Colorado Rockies: Brad Hawpe the steady presence in the WS run of ‘07

Brad Hawpe wasn’t a star and didn’t come with much fanfare. He was a steadying presence on a Colorado Rockies team which made the World Series in 2007.

The 2007 Colorado Rockies which made the World Series had good hitting, and good enough pitching. They had veteran stars and young stars and good team unity. They also had Brad Hawpe, a right fielder with a workmanlike presence and a calm demeanor.

I’m not here to argue this was Brad Hawpe’s team, it was not. Todd Helton was the long tenured Rockie on the team. Matt Holiday was the team MVP and driving force putting up league MVP numbers (he finished second to Jimmy Rollins). Troy Tulowitzki was the young stud on the team, even Garrett Atkins was a major contributor.

Hawpe slid into the sixth spot in the batting order and combined a good amount of power and finesse on his way to driving in 116 runs on the year. Hawpe did strikeout a fair amount, but he also walked second most on the team. His OPS was just a shade lower than Helton at .926.

The Rockies finished a half game back of Arizona for the division title, but earned the wild card spot for the National League. The Rockies swept the Phillies and Diamondbacks to set up a meeting in the World Series with Boston. Hawpe hit .333 in the Championship Series tying Helton for the best clip and led the team in walks.

The Rockies were swept out of town in the World Series by the Red Sox. Hawpe hit the only triple of the series and hit one of the Rockies’ three home runs. His season was not spectacular, though it was steady and he was a much-needed fit for the Rockies.

Brad Hawpe was an All-Star in 2009 with the Colorado Rockies before being released a year later. He would play sparingly for three other teams before retiring after the 2013 season. He’ll always be remembered for his spot on the 2007 Rockies World Series team.