Purple Row Rockies Madness: No. 1 Larry Walker vs. No. 4 Charlie Blackmon

Due to the cancellation of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, Purple Row is hosting our own Rockies Madness Tournament this year. We selected the 36 best players in Rockies history in order to figure out who the best player is in franchise history. We sorted them into four regions in order to force the most interesting matchups: Infielders, Outfielders, Mile High (for relievers and starting pitchers who began their career before the humidor), and Humidor (for starters who began their career after the humidor). All stats are from Baseball-Reference.

Today is the Sweet 16 matchup in the Outfielder Region: No. 1 Larry Walker vs. No. 4 Charlie Blackmon

No. 1 Larry Walker, Outfielder

1995-2004

Awards

• Top 10 NL MVP (1995-7th, 1997-1st)
• 5x Gold Glove (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002)
• 2x Silver Slugger (1997, 1999)
• 4x All-Star (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001)
• MLB Hall of Famer (Class of 2020)

Notes

• From 1997 to 1999, Larry Walker led baseball with a .451 on-base percentage.
• Walker is the first player to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame with a Rockies cap.
• Walker is the only player in Rockies history to win the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
• In his Rockies debut (it was also the inaugural game of Coors Field) on April 26, 1995, Walker doubled three times, one of which tied the score in the ninth inning. The game resulted in an 11−9 win after going into extras.

No. 4 Charlie Blackmon, Outfielder

2011-present

Awards

• 4x All-Star (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019)
• 5th place MVP (2017)
• NL Batting Title (2017)
• 2x Silver Slugger (2016, 2017)

Notes

• Blackmon was originally a pitcher. He pitched through high school and junior college. After some arm troubles in his first season at Georgia Tech in 2007, he became a standout hitter and outfielder in his second season with Georgia Tech in 2008. That led to him being drafted by the Rockies.
• Prior to being drafted by the Rockies in 2008, he was drafted in 2004 by the Florida Marlins as a pitcher, and was also drafted in 2005 in the 20th round by the Boston Red Sox.
• In the Rockies’ home opener on April 14, 2014, Blackmon had six hits from the leadoff spot resulting in a 12–2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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