Jorge de la Rosa

Lore & Background

De la Rosa signed as an amateur free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 20, 1998. He pitched in the Mexican League and the Boston Red Sox organization before making his MLB debut on August 14, 2004, for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 2006, then to the Colorado Rockies in 2008. With the Rockies, he became the franchise's all-time wins leader and set the franchise record for strikeouts (later surpassed). He also holds the Rockies' record for highest winning percentage among pitchers with at least 50 starts, and leads the team in walks and wild pitches. After leaving the Rockies, he pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs, then returned to the Rockies on a minor league contract in 2019 but was released due to an oblique injury without appearing in a game. He was enshrined into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame on November 6, 2025.

In Their Own Story

The evening air over Coors Field carried that particular Denver chill, the kind that settles into your shoulders around the sixth inning. De la Rosa stood on the mound, glove low, staring at the catcher's sign. The crowd was a low hum, the kind of noise that meant the game was close and nobody wanted to be the one who blinked. He set his foot, brought the arm around, and the slider left his fingers with that familiar, almost lazy arc before breaking sharply away from a right-handed batter. The swing missed by a foot. The catcher tossed the ball back. De la Rosa exhaled through his nose, reset, and waited for the next sign. The thin air up here made everything feel slightly exaggerated—the crack of the bat, the pop of the glove, the silence after a strike. He knew that. He'd felt it in every at-bat since he stepped onto this diamond. And he still found a way to make the ball do what he wanted it to do.

Reader's Guide

De la Rosa's best season was 2009, when he went 16–9 with a 4.38 ERA and 193 strikeouts, ranking third in the NL in wins. He tied his career high with 16 wins in 2013, posting a career-low 3.49 ERA. He pitched in the All-Star Futures Game in 2002 and 2003, but never appeared in an MLB All-Star Game. He did not pitch in the 2009 postseason due to a groin strain.

Did You Know?

• De la Rosa was traded twice in one week after the 2003 season, first from the Red Sox to the Diamondbacks for Curt Schilling, then from the Diamondbacks to the Brewers for Richie Sexson.
• He became the Rockies' all-time wins leader on June 14, 2015, with his 73rd win for the franchise.
• De la Rosa and his wife Martha had twins named Bernabe and Matias born in June 2010.