On December 9, 2000, the Colorado Rockies and left handed pitcher Mike Hampton put ink to paper on an eight year, $121 million contract. In coming to Colorado, Hampton had signed the largest contract in MLB history at the time. The Rockies hoped that Hampton, in conjunction with some other moves like signing fellow southpaw Denny Neagle to a five year, $51 million deal, would help usher in a new age of starting pitching at Coors Field.
In the Rockies’ seven year history up to that point, a rotation pitcher had an ERA under 4.