Colorado Rockies

“Like classic rock.”

That’s how Rockies Hall of Famer Larry Walker referred to the Blake Street Bombers Saturday when they gathered at Coors Field as part of the franchise’s ongoing 30th anniversary celebration.

Joining Walker were Dante Bichette, Ellis Burkes and Vinny Castilla. The only player missing from the festivities was Andres “The Big Cat” Galarraga, who’s proven quite elusive in his post-baseball, always-on-the-golf-course life in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“I’ve got his phone number and we live in the same complex and I don’t ever see him,” joked Walker.

The Blake Street Bombers are remembered for their prodigious scoring power during the Rockies’ pre-humidor days at Coors Field. The 1996 team remains the only team in major league history to hit 200 or more home runs (221) and steal 200 or more bases (201) in the same season.

The Bombers would like to see some of that classic rock return to Coors and lift the Rockies out of their current doldrums.

“This is a ballpark where you can score runs, so it would be good to have a lineup that can scare people,” said Castilla, who works as a special assistant to general manager Bill Schmidt.

Castilla recalled that the Bombers would always be the last group to take batting practice at Coors Field, so that way, as the opposing pitchers stretched out, they would watch the Bombers’ pregame pyrotechnics.

“We started yelling, ‘ERA!’ ERA!’ ” Castilla said, flashing his ultra-bright smile.

The current Rockies entered Saturday’s play with 142 home runs, ranking them 28th out of 30 in MLB. They ranked 29th with 61 stolen bases and 20th with 643 runs scored. In other words, the current Rockies aren’t creating a nightmare on Blake Street for visiting teams.

“Offensively, you’ve got to bully teams at home,” Bichette said.

And then Bichette made an interesting point.

“You hear a lot about, ‘Get some flyball hitters,’ ” he said. “None of us were flyball hitters. We were all good line-drive hitters. You put good line-drive hitters with bat speed in this park and that’s what really blows up this park.”

Bichette also said that he considers the 1995 team, which made the postseason in just the third season of the Rockies’ existence, as the mold for a winning team at Coors Field. The ’95 team, Bichette noted, not only had a powerful lineup, but it had some “fearless pitchers” such as starter Kevin Ritz and a solid bullpen featuring Darren Holmes, Steve Reed and Curt Leskanic.

Walker said the key for the Rockies must be developing hitters in the farm system.

“You just can’t go out and purchase or (spend) a ton of money on players, or trade off a lot because then you are left dry,” Walker said. “So the farm system needs to be built up a little bit to have that pool of young players that you can call up.

“I think, perhaps, they are running a little bit thin right now in that department. That’s a process that’s got to start. It doesn’t happen over a couple of years. It’s going to take some time.”

Burks, who now works as a broadcast analyst covering the Cleveland Guardians, sees some young talent starting to bloom for Colorado, especially with rookies such as shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and outfielder Nolan Jones, who was traded from Cleveland to Colorado before the 2023 season.

“I saw Nolan when he was with Cleveland and when he was in the minor leagues,” Burks said. “I’m excited about what he can do.

“As far as the future is concerned, just like anyone, you have to learn the different pitchers in the league, kind of make your adjustments. And that’s for everyone. But I think these guys are on their way.”

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