Bryn Smith’s first pitch of the game was way outside. It brought catcher Joe Girardi out to the mound for a conference, which is a bit unusual after the first pitch of a game.
But this wasn’t a usual game.
It was the first major-league baseball game played in Denver, and there were 80,227 fans, a big-league record crowd, packed into Mile High Stadium.
“Joe said to me, ‘OK, that’s over with. Now let’s get going and play the game,’ ” Smith recalled.
That’s exactly what the veteran pitcher did. He settled down and shut out the Montreal Expos over seven innings, helping the Rockies win their first home opener 11-4.
What is most remembered by Rockies fans about that day — April 9, 1993 — is Eric Young’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning. What’s often forgotten is the job Smith did. A veteran of 12 major-league seasons, Smith, then 37, was signed by the expansion Rockies to bring a veteran’s presence to the pitching staff.
“The biggest thrill I had in my career was pitching that opening-day game in Denver,” Smith said in a telephone interview. “What a thrill. What a day. I still get cards and messages from people who were at that game.”
Even though he had pitched for the Denver Bears in the minor leagues and had pretty much seen it all during his big-league career, Smith wasn’t immune to pressure.
“It wasn’t a baseball atmosphere,” Smith said. “There were twice as many people as a normal game. I kept a towel over my head as I walked out from the clubhouse so I couldn’t see the stands. I never looked up until I was ready to throw the first pitch. I thought I was going to fall over.”
Smith’s path to the mound that day was a story in itself.
“I had elbow surgery in 1992, and I was a little beat-up,” he recalled. “The game plan was that I’d pitch the first game in Denver if I could get myself in pitching shape. I wasn’t on the roster in spring training, and I was left to getting ready on my own.”
Early in spring training, Smith tweaked his knee and needed arthroscopic surgery. But he got himself in shape and was ready for the home opener.
“We had a lot of young pitchers and you didn’t want to run one of those guys out there in front of 80,000 people,” said Don Baylor, then the Rockies’ manager and now the team’s hitting coach. “There was a lot of talk about the altitude. We targeted him for that assignment because we knew he wasn’t bothered about pitching in Denver.”
Smith’s call to the Rockies wasn’t by chance. He was with the Expos at the same time Rockies general manager Bob Gebhard and pitching coach Larry Bearnarth were in Montreal.
While he pitched well in the 1993 home opener, Smith didn’t have much left. After compiling a 2-4 record and another stint on the disabled list, Smith was released by the Rockies in June. He left baseball with a 108-94 career record.
“At that point I was done,” Smith said. “My body was telling me it was time. Every day of my major-league career was a gift anyway.”
But Smith wasn’t done with the Rockies. He later signed with the organization as a pitching coach in the farm system.
“I was at the Double-A team when Aaron Cook came through,” Smith said. “I was happy when he got to the major leagues. When I heard he recognized me for helping him, it was more gratifying than anything else.”
Smith decided the grind of coaching in professional baseball wasn’t for him. His motor home would become his home away from home wherever he was coaching. But it wasn’t home.
He lives in Santa Maria, Calif., and remains involved with baseball. He’s the co-founder and pitching coach of the Santa Maria Valley Packers, a team of college players who play in the California Summer Collegiate League.
But that 1993 home opener in Denver never is far away. As Smith introduced himself to his new group of players this year, one said he was 3 years old and at Mile High Stadium for Smith’s greatest moment on a major-league mound.
Smith bio
Born: Aug. 11, 1955, in Marietta, Ga.
High school: Santa Maria (Calif.)
College: Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria
Family: Wife Patti, son Cody, daughter Cady
Hobby: Avid bone fisherman
Goal: Promote the game of baseball.
