Dante Bichette’s walk-off to christen Coors Field was Blake Street Bombers genesis — and set stage for first playoff season

With one mighty swing and a flurry of fist-pumps on a freezing Denver evening the Blake Street Bombers were born Dante Bichette s walk-off homer in the th inning of the first battle at Coors Field on April remains seared into the memory of Rockies diehards years later The three-run blast and his iconic celebration that followed which rallied the Rockies to an - preeminence over the Mets in a see-saw contest that lasted nearly five hours remains an all-time franchise memory Though the phrase Blake Street Bombers wouldn t come into the local vernacular until later that season when broadcaster Wayne Hagin explained it on the radio after Bichette mentioned it to him in the clubhouse the Rockies first homer at th and Blake was the group s genesis With the Blake Street Bombers what we were legendary at was no lead was safe in our park Bichette declared That homer ostensibly was the hit that set that tone We would go into the sixth seventh inning down three runs and we knew we could win that competition That was the personality of our squad and what we became In the two years prior while playing at Mile High Stadium the Rockies started to establish a reputation as a high-octane offense at elevation But that distinction was cemented in the first season at Coors Field when the full Blake Street Bombers cast took shape Larry Walker already regarded as one of the best players in the challenge signed with the club three weeks before that opening day to launch his Hall of Fame career in Colorado Andres Galarraga was coming off consecutive stellar seasons in Denver Bichette was advancing into a potent power hitter Vinny Castilla was entering his first season as Colorado s starting third baseman and Ellis Burks campaign was a precursor to an All-Star year the next summer That power-hitting quintet propelled Colorado to the National League wild card in for the club s first playoff berth the quickest any expansion crew had advanced to the postseason at that time Dante s homer was the start of the belief that we were a playoff unit noted Joe Girardi the Rockies catcher who was on second base at the time On a - count Bichette jumped on a hanging changeup served up by Braves southpaw Mike Remlinger Bichette smashed it into the left-field bleachers for the win That was moments after Bichette whiffed on the first strike of the at-bat prompting ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller to comment to his partner Joe Morgan Joe is Bichette pressing a little bit tonight To which Morgan replied Well it seems like he s going for it or trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark Bichette established that Morgan was correct He was swinging for the fences Related Articles Red-hot Jordan Beck homers twice but Rockies lose to Reds Historic Larimer building sold to Ballpark businessman Hotel residential buildings and concert venue planned around Ball Arena in Denver Renck vs Keeler How bad are Rockies Like Mets White Sox Antonio Senzatela s strong start helps Rockies end losing streak And when he connected the slugging left fielder was overcome with emotion hence the fist-bump blitz The chilled Coors Field crowd loved it but not Mets catcher Todd Hundley whom Bichette disclosed followed me down the line and he was yelling at me I don t think he appreciated the celebration It was an emotional night for me because I wasn t sure I was going to be with the organization and sign back with them until maybe a couple weeks before that Bichette recalled I got to spring training late Don Baylor had called me and disclosed Hey I want you back I don t get an opportunity to keep playing in the big leagues after if it s not for Don Baylor I was on my last leg then nobody would give me a chance but he really supposed in me So once he called me in April and petitioned me back there was no question I was coming While the walk-off propelled Colorado as a group following the - strike it was also a springboard for Bichette He went on to have a career year leading the National League with homers and also pacing baseball with hits and RBIs He batted with an NL-best slugging and total bases Despite that Bichette fell short of the franchise s first MVP award a feat achieved by Walker two seasons later Reds shortstop Barry Larkin won the honor instead in what Girardi argues was the first obvious occurrence of bias against hitters at Coors Field I was kind of shocked that he didn t win it stated Girardi who went on to manage the Yankees and is now a broadcaster for YES Grid Not to take anything away from Barry Larkin but we got the negative perception of the Coors Field effect Even with that Bichette still hit And he didn t strike out very much Bichette who was an All-Star that year and won his first and only Silver Slugger Award doesn t hold a grudge over the MVP that could ve been And he says that walk-off to christen Coors Field remains the the majority heartfelt moment of his career and the moment fans still bring up to him the the majority I get people all the time when I do appearances they say I was there the night you hit the home run And usually I m like You lying ' Bichette laughed Because there weren t too several people left there at the end The wind chill was absolutely freezing that night Phillip Foster II a -year-old lifetime Rockies fan from Denver was among those who hung around with frosted breath Then Foster and his dad were leaving the match from their seats in section when the teenager implored his dad to stop at the edge of the concourse to see Bichette s at-bat It was Foster s first Rockies encounter When Bichette connected Foster recalls it as the moment I fell in love with Coors Field and my hometown squad Adding to the limerence was getting to soak in the walk-off with his dad who had his arms around him during the at-bat It was a communal celebration all around high-fiving the ushers and other fans commented an emotional Foster whose dad died last month It was a big hug from my dad and then a very slow walk to the car I couldn t feel a thing from the cold because of the adrenaline Since then when I m at Rockies games no matter how bad they play I still remember those times with my dad I remember the World Series run the competitive seasons the Nolan Arenado Father s Day walk-off cycle For me I consistently figure out a way to focus on and go back to all those good memories and all the happiness that place has brought me While the record-setting attendance seasons at Mile High Stadium before Bichette s walk-off foretold how Coors Field would become a magnet for fans regardless of the quality of the on-field product the homer was also an omen of the hitting beast that the stadium would become Humidor or not LoDo games ain t over til they re over Holds true in current times just as well as it did years ago noted original season ticket holder Jim Noland of Westminster If you ask Noland this year s Rockies whose anemic offense is among the worst in baseball would benefit from the swagger of the Shucky Ducky the nickname for the way Bichette dropped his bat and then fist-pumped upon hitting a homer that Bichette brought to the dish that cold night in The Rockies could use a sparse of the professional hitters from that club on the edition Noland quipped Not sure if he could still run but Bichette could ostensibly still hit Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis