the charge, Boll is there!
Yo mama rub that ball!
I never give up, and that's one of the reasons why I make some of the plays that I do.
I have never seen a catcher block home plate like Mike Sozzi.
Third base, one there, two there, and a triple play!
Another chance for Mitchell, and he makes a pair-handed catch!
The beautiful Rocky Mountain region has played host to the National Pastime for more than a century,
and myriad players have called it home.
Joe Tinker, Billy Martin, and Mike Smith.
But those were minor league days, now it's time for the real thing.
At 10.40 Mountain Daylight time, you became officially a member of the National League.
Mile High Hopes, the birth of the Colorado Rockies.
Our story begins with a quest for a franchise.
Baseball in Denver and the surrounding communities began in 1886 when the Denver's won the Western League title.
The players, the teams, and the nicknames that followed always enjoyed the loyal support of the Rocky Mountain fans,
especially the Denver Bears.
The Bears drew rather consistently, especially for weekends and special town nights.
There was also a long tradition of successful players, as Denver got to see some of the very best.
We had about 800 and some players that came through Denver, of whom 600 and some odd, 73% I figured out,
played before or after their Denver experience in the major leagues.
Still, the Denver region felt it deserved a major league franchise of its own,
and in August of 1990 collected more than 50,000 signatures to prove that this was indeed a big league town.
The Rocky Mountain region, once again, has been in a quest for major league baseball for 30 years,
and there's dozens and dozens and probably hundreds of people that have fought for an expansion team in major league baseball.
We'd really love to have baseball here in Denver because Denver is major league.
The Rocky Mountain region needs a baseball team.
We need major league baseball in Denver!
It was about 10 years ago, around 1982 or 83, that it started to building a little more momentum,
and it was very irregular, but by bits and pieces and efforts to get things going,
they finally got into the serious stages of it.
One of the key elements would be building a stadium, a feat which would require voter support for financing,
and the voters said yes.
Once they got the stadium approved and there were an awful lot of groups that got behind that and a lot of fan support,
I think that clinched it.
Then it was time to convince the National League that Colorado could field a major league team.
The expansion committee paid a visit to Denver and came away impressed.
We just wanted to make some points, and we were fortunate enough,
through the good relationship between Governor Romer of our state and Governor Sullivan of Wyoming,
to actually have Governor Sullivan come down to Denver for lunch.
That made the point for us much better than what we had been able to do by over and over again trying to tell these people
Westerners think nothing of jumping in a car for two hours and going someplace for lunch or dinner,
and would surely do that for a ball game.
The expansion committee was also presented with a pledge for more than 21,000 season tickets
from a city hungry for a major league team.
Baseball! Baseball! Baseball!
There were people all jammed into this atrium,
and literally completely unorganized. It was a very, very moving moment,
and I think not lost at all on the expansion committee.
The committee recommended Denver in June of 1991,
and in July, their franchise was approved by the owners.
I'm here to congratulate all of you on the work you've done,
and to tell you officially that at 10.40, it was a mountain standard time,
mountain daylight time, you became officially a member of the National League.
The hard work of everyone involved had paid off. The dream had come true.
It was a chill that went down and up all our spines,
and it's something that everybody needs to be proud of in the entire Rocky Mountain region.
Although the Rockies will play in Denver, this team represents a lot more than just one city.
After all, it's the only team in the entire Rocky Mountain time zone.
I think when you look at baseball teams and you say what's a successful team,
what's not a successful team in some of the small markets,
usually it's a tremendous regional population that allows that team to be successful.
For the Colorado Rockies, we believe our market region is from the Canadian border to the Mexican border,
and it's the whole Rocky Mountain time zone, which basically is about 13 states.
It's a phenomenal regional team. People will travel. It's kind of the proverbial field of dreams.
If you build a stadium, then bring a Major League Baseball team here, they will come,
and that's what they've proven.
They will come to Mile High Stadium in southwest downtown Denver.
With a capacity of 76,000, it will be home to the Rockies for the first two years of their existence.
It was at Mile High on July 4th that more than 60,000 fans saw the U.S. play Team Cuba,
the largest crowd to watch an Olympic baseball team.
That night, the Rockies unveiled both their new logo and their new uniforms.
The Rockies will actually have three distinctive uniforms to choose from,
beginning with the home white with purple pinstripes.
Next, the alternate black uniform.
And finally, the traditional road greys.
The uniform design was months in the planning
and was done in collaboration with Major League Baseball properties.
The Colorado Rockies first started with their color purple.
They told us that they really wanted to include the color purple
because it stood for Purple Mountain's majesty.
I gave them a very distinctive color.
There is no other club in Major League Baseball that has the color purple.
As far as the silver, the silver actually reflects the background of mining in the Colorado area,
and silver therefore became very important that it actually shone through.
They wanted to make sure that nobody was going to miss any of the letters.
Black lets the silver stand out, and it plays a nice double dark to the purple.
But the Colorado Rockies are very traditional,
and they wanted something that was more reflective of refined taste.
The Rockies hadn't even played a game,
and already they were one of the sharpest teams in the league.
The next step to build a foundation for a successful team.
Before the Rockies could fill those uniforms, they needed a front office,
and Bob Gebhardt was their number one choice for General Manager.
Gebhardt's task, evaluate and secure the talent that would comprise the Colorado Rockies,
much like he did for the Minnesota Twins when they won two world titles within five years.
It's obvious what he brings.
He is first and foremost one of the absolute hardest workers in baseball.
He's a 28-hour gay man.
He's a very good judge of talent.
He's got a tremendous fighting spirit.
He's a hard, no-nonsense worker, and he's a thoroughly good guy.
Those are probably the key attributes that make him good at what he does.
With the GM in place, they turn to New York for the June 1st amateur free agent draft.
Okay, two expansion clubs. Colorado?
Colorado's here.
Florida?
We're on. Florida's on.
Okay, we're ready to go then with the first round, 1992 draft.
And welcome to our expansion club, Colorado.
The unbeaten Colorado Rockies select number RO143.
Burke, John C., University of Florida, Cherry Creek High School, Denver, Colorado.
The whole year was geared for the June draft, and I was extremely excited about it for several reasons.
One, we had kind of a skeletal staff.
We had about 12 scouts and a national cross-checker, and we picked 27th,
and we ended up signing 40 of our 50 picks, and we signed our first 25.
Colorado's first selection is number 143, John C. Burke, B-U-R-K-E.
He's a right-hand pitcher from the University of Florida.
Yeah, I was really happy.
I didn't feel real good to slip past teams like I did, but, you know, if you're going to go to Colorado,
I was really happy about it.
John Burke went on to post a 2-0 record in ten starts for the Rockies in his first season of minor league ball,
which brings us to June 16, 1992, when they played the first game in the history of the Rockies organization,
Class A Northwest League.
It matched the Bend, Oregon Rockies against the Boise Hawks from the California Angels organization.
And thanks to Will Scalzitti, the Rockies' first fans went home happy.
Will Scalzitti's grand slam and the bottom of the eighth propelled Bend to a 6-4 victory,
giving the Rockies their first ever win in their first ever game.
Well, it was really exciting. I really feel happy for the youngsters.
They did a super job. They were down. They came back with a big hit. It was an exciting night for everybody.
Using Bend as the springboard, the Rockies went on to establish their minor league teams for 1993.
Again, strategically placed throughout the West.
Now it was time to build the team on the major league level.
First step, select a manager.
We felt that in a selection of Don Baylor, we were getting, number one, a quality leader for our ball club.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a man among men.
And without further ado, I want to introduce to you Don Baylor, the first Rockies manager ever.
Don Baylor broke into the major leagues with Baltimore in 1972, with whom he spent his first four seasons.
Then on to Oakland for a one-year stint in 1976.
Baylor enjoyed some of his best years in California, where in 1979 he was named the most valuable player in the American League,
with 36 home runs and 139 runs batted in.
After six seasons as an angel, Baylor moved on to New York, where in 1983 he hit 303, his first of three years as a Yankee.
Baylor finished his career with three straight pennants for three different teams, first with Boston in 1986,
then Minnesota in 1987, and finally with the Oakland A's in 1988.
After 19 big league seasons, Baylor became the hitting coach for Milwaukee, then in 1992 assumed a similar post with St. Louis.
Now Don Baylor brings his two decades of baseball experience to the Rockies.
He relates to people, he's honest, he just has that personality that players and baseball people gravitate to.
I think once I got into the process and had drawn through the second interviews, Don Baylor just came out head and shoulders.
Don Baylor will wear number 25.
Nothing ever came easy for Baylor, not even finding out that he had the job.
I've been involved in cystic fibrosis, fundraiser, golf tournament for the last 14 years.
I had my own tournament in Southern California, and Bob Giffhardt told me he would call either way.
And the executive director looked for me maybe about four or five holes.
She looked at the number, and the number had 303, so she put things together, it was Denver, and it said urgent.
And once I received the message after the 18th hole, I looked at it, and I didn't want to make a phone call right away,
because my heart was pounding at the time, and I called him, and Bob Giffhardt's number one thing was, how did you play?
I didn't want to hear how I played, I knew how I played. Was it a nice day?
Let's get to the bottom line, but I couldn't tell this general manager that.
So third or fourth question, he says, John McHale, I would like to offer you the job.
I definitely believe that just because it's an expansion team, that you do not have to go out there and lose 100 games.
I don't know, whoever wrote that rule, why we're still talking about it, so I'm not going to be talking about it.
So my goal is to go out and be very competitive.
That's why I accepted this job, because it's a challenge, you can build your own players, you can have your own philosophy.
There's no standard, no benchmark, except you might as well shoot for the sky, and that's what I like to do.
Next, it was time to field a team, and the first steps got underway.
The Rockies had their manager.
Now they sought to find the best potential talent in preparation for the Major League draft.
I tell our scouts that we want to get the best athlete that's available, and I think if I'm talking about athletic skills,
I'd say agility, strength, quickness, coordination, balance is extremely critical.
They have arm strength, if they can ride, if they can hit, if they have the ability to hit.
We also look into a player's makeup as best we can and see what type of a person he is.
We talk to their principals, we talk to their parents, we talk to their girlfriends, we talk to their fellow players.
We're looking for arm strength, if it's a field or quickness of hands, how good his hands are, his quickness to the sides, how he goes after balls.
He's a competitor, he's got command of himself, he's got control of his skills, and some guys just compete.
I don't know, that's that intangible thing that all the great ones have.
It was a time-consuming, detail-laden job, but somebody had to do it, and the Rockies were more than happy to be that somebody.
What we did is we got the list from the commissioner's office that had all the players that were eligible for the draft,
and we had the guys who were responsible cover their four teams and go over every single player,
looking up the reports from last year's statistical information and going off of that.
So we went through and covered every guy that was eligible, threw guys out, put guys on the board,
and then we sat there and argued back and forth from what we knew about them and put them in an order.
Larry Bernard, who has served as the Special Assistant to myself this past year,
calculated that all of our scouts, all of the driving time, the game time, the time spent writing reports, phone calls, meetings,
that he calculated he'd spent about 100,000 hours in preparation for this draft.
We went through 3,028 players, maybe 1,200 of them were pitchers, and we went over every single player.
Bit by bit by bit, medical records, salaries, playing time in the big leagues, their arm strength, how they can hit,
and we've gone over them, and we got them down, I think we're down to 300 or something now.
Finally, New York City, the day before the Major League expansion draft.
Last-minute preparations were being made as the Colorado contingent moved into the war room.
But even now, in their calm before the storm, the Rockies were already taking the steps necessary to field their team.
We've just signed free agent, first baseman Andres De La Rida to a one-year contract.
One down for the Rockies, many to go.
And now, with all the hard work behind them, the next day couldn't come soon enough.
It's been tough waiting since we got here. We got here Saturday afternoon.
It's been tough waiting, and tomorrow morning's probably going to be, it's going to take forever.
It's been a lot of work. I'm tired. I think everyone's tired.
And I guess with a little bit of fatigue and a great deal of excitement, why, I'll be very happy when tomorrow comes.
I mean, it's like a major rain delay in the seventh game of the World Series or something like that.
We're anxious to get going.
Finally, they were ready in New York, and so too in Denver, where more than 20,000 turned out to watch the draft in Currigan Hall.
It was time for the ultimate rotisserie league to commence.
Five, four, three, two, one.
So with the first selection in the first round, the Colorado Rockies have chosen from Atlanta, right-handed pitcher David Need.
Very excited about it. I'm happy the way the people seem to have accepted me very well in Colorado.
And, you know, I couldn't ask for anything any better right now.
With the third selection in the first round, the Colorado Rockies select from the New York Yankees.
Third pick, Charming Indians.
Great attitude, great defensive player with a very strong arm and a guy that can hit your 15 to 18 home runs and drive in 70, 80.
The Colorado Rockies third pick in the first round from the Milwaukee Brewer organization, right-handed pitcher Darren Holmes.
Yes, he was just coming into his own as a closer, as a power pitcher, and that's exactly why we drafted him.
Gerald Clark of the Padres was just chosen, and he's out to the Colorado Rockies, the left fielder.
Go, Rockies! Go, Rockies!
As the day went on, the Rockies began to take shape.
The Colorado Rockies' ninth choice, we're still in the first round from Pittsburgh, outfielder Alex Cole Jr., catcher Joe Girardi, right-handed pitcher Willie Blair.
They do have a starting team right now, and I think this is the way to do it, and it's obvious that they're going for the power in Denver.
So I think that that's going to be a good addition for them, and I really like that, I really do.
I think it's going to be exciting to go to the ballpark and maybe match some of those 500-foot home runs they've seen in the past.
A new man at the podium, Dr. Bobby Brown, president of the American League, will kick off round two of the expansion draft.
Short stop from Cincinnati, Fred Benavides, right-handed pitcher Brett Merriman, catcher, first baseman, Eric Wedge.
The Rockies were getting more than a few good men as they moved into the second and third rounds.
With each pick, they inched closer to the full complement of 36 players.
And finally, as night settled on the most important day in the Rockies' short history, it was time for number 36.
We have one pick to go. Let's hear it from Deputy Commissioner Greenberg.
Cleveland left-handed pitcher Dennis Boucher.
It was a long day, a long day a-coming, and a job well done.
We got here at 8 o'clock this morning, and we're just getting ready to leave now.
So, yeah, everybody's excited, but they're exhausted.
It's been a long month where we've been in conference rooms similar to this in Denver, and we're glad it's over.
Pretty much our game plan was to go the way we did, and we were fortunate to get some quality players early
that we think can help us be competitive and be a better ball club in 93.
And in the last part of the draft, we really went for a lot of young pitchers.
So now, let's take a closer look at the prime-time players for the Colorado Rockies, starting with the pitching staff.
The number one pitcher on the Rockies in their first overall pick in the draft is David Neid.
Neid is a 24-year-old right-hander who led the International League in both strikeouts and wins last season.
He throws a fastball and a split-finger change, and if you'll pardon the expression, he's just what the Rockies need.
We wanted someone that, as our number one draft, that we could build our pitching staff around with David Neid.
We felt we had the talent in a young right-hander that, as he continues to improve,
could be a quality potential number one starter for us.
Strikeout number six and the biggest one of the night for David Neid.
David Neid has sucked down 11 straight.
Three strikeouts in a row for the young right-hander.
Pretty good job of pitching by David Neid, folks.
Six-four, three, and out.
In addition to Neid, the Rockies acquired Darren Holmes from Milwaukee,
Scott Aldred from the Detroit Tigers,
Andy Ashby was drafted from the Philadelphia Phillies,
and from the Astros, both Butch Henry and Willie Blair, as the Rockies sought to maintain control on the mound.
We're looking for control pitchers to establish somewhat of a rotation that you can count on for a couple of years,
and we know that we're going to need some pitchers that can keep the ball low, keep the ball down.
We need ground ball pitchers and strikeout pitchers, not fly ball pitchers.
The 0-2 from Holmes, and that's all for Joe Carter.
Scott Aldred, that was a very good fastball, sneaky fastball, along with a curveball,
and an excellent change-up, which he will throw at any time to any batter.
Andy Ashby, 6'5, 180 from Kansas City in the Show Me State.
Butch Henry has started that consistency you're looking for.
And that's an attribute you look for in a starting pitcher, a guy that can save the bullpen.
All told, 21 of the Rockies' 36 selections were pitchers.
Veterans, rookies, a good mix to build a team.
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He might have a play at the plate. There's one, draw the first.
Well done by Reynoso and Olson.
Holmes 1-2 pitch. Swung on and missed. He blew him away with the high fastball.
And he's gone. Strike three called, so Calvin Jones strikes out the side.
Watch where the location is here for Henry.
I'm telling you what, folks, that is almost impossible to hit.
Next stop, the backstop, to find out who will be behind the plate for the Rockies.
Well, most likely it will be Joe Girardi, the veteran catcher drafted from the Chicago Cubs
and the perfect guy to handle a young pitching staff.
Runner going, throw down to second base. Out at second base.
Langford goes, throw to second base. Got him.
They're going to get him. He's out. He's out. Holy cow.
And Girardi's also been known to come through in the clutch.
Cubs win. Cubs win. Cubs win.
Girardi lands a single center. And look at the Cubs now. Are they happy?
Backing up Girardi, catcher first baseman Eric Wedge, obtained from Boston,
who's established himself as a star of the future, thanks to some monstrous home runs.
And now, let's take a look at the infield the Rockies have put together.
The infield just might be Colorado's strongest suit,
as they've assembled a mixture of power, speed, youth, and experience.
Good bats, good gloves.
We begin with Andres Galarraga at first base, who Baylor got to know last year with the Cardinals,
and who the Rockies will look to for his experience, his potent bat, and as an anchor in the infield.
Dave Martinez to the plate. Ground ball. Galarraga makes a great stab, and Omar is there to take the toss.
Not only does he bring power, but almost as importantly, he's going to bring us an outstanding defensive first baseman.
I think as an expansion team, you can't afford to go up much more than 27 outs in a ball game,
and he's going to pick up some throws from our infielders and help us out,
and he can be one of those guys that hits the middle lineup and provides some leadership.
The Rockies are also hoping that the mile-high air will facilitate the return of the big bat to the big cat.
The pitch hit deep to left. It's way back. This one will be goodbye.
Andres Galarraga with a grand slam home run, and the Cardinals get a lot with one swing.
They now lead it 6-4. Don't you think that guy's happy?
A good bet to play second is former Dodger Eric Young, who brings to the Rockies the added dimension of blazing speed.
Young into third. He's being waved on. The throw won't get him. He's safe.
The versatile Freddy Benavides can flash his glove at either shortstop or second.
Shortstop is also home to Vinnie Castilla, who was drafted from the Braves and who hit 14 home runs in 1991.
And then, of course, there's Charlie Hayes, who hit 18 for the Yankees last year. Who knows what he'll do at mile-high?
Charlie Hayes brings an awful lot to the party.
He has the potential in Denver and the mile-high stadium to hit anywhere from 20 to 30 home runs, and he's an outstanding defensive third baseman.
And we were excited that he was there, and we just felt that we had to do a draft in early or we wouldn't get him.
If you're looking for the cornerstone on which the Rockies plan to build, look no further than the corner.
Oh, what a play by Charlie Hayes. Kenny Griffey pops it up. Charlie Hayes have a play. Yes, he got it.
Outstanding play by Charlie Hayes. Beautiful.
Back of third, long throw from Hayes, and he got it. Wow.
In the outfield, the Rockies sign former Denver Bear Darryl Boston. Then there's Alex Cole.
We know that we want speed. It's the national league. You almost have to have speed or you're not going to win.
And we know that we need a couple speedy outfielders.
Well, you don't get much faster than Alex Cole, who's stolen 40 or more bases in six different seasons.
He's got Cole at second base. Cole is running. Santiago's throw up the line, and Cole is going to come home and score.
Two to one, Pirates. So the speed of Alex Cole produces the go-ahead run.
The Rockies drafted some potential power in Gerald Clark, who hit 12 home runs with 58 runs batted in last year with San Diego.
There's a pitch to the drive to left field, and going back is Leonard to the track and to the wall.
It's gone. Grand slam by Gerald Clark, and the Padres lead it seven to nothing.
And keep your eye on 24-year-old Braulio Castillo, who hit 15 home runs last year between AAA and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Fly ball, center field.
Pat Howell in pursuit, in pursuit. Home run!
Braulio Castillo with a long home run over the center field fence here at J Stadium.
The Rockies acquired Dante Bichette in a trade with Milwaukee for Kevin Reimer.
Dante hit 287 for the Brewers last year, and the Rockies are hoping that he's equally consistent in 1993.
Even more important is the defense Bichette brings to the Colorado outfield.
For every game he wins with his bat, he might win two with his glove.
Drive to right field, Dante Bichette feeding back and makes the catch. Look what I found.
That's what happened.
Fedders pitch. Fly ball to right field. That should score the run. Dante makes the catch.
Here comes his throw to the plate. It's a good throw, and they got him! Oh, what a throw by Dante Bichette.
It would have to be an absolutely perfect throw, and that's what it was. Gag me out of the plate.
Finally, two important ingredients to the Rockies, the fans and the future.
And it didn't take long to see how the Rockies' fans would respond.
All of lower level from section 101 to 123 is sold out. We're saying 301 to 332 is sold out.
The demand for ticket sales has been absolutely phenomenal.
The demand for season tickets were almost at 25,000 full season tickets.
We've not sold any partial plans, and we don't plan to given the tremendous demand that we've had.
We think there's a very good chance that we could be number one in all of baseball.
We know that the Blue Jays are 26,000, the Dodgers are 27,000, could sell more and intentionally cut their sales off.
We're not trying to one-up them, but nevertheless it would be nice to go over 27,000, and we think that's in reach.
It's a stretch, it's a heck of a goal, but we think it's in reach with the interest that we've received today, which has been absolutely phenomenal.
But even with the overwhelming demand, the Rockies still went the extra mile to make sure that their fans had a first-hand view of the seat they selected.
We're taking everybody out and they're picking their seats. The Marlins picked four for their fans.
And we believe that we should let our fans pick their own location.
Well, it's a great idea.
Well, I think it works out better because in long-term people are going to be happier instead of sticking them somewhere and then having to deal with complaints and everything else.
The Rockies know that the fans of the future are the children of today.
And what better way to make these kids feel a part of the team than with a fan club, one designed especially for young fans ages 5 to 15.
In addition, the Rockies have initiated several community-based programs, including one called Catch a Kid.
Catch a Kid program is a community outreach program we developed for more or less the underprivileged.
The school officials identify those kids that are most at risk or most underprivileged.
They ask the kids to write back to us telling us what baseball and the Rockies mean to him or her or to his or her family.
Once we receive the letters, we go back out to the schools and present baseball gloves to the kids and they're ecstatic.
We've got a wonderful response from them.
And of course, there's Rockies merchandise, available at the Dugout store in downtown Denver and throughout the region.
Even though the Rockies have yet to take the field, everyone, it seems, wants to wear a piece of the purple, silver, black and white.
In fact, it's the hottest selling merchandise in all of baseball.
In 1991, with only about five months in the business, we ended up in the top ten.
And my understanding is that we'll make the top five for 1992.
I know a lot of the manufacturers are gearing up to a tremendous sales volume for 1993.
Their bookings were running 75% Rockies, 25% all other teams.
Come opening day, it's going to be fun to see what's left on the shelf.
As for the future, well, on October 16th, they held the groundbreaking for Coors Field, destined to be home of the Rockies in 1995.
Well, that was another step towards the reality of Major League Baseball in Denver.
We will have a brand new state-of-the-art facility in 1995 at Coors Field.
And it's something that we are all looking very forward to participating with.
One week later, Defense Department satellites were called in as the Rockies went high-tech in an effort to locate the precise location of home plate.
Coors Field, which will be ready by opening day 1995, is being designed by the same folks who built Orioles Park in Camden Yards and the new Comiskey Park in Chicago.
Coors Field is therefore guaranteed to incorporate the best of the old with the state-of-the-art that is new.
Coors Field sits in an area of Denver. It's next to the lower downtown area.
It's in the old railroad yard of the Central Platte Valley.
And the neighborhood that it's surrounded by has helped design and shaped the character of the ballpark.
This is the entrance directly behind home plate.
At the base, we anticipate a flagstone material, which is a native Colorado stone, with brick proceeding on up the facade.
And in some respects, it almost camouflages itself.
You still have the light towers in the upper deck that from afar you see.
But if you're right on the street level, the building blends in very nicely and it is part of the neighborhood.
And so the Rocky Mountain region is about to become famous for more than great recreation and beautiful scenery,
as the Colorado Rockies forge a new frontier with mile-high hopes.
Major League Baseball is going to be a wonderful experience for the quality of life here.
And the fact that Denver is not one of the only 16 major metropolitan areas in the United States that has all three major league sports, that's special for us.
By the time opening day actually rolls around, we've worked so hard to finally have it here, it's going to be great.
I think the real reward will come opening day when we look out and we see our 25 players in our Rockies uniforms.
From where we started, where we had no players, we had no starting forms, we had no staff.
And now to see this process this far down the road is going to be very rewarding.
The fan support from what I have seen has been unbelievably great.
They are as excited as we are and they just can't wait for this whole thing to get started.
When you walk into other club houses, they have traditions already set.
That's somewhat in stone.
But now the Rockies, there's no tradition, so we have to build our own tradition.
Opening day will be sensational and once again it will be a pitch heard around the entire Rocky Mountain region
and one that this region and this time zone will be very proud of.
The tradition of the Rockies will begin on opening day in April with a long awaited Rocky Mountain Cry Play Ball.
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