Grand Junction Rockies
| Grand Junction Rockies Founded in 1978 Grand Junction, Colorado |
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| League titles | 1981 | ||||
| Division titles | 1981, 1988, 1989 | ||||
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| Manager: Tony Diaz | |||||
| General Manager: Tim Ray | |||||
The Grand Junction Rockies are a minor league baseball team in the Pioneer League based in Grand Junction, Colorado, United States, where they play at Suplizio Field. They are the Rookie affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The Grand Junction Rockies mascot is Corky Coyote.
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Franchise history [edit]
The Butte Copper Kings, named for the once-powerful owners of the copper mines of Butte, Montana, began play in the Pioneer League in 1978 as a co-op team with players from the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers organizations.[1]
Beginning in 1987, the franchise had been operated by Silverbow Baseball Corp. It was sold in 1996 to the Goldklang Group in a move necessary to stem conflict-of-interest issues when Silverbow head Jim McCurdy had taken the position of President of the Pioneer League in 1994.[2] Silverbow had attempted to sell the franchise in 1994 to investors from California, but the deal fell through when it was discovered that the would-be owners had lied about their personal financial backgrounds.[3]
Following the 2000 season, the team relocated to Casper, Wyoming as the Casper Rockies (and renamed to the Ghosts before the 2008 season[4]) and affiliated with Colorado.[5]
On January 13, 2011, Casper Professional Baseball Club, LLC announced the sale of the team to Monfort Investment Group, a group headed by Colorado Rockies General Partners. At the same time it was announced that Tim Ray would become the executive director of the Ghosts; Chris Maxwell and Phil Choler remain as General Manager and Assistant General Manager, respectively.[6]
October 17, 2011, Grand Junction city officials unanimously approved a lease agreement to the team, making Suplizio Field home to the newly renamed Grand Junction Rockies.[7]
Team record [edit]
In 2012, the Rockies had a winning season with a 43-33 record.
Roster [edit]
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Grand Junction Rockies roster
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager Coaches
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Notable players [edit]
Butte Copper Kings,[8] Casper Rockies and Casper Ghosts[9] players who have made appearances on Major League teams:
- Cecil Fielder
- Omar Vizquel
- Rich Aurilia
- Julio Franco
- Bobby Jenks
- Robb Nen
- Roger Pavlik
- Francisco Rodríguez
- Kevin Seitzer
- Mike Napoli
- Alfredo Amézaga
- Andy Barkett
- Andy Beene
- Mark Brandenburg
- Mickey Callaway
- Juan Castillo
- Bryan Clutterbuck
- Cris Colón
- John Davis
- Tom Edens
- Joey Eischen
- Trevor Enders
- Scott Eyre
- Monty Fariss
- Jeff Frye
- Benji Gil
- Donald Harris
- Todd Helton
- Matt Hensley
- Dion James
- Kerry Lacy
- Terrell Lowery
- Bill Lyons
- David Manning
- Rob Maurer
- Brian Meadows
- Ángel Miranda
- Alberto Árias
- Darren Clarke
- Manuel Corpas
- Dexter Fowler
- Jonathan Herrera
- Ubaldo Jiménez
- Franklin Morales
- Josh Newman
- Jayson Nix
- Alex Serrano
- Ryan Shealy
- Seth Smith
- Ian Stewart
- Ryan Speier
- Jermaine Van Buren
- Eduardo Villacis
- Everth Cabrera
- Jhoulys Chacín
- Matt Daley
- Juan Morillo
- David Patton
- Esmil Rogers
- Pedro Strop
- Mike Timlin
- Eric Young, Jr.
References [edit]
- ^ "Pioneer Adds Butte". The Sporting News. February 25, 1978. p. 63.
- ^ "Copper Kings Have New Owners, Affiliation". bozemandailychronicle.com. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. June 18, 1996. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ "Jury Rules in Favor of Former Cooper Kings Team Owner". bozemandailychronicle.com. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. October 12, 1996. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ "Casper Ghosts Launch Glow-in-the-Dark Identity". ghostsbaseball.com. Casper Ghosts. October 31, 2007. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ "Affiliations: Pioneer League". The Official Site of the Pioneer League. Pioneer Baseball League. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ^ "Monfort Investment Group Purchases Casper Ghosts". Official Site of the Casper Ghosts. Casper Ghosts. January 13, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ "Grand Junction officials OK Casper Ghosts' move to Colorado". trib.com. Casper Star Tribune. October 17, 2011.
- ^ "Butte Alumni". thebaseballcube.com. The Baseball Cube. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ "Casper Alumni". thebaseballcube.com. The Baseball Cube. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
External links [edit]
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| Triple-A | Double-A | Class A | Rookie |
| Colorado Springs Sky Sox | Tulsa Drillers |
Modesto Nuts Asheville Tourists Tri-City Dust Devils |
Grand Junction Rockies DSL Rockies |
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