David Nied occupies a unique place in Rockies history because he was there at the very beginning. After debuting with the Braves in 1992, he was selected by Colorado as the first pick in the expansion draft and was handed the ball for the first game in franchise history. That alone locked him into the record books.

Pitching at Coors Field before anyone understood how to survive there, Nied was asked to learn in public. Over parts of four seasons in Colorado, he made 41 starts, threw more than 240 innings, and struck out 146 hitters in conditions that punished every mistake. The ERA was inflated, but the assignment mattered. Someone had to take the mound while the franchise figured itself out.

Injuries shortened his career, and he was out of the majors by 1996, but his story is inseparable from the Rockies’ origin.