Purple Row Rockies Madness: No. 1 Ubaldo Jiménez vs. No. 3 Jorge De La Rosa

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 to determine the best player in franchise history. We sorted them into four regions 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 Elite 8 matchup in the Humidor Region: No. 1 Ubaldo Jiménez vs. No. 3 Jorge De La Rosa

Ubaldo Jiménez, Starting Pitcher

2006-2011, 2020

Awards

• All-Star (2010)
• 3^rd place NL Cy Young (2010)

Notes

• Ubaldo pitched the Rockies’ first no-hitter on April 17, 2010 against the Atlanta Braves. The Rockies won 4-0.
• Jiménez was selected to start the All-Star Game for the National League in 2010, ahead of Tim Lincecum, Roy Halladay, and Adam Wainwright. He is the only Rockies pitcher to start an All-Star Game.
• His third place finish in the 2010 Cy Young is the highest a Rockies pitcher has ever placed in the award.
• Jiménez was attempting a comeback with the Rockies after being out of baseball since 2017, until the season got postponed.

Brief Career Overview

Ubaldo Jiménez was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Colorado Rockies on April 25, 2001. He made his major league debut on September 26, 2006 as a reliever against the Los Angeles Dodgers and his first MLB start on October 1 against the Chicago Cubs. He pitched Game 2 of the 2007 World Series, suffering the 2-1 loss. After spending six years with the Rockies, Jiménez was traded to the Cleveland Indians on July 31, 2011 for Alex White, Joe Gardner, Matt McBride, and Drew Pomeranz. He pitched there for three years before being opting out of the final year of his contract and signing with the Baltimore Orioles. He pitched there until 2017. In 2020, he signed a minor league contract with the Rockies with an invite to Spring Training.

Jorge De La Rosa, Starting Pitcher

2008-2016

Notes

• De La Rosa is the all-time Rockies leader in wins (86) and strikeouts (986).
• DLR pitched for the Mexican team during the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
• He made his debut on August 14, 2004 for the Milwaukee Brewers, and also spent time with the Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Chicago Cubs.

Brief Career Overview

Jorge De La Rosa was signed as an amateur free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in December 2003 and made his major league debut for the Brew Crew on August 14, 2004. De La Rosa was then traded to the Kansas City Royals in 2006, and then to the Rockies in 2008. He pitched in Colorado for nine years before electing free agency in 2016. De La Rosa then went full circle and signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks until he was released in August 2018. He pitched for the Chicago Cubs for a few months in 2018 and then attempted a comeback with the Rockies in 2019, but was released in June without seeing any game action.