It’s well known that pitching is hard to acquire for the Colorado Rockies. The hurdles of Coors Field deter top-name free agents while development is hard to perfect. This often leaves the team with no other choice than to try to trade for pitching and in 2009 they managed to gather not one but two important pieces for the rotation.

Jason Marquis is one of a few Rockies pitchers to win 10+ games prior to the All-Star break. Acquired from the Chicago Cubs, Marquis became one the best pitchers in baseball in what could be considered his career year. A pre-season adjustment to his mechanics enabled him to extend his stride and allow him to throw downhill more, resulting in an increase in ground balls. The end result was a year in which he was among the leaders in ground balls, was an All-Star, and earned himself a nice payday after his solo season with the Rockies.

The team also added a young starter Jason Hammel from the Tampa Bay Rays. After some early struggles in Tampa Bay, Hammel found some new life in his time with the Rockies. From 2009-2011, Hammel was a sturdy and reliable innings eater for the Rockies. He wasn’t particularly fantastic, but he regularly had the ability to give the team five or six innings and keep them in the ball game, allowing a strong offense to keep pace and give them a chance to win. Before you knew it, he was finding success elsewhere for the rest of his career.

In this new episode of Every Rockie Ever, brothers Skyler and Dustin Timmins reflect on the pitching careers of both pitchers and the impact they had on the organization. The episode is available in both audio and video formats!