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Rockies COL

199783–79 (0.512)
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GM: Bob Gebhard

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1997, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$44M
Surplus $M
-14
Win %
0.512
TAB
-5.4
WAB
-0.4
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
30.2
Dead money %
43%
Depth Players
6.0
Dead WAR
-5.3

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1997 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RKirt Manwaring100
LJeff Reed78

1B

RAndres Galarraga154
LTodd Helton8
LJohn Vander Wal5
LLarry Walker3

2B

REric Young Sr.⇄118
BNeifi Perez41
BJason Bates22
RBrian Raabe⇄2

3B

RVinny Castilla157
BJason Bates6
RDarnell Coles3
BNeifi Perez2
RRene Gonzales1

SS

BWalt Weiss119
BNeifi Perez45
BJason Bates16

LF

RDante Bichette128
REllis Burks66
RHarvey Pulliam24
LTodd Helton13
RAngel Echevarria2
RDarnell Coles2
LJohn Vander Wal2

CF

BQuinton McCracken132
REllis Burks89
RAngel Echevarria2
LLarry Walker2
RHarvey Pulliam1

RF

LLarry Walker150
RDante Bichette16
RHarvey Pulliam10
LJohn Vander Wal7
RAngel Echevarria3
LTodd Helton2

DH

RDante Bichette5
LJohn Vander Wal2
LLarry Walker1

Starters

RJohn Thomson3.4 WAR
RRoger Bailey1.3 WAR
RDarren Holmes0.8 WAR
RKevin Ritz0.5 WAR
RPedro Astacio⇄0.5 WAR
RBill Swift0.5 WAR
RFrank Castillo⇄0.4 WAR
RJamey Wright0.4 WAR
LBobby Jones0.1 WAR
RBryan Rekar-0.2 WAR
RMark Hutton⇄-0.2 WAR
RJohn Burke-0.3 WAR
RMark Thompson-0.3 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJerry Dipoto16 sv
LMike Munoz0 h
RSteve Reed0 h
RCurtis Leskanic0 h
RMike DeJean0 h
RJeff McCurry0 h
LBruce Ruffin0 h
RMark Hutton⇄0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1996)

PlayerfWAR
John Thomson3.4
Jerry Dipoto1.7
Mike DeJean0.8
Pedro Astacio0.5
Frank Castillo0.4
Brian Raabe0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1996)

Player1996 fWAR
Armando Reynoso1.4
Marvin Freeman0.3
Steve Decker0.3
Trenidad Hubbard0.3
John Habyan-0.0
Ryan Hawblitzel-0.0

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Rockies. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1997; everyone else is shown as a 1997 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Larry Walker 1997 +9.1 +148.9 6.3 +142.6 $0.7M 2.05× –
John Thomson 1997 +3.4 +53.2 0.1 +53.0 $0.0M 1.96× –
Jerry Dipoto 1997 +1.7 +25.8 0.6 +25.3 $0.3M 1.95× –
Vinny Castilla 1997 +3.0 +27.1 2.2 +24.9 $0.7M 1.12× –
Andres Galarraga 1997 +3.1 +26.9 5.0 +22.0 $1.6M 1.07× –
Jeff Reed 1997 +2.1 +13.0 0.7 +12.3 $0.3M 0.76× –
Ellis Burks 1997 +1.7 +16.2 4.0 +12.2 $2.4M 1.22× –
Eric Young Sr.↔ 1997 +2.1 +13.7 2.4 +11.3 $1.2M 0.82× –
Roger Bailey 1997 +1.3 +10.5 0.2 +10.3 $0.2M 1.02× –
Walt Weiss 1997 +1.7 +11.9 2.7 +9.2 $1.6M 0.89× –
Mike DeJean 1997 +0.8 +4.3 0.1 +4.1 $0.2M 0.67× –
Pedro Astacio↔ 1997 +0.5 +4.4 0.6 +3.8 $1.1M 1.02× –
Jamey Wright 1997 +0.4 +3.4 0.2 +3.3 $0.4M 1.02× –
Frank Castillo↔ 1997 +0.4 +3.6 0.7 +2.9 $1.6M 1.02× –
Mike Munoz 1997 +0.6 +3.1 0.3 +2.7 $0.6M 0.67× –
Neifi Perez 1997 +0.5 +2.3 0.1 +2.1 $0.3M 0.61× –
Curt Leskanic 1997 +0.4 +2.2 0.5 +1.6 $1.3M 0.67× –
Kevin Ritz 1997 +0.5 +4.0 2.5 +1.5 $5.0M 1.02× –
Harvey Pulliam 1997 +0.1 +0.6 0.1 +0.5 $1.5M 0.83× –
Brian Raabe↔ 1997 +0.1 +0.4 0.1 +0.3 $0.9M 0.56× –
Darnell Coles 1997 +0.1 +0.3 0.2 +0.1 $2.9M 0.58× –
Bill Swift 1997 +0.5 +3.9 4.6 -0.7 $9.7M 1.02× –
Todd Helton 1997 -0.1 -0.9 0.1 -1.0 – 0.83× –
Mark Hutton↔ 1997 -0.2 -1.3 0.0 -1.3 – 0.67× –
Quinton McCracken 1997 -0.3 -1.7 0.2 -1.9 – 0.83× –
Jeff McCurry 1997 -0.4 -2.0 0.2 -2.2 – 0.67× –
Dante Bichette 1997 +0.4 +2.6 5.2 -2.5 $13.0M 0.83× –
Jason Bates 1997 -0.5 -2.3 0.2 -2.5 – 0.56× –
John Burke 1997 -0.3 -2.7 0.2 -2.9 – 1.02× –
Mark Thompson 1997 -0.3 -2.6 0.3 -2.9 – 1.02× –
Steve Reed 1997 -0.3 -3.0 1.2 -4.2 – 1.34× –
John Vander Wal 1997 -0.7 -5.0 0.5 -5.5 – 0.83× –
Kirt Manwaring 1997 -1.9 -7.8 1.7 -9.5 – 0.52× –
Tim Scott↔ 1997 +0.0 +0.1 0.1 +0.0 $3.2M 0.67× –
Angel Echevarria 1997 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.83× –
Bobby Jones 1997 +0.1 +0.7 – – – 1.02× –
Bruce Ruffin 1997 +0.2 +1.6 – – – 1.34× –
Bryan Rekar 1997 -0.2 -1.4 – – – 1.02× –
Darren Holmes 1997 +0.8 +4.0 – – – 0.67× –
Nate Minchey 1997 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Rene Gonzales 1997 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.58× –
Robbie Beckett 1997 +0.0 +0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+30.3+358.044.1+308.9—

Trades

Every graded 1997 deal involving the Rockies — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 9 total.

1997 · CHC / COL
CHC · Ed Lynch +$4.0M
Matt Pool
COL · Bob Gebhard −$4.0M
Frank Castillo
CHC came out ahead by $4.0M
1997 · MIA / COL
MIA · Dave Dombrowski +$9.6M
Craig Counsell
COL · Bob Gebhard −$9.6M
Mark Hutton
MIA came out ahead by $9.6M
1997 · CIN / COL
CIN · Jim Bowden +$0.0M
Mark Hutton
COL · Bob Gebhard +$0.0M
Curtis Goodwin
Even trade
1997 · COL / MIL
COL · Bob Gebhard +$8.0M
Creighton Gubanich
MIL · Sal Bando −$8.0M
Jeff Huson
COL came out ahead by $8.0M
1997 · COL / LAD
COL · Bob Gebhard +$59.2M
Pedro Astacio
LAD · Fred Claire −$59.2M
Eric Young
COL came out ahead by $59.2M
1997 · COL / ARI
COL · Bob Gebhard +$0.8M
Chuck McElroy
ARI · Joe Garagiola −$0.8M
Harvey Pulliam
COL came out ahead by $0.8M
1997 · COL / SEA
COL · Bob Gebhard +$0.0M
Brian Raabe
SEA · Woody Woodward +$0.0M
Donnie Schmidt
Even trade
1997 · COL / WSN
COL · Bob Gebhard +$3.2M
Dave Veres, Mark Hamlin
WSN · Jim Beattie −$3.2M
Terry Jones, Mark Mangum
COL came out ahead by $3.2M
1997 · WSN / COL
WSN · Jim Beattie +$15.2M
Mark Hamlin, John Nicholson, Jake Westbrook
COL · Bob Gebhard −$15.2M
Mike Lansing
WSN came out ahead by $15.2M

Current & Historical Payroll

1997 payroll
$44.2M

What the front office was committed to as of 1997, 1997–2003. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (19)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Larry Walker308.000$6.3M$6.0M$5.4M$12.1M$12.2M$12.7M$12.7M
Dante Bichette339.000$5.2M$5.3M$7.2MFREE AGENT
Andres Galarraga3612.000$5.0MFREE AGENT
Bill Swift3512.000$4.6MFREE AGENT
Ellis Burks3210.000$4.0M$3.5MFREE AGENT
Walt Weiss3310.000$2.7MFREE AGENT
Kevin Ritz328.000$2.5M$3.5MFREE AGENT
Vinny Castilla296.000$2.2M$5.0M$6.0MFREE AGENT
Kirt Manwaring3110.000$1.7M$2.1M$700kFREE AGENT
Frank Castillo286.000$716kFREE AGENT
Jeff Reed3413.000$650k$1.5M$719kFREE AGENT
John Vander Wal316.000$500k$457kFREE AGENT
Mike Munoz318.000$350k$585kFREE AGENT
Darnell Coles3514.000$200kFREE AGENT
Harvey Pulliam296.000$150kFREE AGENT
Tim Scott306.000$73kFREE AGENT
Rene Gonzales3613.000—FREE AGENT
Darren Holmes317.000—FREE AGENT
Bruce Ruffin3311.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (8)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Eric Young Sr.305.000$2.4MFREE AGENT
Steve Reed325.000$1.2MFREE AGENT
Pedro Astacio285.000$615kFREE AGENT
Jerry Dipoto294.000$550kARB 3FREE AGENT
Curt Leskanic294.000$517kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Thompson263.000$252kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Hutton274.000$41kARB 3FREE AGENT
Nate Minchey274.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Roger Bailey262.000$200kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Quinton McCracken262.000$198kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jason Bates262.000$195kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff McCurry272.000$175kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jamey Wright221.000$170kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Burke271.000$152kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Todd Helton230.000$150kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike DeJean260.000$150kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Neifi Perez241.000$150kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
John Thomson230.000$150kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Raabe292.000$80kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Robbie Beckett24–—
Angel Echevarria261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bobby Jones250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bryan Rekar252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1997 acquisition stacked onto Rockies's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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