| Row ID | Game ID | Date | Home Team | Away Team | Inning | Batter | Pitcher | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1341313 | CIN199605070 | 1996-05-07 | CIN | LAN | 12 | Eric Anthony | Todd Worrell | HR/L9LD |
| 1341314 | CIN199605070 | 1996-05-07 | CIN | LAN | 12 | Eric Davis | Todd Worrell | HR/L89XD |
| 1537146 | CLE199607180 | 1996-07-18 | CLE | MIN | 9 | Manny Ramirez | Dave Stevens | HR/F8LXD.B-H |
| 1537147 | CLE199607180 | 1996-07-18 | CLE | MIN | 9 | Eddie Murray | Eddie Guardado | HR/F7D.B-H |
| 2087098 | FLO199609210 | 1996-09-21 | FLO | HOU | 9 | Jeff Conine | Billy Wagner | HR/F9D |
| 2087099 | FLO199609210 | 1996-09-21 | FLO | HOU | 9 | Devon White | Billy Wagner | HR/F78XD |
| 4108989 | PIT199708252 | 1997-08-25 | PIT | LAN | 9 | Joe Randa | Todd Worrell | HR/F8RXD.1-H |
| 4108990 | PIT199708252 | 1997-08-25 | PIT | LAN | 9 | Mark Smith | Todd Worrell | HR/F7D |
| 737961 | BOS199906140 | 1999-06-14 | BOS | MIN | 9 | Darren Lewis | Mike Trombley | HR/F7D |
| 737962 | BOS199906140 | 1999-06-14 | BOS | MIN | 9 | Jeff Frye | Mike Trombley | HR/L78D |
| 1560276 | CLE200004160 | 2000-04-16 | CLE | TEX | 9 | Manny Ramirez | John Wetteland | HR/8 |
| 1560277 | CLE200004160 | 2000-04-16 | CLE | TEX | 9 | Jim Thome | John Wetteland | HR/9 |
| 21565 | ANA200005140 | 2000-05-14 | ANA | TEX | 9 | Troy Glaus | Francisco Cordero | HR/9 |
| 21566 | ANA200005140 | 2000-05-14 | ANA | TEX | 9 | Scott Spiezio | Francisco Cordero | HR/9 |
| 3358446 | NYA200008080 | 2000-08-08 | NYA | OAK | 9 | Bernie Williams | Jason Isringhausen | HR/9 |
| 3358447 | NYA200008080 | 2000-08-08 | NYA | OAK | 9 | David Justice | Jason Isringhausen | HR/8 |
| 1748628 | COL200109180 | 2001-09-18 | COL | ARI | 9 | Todd Helton | Byung-Hyun Kim | HR/8 |
| 1748629 | COL200109180 | 2001-09-18 | COL | ARI | 9 | Jeff Cirillo | Byung-Hyun Kim | HR/8 |
| 373384 | ATL200208190 | 2002-08-19 | ATL | COL | 9 | Gary Sheffield | Jose Jimenez | HR/78 |
| 373385 | ATL200208190 | 2002-08-19 | ATL | COL | 9 | Chipper Jones | Jose Jimenez | HR/9 |
| 1199309 | CHN200404160 | 2004-04-16 | CHN | CIN | 9 | Sammy Sosa | Danny Graves | HR/9/F |
| 1199310 | CHN200404160 | 2004-04-16 | CHN | CIN | 9 | Moises Alou | Danny Graves | HR/7/F |
| 382757 | ATL200406010 | 2004-06-01 | ATL | MON | 9 | Nick Green | Rocky Biddle | HR/7/F.2-H(UR);1-H(UR);B-H(UR) |
| 382758 | ATL200406010 | 2004-06-01 | ATL | MON | 9 | J.D. Drew | Rocky Biddle | HR/9/F.B-H(UR) |
| 1398725 | CIN200504040 | 2005-04-04 | CIN | NYN | 9 | Adam Dunn | Braden Looper | HR/89/F+.1-H |
| 1398726 | CIN200504040 | 2005-04-04 | CIN | NYN | 9 | Joe Randa | Braden Looper | HR/7/F |
| 2169799 | FLO200908020 | 2009-08-02 | FLO | CHN | 9 | Dan Uggla | Kevin Gregg | HR/7/F |
| 2169800 | FLO200908020 | 2009-08-02 | FLO | CHN | 9 | Cody Ross | Kevin Gregg | HR/7/F |
| 2523869 | KCA201209150 | 2012-09-15 | KCA | ANA | 9 | Billy Butler | Ernesto Frieri | HR/8/F.1-H |
| 2523870 | KCA201209150 | 2012-09-15 | KCA | ANA | 9 | Salvador Perez | Ernesto Frieri | HR/7/F |
| 1451760 | CIN201305070 | 2013-05-07 | CIN | ATL | 9 | Devin Mesoraco | Craig Kimbrel | HR/89/L |
| 1451761 | CIN201305070 | 2013-05-07 | CIN | ATL | 9 | Shin-Soo Choo | Craig Kimbrel | HR/78/F |
| 4015412 | PHI201305190 | 2013-05-19 | PHI | CIN | 9 | Erik Kratz | Aroldis Chapman | HR/7/F |
| 4015413 | PHI201305190 | 2013-05-19 | PHI | CIN | 9 | Freddy Galvis | Aroldis Chapman | HR/7/L |
| 836274 | BOS201406180 | 2014-06-18 | BOS | MIN | 10 | David Ortiz | Casey Fien | HR/9/L |
| 836275 | BOS201406180 | 2014-06-18 | BOS | MIN | 10 | Mike Napoli | Casey Fien | HR/8/F |
| 1667689 | CLE201608190 | 2016-08-19 | CLE | TOR | 9 | Jose Ramirez | Roberto Osuna | HR/9/F |
| 1667690 | CLE201608190 | 2016-08-19 | CLE | TOR | 9 | Tyler Naquin | Roberto Osuna | HR8/F/IPHR |
| 2354575 | HOU201608260 | 2016-08-26 | HOU | TBA | 9 | Carlos Correa | Alex Colome | HR/9/F |
| 2354576 | HOU201608260 | 2016-08-26 | HOU | TBA | 9 | Evan Gattis | Alex Colome | HR/7/F |
| 5534838 | TOR201707260 | 2017-07-26 | TOR | OAK | 9 | Justin Smoak | Santiago Casilla | HR/89/F.1-H |
| 5534839 | TOR201707260 | 2017-07-26 | TOR | OAK | 9 | Kendrys Morales | Santiago Casilla | HR/89/F |
| 2991567 | MIL201804030 | 2018-04-03 | MIL | SLN | 9 | Christian Yelich | Dominic Leone | HR/8/F |
| 2991568 | MIL201804030 | 2018-04-03 | MIL | SLN | 9 | Ryan Braun | Dominic Leone | HR/78/F |
| 1292959 | CHN201807260 | 2018-07-26 | CHN | ARI | 9 | David Bote | Brad Boxberger | HR/8/F.1-H |
| 1292960 | CHN201807260 | 2018-07-26 | CHN | ARI | 9 | Anthony Rizzo | Brad Boxberger | HR/89/F |
| 2561155 | KCA201808240 | 2018-08-24 | KCA | CLE | 9 | Ryan O’Hearn | Cody Allen | HR/7/F |
| 2561156 | KCA201808240 | 2018-08-24 | KCA | CLE | 9 | Hunter Dozier | Cody Allen | HR/89/F |
| 3666068 | NYN201809131 | 2018-09-13 | NYN | MIA | 9 | Michael Conforto | Kyle Barraclough | HR/9/F |
| 3666069 | NYN201809131 | 2018-09-13 | NYN | MIA | 9 | Todd Frazier | Kyle Barraclough | HR/78/F |
| 5543238 | TOR201809200 | 2018-09-20 | TOR | TBA | 9 | Lourdes Gurriel | Sergio Romo | HR/7/F.1-H |
| 5543239 | TOR201809200 | 2018-09-20 | TOR | TBA | 9 | Justin Smoak | Sergio Romo | HR/9/F |
| 3476385 | NYA201904120 | 2019-04-12 | NYA | CHA | 7 | Eloy Jimenez | Chad Green | HR/8/F |
| 3476386 | NYA201904120 | 2019-04-12 | NYA | CHA | 7 | James McCann | Chad Green | HR/9/L |
| 3481355 | NYA201909010 | 2019-09-01 | NYA | OAK | 9 | Brett Gardner | Liam Hendriks | HR/89/F |
| 3481356 | NYA201909010 | 2019-09-01 | NYA | OAK | 9 | Mike Ford | Liam Hendriks | HR/8/F |
1 Story Time
1.1 My First Game
It’s September 18, 2001, one week after 9/11 and also my ninth birthday. The country is stirring itself back into action with the hope that regular activities will provide a reprieve from the pain.
At 5:30 AM, I’m already up and ready to see my very first professional baseball game. Rising early is part eagerness and part necessity. To get to Coors Field, my family and I need to drive 550 miles from my hometown of Billings, Montana to Denver, Colorado. As we cross through Wyoming, little do I know that soon I will witness the most exciting in-person baseball game of my life.
The Colorado Rockies opponent, you ask? The soon-to-be World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Before the game, I stand on the third base line and after three attempts because he is so tall and I so short finally get Randy Johnson to sign my program. The starting pitcher for the Diamondbacks that night is his counterpart in pitching dominance, Curt Schilling. Johnson would win the Cy Young Award that season with Schilling finishing second in voting. They would together pitch a postseason for the record books.
On the surface, below the surface, above the surface, the 62-81 Rockies seem a weak match for the Diamondbacks. Their chances look even bleaker when the Diamondbacks score six runs in the top of the first inning. But these are things my nine-year-old brain doesn’t even care to compute amid the sights of perfect green grass, the hypnotic motion of Todd Helton throwing warmup grounders to his fellow infielders, the sound of the public address announcer belting out what may well be a roll call for heaven.
As good as Schilling is, one does not simply walk into Coors Field and pitch well. This was especially the case before 2002 when the Rockies had their famous epiphany about limiting the offense-enhancing effects of Denver’s elevation and aridity by storing baseballs in a humidor. As if on some sort of Mountain Time cue, Jose Ortiz and Todd Helton hit back to back home runs in the third inning to cut the Diamondbacks lead in half. By the end of the fifth inning, the Rockies have narrowed their deficit to 6-5 and sent Schilling packing early. Entering the bottom of the ninth, the Rockies and Diamondbacks have scored a combined 17 runs with the Rockies trailing 9-8.
At this point, what more could my nine-year-old self have asked for? My family had driven me across three states to see a baseball game. I got Randy Johnson’s autograph. Todd Helton had homered. I ate some Dippin’ Dots.
My heart was filled to its brim, and then bang, Todd Helton drives a ball deep to center for his second home run of the game. A small crowd for Coors yet a huge crowd in my eyes erupts as the Rockies tie the game 9-9. For a kid from Montana, I was as wide-eyed as eyes widen.
The next batter, Jeff Cirillo, decides to join Helton in making my first game one for the ages. He too hits a home run, the second set of back-to-back home runs of the night for the Rockies—this time off Byun Hyung Kim, a foreshadowing of World Series meltdowns to come.
Having trailed the entire game until the final inning, the Rockies win 10-9 in exhilarating style.
1.2 Back-to-Back Home Run Endings
My Dad told me that I’d probably never see another game in-person that ends in back-to-back home runs for the rest of my life. And he’s probably right. From 1990 to 2020 (the years of focus for this project), only 27 games ended in back-to-back home runs. The chances of seeing one of those games was 1 in 2,632, a little less than one per season.
Were any of you at one of these games? Technically, there were 28 games, but one set of those home runs happened in the 7th inning with the game being called immediately after due to a rain delay.
1.3 Hall of Famer
Much to my delight, Todd Helton was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame this January, forever to be enshrined as one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
In an interview capturing his post-election emotions, he said, “‘playing’ 162 games, there’s sometimes where you’re just not feeling it…and you go out and you play at Coors Field…and the fans get you energized…and they get you ready to play. And you never know when the one kid is there that that’s his first time watching you play. So that’s what I thought about when I when out there…”
Being now in my thirties, I’ve grown a bit too old to look up to athletes or imagine that a comment like this can fully explain human motivations. Yet I cannot deny that I was that kid that night—September 18, 2001—and express my gratitude to the Toddfather for memories that will last a lifetime.
1.4 The State of the Rockies
As satisfying as it was to look back on fond childhood and Rockies memories, the Rockies franchise is currently in shambles. They lost a franchise-worst 103 games last year despite having a $171 million dollar payroll. This year a successful season will likely be measured on the basis of not losing 100 games again. They opened this season by losing their first game 16-1 and allowing 13 runs in a single inning, an embarrassing outing and what feels emblematic of whatever dull torture remains of this season.
Last year’s World Series proved that losing 100 games does not prevent teams from fairly imminent success. Both the 2023 WS-winning Texas Rangers and WS-losing Arizona Diamondbacks lost 100 games just two years before. But the chances the Rockies could replicate this reversal in even five years seems a far-fetched notion. Organizational incompetence is the primary issue, and the condition of their roster the primary symptom.
The lone players on their major league roster that appear to have a legitimate shot at playing leading roles in any future competitive window are 25-year old Nolan Jones and 22-year old Ezequiel Tovar, both now in their sophomore seasons, though a case could be made for Brenton Doyle after a hot start to 2024. Jones was worth almost four wins himself last season compared to a typical replacement-level player as measured by Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Tovar finished 2023 as a Gold Glove finalist for his defensive prowess, putting up 1.6 WAR despite having a relatively weak offensive season. The Rockies demonstrated their faith in his talent by signing him to a $63 millon dollar contract through 2030.
Given the woeful state of their roster, it is no surprise that I and fellow Rockies fans are intensely interested in the development of Jones and Tovar. If Jones regresses—some suspect his success last season was unsustainable due to an extremely high batting average on balls in play, and his 2024 is already off to a horrific start—and Tovar doesn’t progress offensively, the Rockies will be in an even worse predicament than they already are. If they both build on their rookie performances and top prospects like Adael Amador emerge as contributors, the Rockies future will look less apocalyptic—perhaps normal enough for the eyes of the next generation of nine-year-old fans to widen.