5 unforgettable Opening Days for the Rox

Opening Day in Rockies history has brought many memorable home runs and offensive performances, along with a couple of memorable outings by pitchers whose careers in Purple Pinstripes are often forgotten.

Here is a Top 5 list of Rockies Opening Day performances:

1) Rox win wild one in Coors inauguration
Rockies 11, Mets 9, April 26, 1995

The first Opening Day at Coors Field set the tone for what now is decades of wild baseball. The opener with the Mets went well into the night -- 14 innings. The Mets took a 9-8 lead in the top of the 14th, but Dante Bichette parked a no-doubt two-run homer off Mike Remlinger to win it. Bichette's fist pump toward his teammates in the dugout -- before the ball had even cleared the wall -- is considered the first iconic moment at Coors. It was immortalized with a bobblehead.

2) The Story begins
Rockies 10, D-backs 5, April 4, 2016 at Phoenix

Rookie Trevor Story was coming off an outstanding Spring Training that earned him the shortstop job. But you know how it goes; the golden coach often goes pumpkin once the real games start. But Story launched a three-run homer off Zack Greinke in the third inning and added a two-run shot in the fourth. Story also made a diving catch in the seventh inning. From there, Story set a National League rookie record with 27 home runs -- a figure that may have been higher had his year not ended when he sustained a left thumb injury on July 30.

3) Miles’ magic and Barmes’ bop
Rockies 12, Padres 10, April 4, 2005 at Coors Field

Second baseman Aaron Miles’ first Opening Day start was unforgettable. He lashed four hits, including three doubles -- every hit totally necessary in a crazy Coors contest. Rookie Clint Barmes ended it with a walk-off, two-run homer off future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman.

• Reliving the Rockies' epic 2005 season opener

4) Hampton’s heroics
Rockies 8, Cardinals 0, April 2, 2001 at Milwaukee

Most in the Rocky Mountain region recoil at the memory of pitcher Mike Hampton’s eight-year, $121 million contract. Hampton didn’t handle pitching at altitude as well as expected and was gone after two seasons. But boy did it begin well. Hampton went 8 1/3 innings and held a highly regarded Cards lineup to five hits. He struck out five and was credited with 16 ground-ball outs. Closer Jose Jimenez finished off the shutout. For all the strong pitching, the game may be most fondly remembered for a throw of a different kind -- Larry Walker’s to the plate to erase Fernando Viña, who tried to score on Mark McGwire’s fly ball to right in the top of the first.

5) Castilla and Bichette happens south of the border
Rockies 8, Padres 2, April 4, 1999 at Monterrey, Mexico

Before a delighted crowd at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey, Vinny Castilla -- among the greatest players Mexico has ever produced -- went 4-for-4 with a double and drove in four runs. Dante Bichette also had four hits, including a solo homer off Carlos Reyes in the sixth inning, and four RBIs.