Here are the top 10 moments at Coors Field
DENVER -- Listen closely and the cheers from Oct. 1, 2007, still ring at Coors Field.
When the subject of Matt Holliday’s slide into home plate to send the Rockies to the postseason is broached, you don’t have to strain your ears to hear the Padres’ faithful claiming he never touched home plate and the game should have continued beyond the 13th inning.
A game with controversies that are still debated, plus crazy twists and historic impact highlight our list of the top 10 moments in Coors Field history.
1) Holliday scored; end of story
Rockies 9, Padres 8 in Game 163 on Oct. 1, 2007
Holliday’s headfirst slide crashed into catcher Michael Barrett’s shin guards, and Holliday’s chin slammed so hard into the dirt that it left him dazed. Whether his left hand actually touched the plate will be argued forever, but because replay review was not used at the time, umpire Tim McClelland's call stands forever. Then again, would this have been a debate had Garrett Atkins’ drive to left been ruled a home run (as the Rockies still believe) instead of a double off the top of the wall? Whatever.
Scott Hairston’s two-run homer in the top of the 13th gave the Padres an 8-6 lead, but doubles by Kazuo Matsui and Troy Tulowitzki and Holliday’s triple -- all off future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman -- set the stage for Jamey Carroll’s winning sacrifice fly.
2) Let it out, Todd
Rockies 9, Dodgers 8 on Sept. 18, 2007
The face of the franchise usually featured a goatee, sometimes a full beard. But through Rockies seasons that ranged from mediocre to poor, the face of Todd Helton didn’t smile nearly enough -- until this night.
The Rockies' 17-of-18 run that culminated in the Game 163 classic had barely begun. Much of the baseball world barely noticed that Colorado was in the hunt.
The Rockies had won the first game of a doubleheader and seemed headed for a split. They trailed by one run in the ninth and were facing the Dodgers and reliever Takashi Saito (who had held the Rockies hitless all season).
With two out, Holliday managed a single to improve the Rockies to 1-for-13 against Saito. Then, down to his last strike, Helton launched a home run over the scoreboard in right. After watching it sail, Helton circled the bases in finger-pointing, fist-pumping, helmet-tossing, mosh-pit-leaping fashion.
After receiving a curtain call from the fans -- just the second of his career, and the first was two nights earlier -- and doing on-field interviews, Helton entered the clubhouse to a standing ovation from admiring teammates.
They knew something special was happening.
3) Really let it out, Todd
Rockies 6, D-backs 4, to clinch NL pennant on Oct. 15, 2007
This one was the last of the 21 wins in 22 games to give the Rockies their only World Series berth. And this is a moment that is screaming for a statue. Outside of Coors Field, inside, maybe at McGregor Square across the street when it opens, wherever. Every day until it is commissioned, sculpted and erected is another day past due.
Helton clutched the final out after Troy Tulowitzki’s throw beat the D-backs’ sliding Eric Byrnes, raised his fists and yelled joyfully to the heavens.
4) "And there's the storybook ending for the Rockies"
Rockies 11, Mets 9 on April 26, 1995
Denver waited too long for this moment. So did baseball.
Labor unrest ended the 1994 season early, and delayed the beginning of ’95. That meant Coors Field didn’t host its first regular-season game until late April.
On a bitterly cold night, the Rockies and Mets set the tone for the ballpark by playing a wild game into the 13th inning. The Mets had a 9-8 lead when star outfielder Dante Bichette decided the game had gone long enough and the fans deserved to get warm. Bichette scorched a Mike Remlinger pitch into the left-field bleachers. So towering was the homer that Bichette had time to pump his fist toward the Rockies’ dugout several times before watching the ball land -- as Jon Miller called it on ESPN -- for an 11-9 victory to complete the comeback.
5) This one's for Dad
Rockies 7, Giants 5 on June 18, 2017
Nolan Arenado had homered on Mother’s Day in 2017. That’s a good boy. And good boys don’t forget about Dad.
Two were on base in the bottom of the ninth, and the Rockies trailed by two runs. So they needed Arenado to do something. He also needed a home run for a cycle.
One swing. Two goals reached. One wild celebration.
6) No time for panic
Rockies 10, Giants 9 on Oct. 1, 1995
No expansion team had ever made the postseason by its third season, but that chance was in front of the Rockies in 1995. They just had to beat the Giants. The problem was they fell behind, 8-2, after three innings.
The Rockies mounted a wild comeback, as was their norm that magical year, and grabbed a 10-8 lead in the fifth, holding nervously.
The Giants’ Jeff Reed, up with two outs and a man on, grounded into the glove of first baseman Andrés Galarraga.
The frozen-in-time moment? Closer Curt Leskanic’s jubilant vertical leap in celebration.
7) Giants don't appreciate that
Rockies 9, Giants 8 on Sept. 27, 1998
All the Giants had to do to make the postseason was beat the also-ran Rockies on the last day of the season. Heck, all San Francisco had to do was hold the 7-0 lead built by the fifth inning that day.
Instead, the Rockies’ Neifi Perez led off the ninth with just his ninth homer of the season. Not only did the Giants have to fly to meet the Cubs in a tiebreaker for the NL Wild Card (they would lose), but they had to hear the echoes of a crowd of 48,000-plus as the Rockies upheld their tradition of taking a lap around the field and tossing gear to their fans.
8) Sprint off into the night
Rockies 6, Giants 4 (14) on Aug. 24, 2009
Ryan Spilborghs had lost his starting job to up-and-coming Carlos González, and things didn’t seem much better this night when he managed one hit in his first five at-bats. He grounded into a double play with a runner at third in the 10th.
But baseball being what it is, Spilborghs made the most of his chance to be a hero. With one out and the bases loaded in the 14th, Spilborghs launched a pitch from Merkin Valdez to right-center for a walk-off slam.
An excited Spilborghs turned in one of the fastest home-to-home times every recorded.
9) We have seen the future … well, not really
Rockies 4, Braves 1 on Aug. 18, 1999
MLB was engaging in a Turn Ahead the Clock promotion. The futuristic uniforms were supposed to depict the look of the game in 2021. The high-cut sleeve, shirttail-out, big logo -- a motif more fitting for college hockey -- didn’t become a fashion craze.
But Larry Walker was the perfect model for the Rockies’ black tops emblazoned with the huge, jagged mountain logo. Walker homered twice, including a walk-off against John Rocker. The moment lives forever in the snapshot of Walker at the plate, bat held high in his right hand in triumph.
10) Nomo no-no
Dodgers 9, Rockies 0 on Sept. 17, 1996
The 10 greatest moments at Coors Field -- of course they’re going to be heavily tilted to the home team. But Dodgers right-hander Hideo Nomo completed the only no-hitter in the history of Coors Field. Bad conditions, the hitter-friendly park and a lineup known as the Blake Street Bombers made the feat as unlikely as any no-hitter in history.
Official temperature was 46, but rainy conditions made it feel less comfortable. There was a rain delay of more than an hour. Nomo, who struck out nine but walked four, decided to pitch from the stretch so he would not risk slipping.
Instead, he slid right through the Rockies’ lineup.