TOWER GROVE — As if the first major-league team ever to call the Mountain Time Zone home wasn’t enough in April 1993, the Colorado Rockies decided to pick up a gift for the baseball-starved region on their way back from spring training: Dale Murphy.

For those of us who grew up opening wax packs — when some still had bubble gum, buddy — or thumbing the red off the controller while playing RBI Baseball, Murphy was a star of our youth. He won consecutive MVPs in the early 1980s, those formative, artificial-turf and pine-tar years, and he was a gentleman ballplayer. The Braves aspired to be America’s team, but only years after Murphy was the all-American player. In our cul-de-sac games there were enough Dale Murphy-signature gloves in the neighborhood to fill a crowded outfield and have enough left over for one at third base.

And here it was, two days before Opening Day (our first Opening Day), and Murphy is a … Rocky?

Sure the whole Front Range was thrilled by players like David Nied, Armando Reynoso, Andres Galarraga, Joe Girardi and, of course, Alex Cole’s super-cool specs. But this was The Dale Murphy. A potential Hall of Famer signed as a free agent and bringing his 398 career home runs to right field at Mile High Stadium for the twilight of his career. New to this whole major-league thing it was pretty heady to think he’d be a Rocky when he hit No. 400.

But he never did.

Maybe there’s still a chance.

Mike Lynch, an author and contributor over at Seamheads.com, has gathered a group of baseball writers, columnists, authors, players and others for a historical simulation baseball league. The games

will be played this winter, and the rules are simple: Each participant is assigned a franchise — in a few cases two franchises — and can cobble together a 40-man roster from the entire history of that franchise. A computer game will then simulate the season, with guidance from each participant, and we’ll all watch the Yankees, led by Babe Ruth, Ron Guidry and Mickey Mantle, win …

The list of team “owners” includes Bill James (Red Sox), KC Star and Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski (Cleveland), ESPN Page 2 writer and freelance writer extraordinaire Jonah Keri (Montreal/Washington), big-league pitcher Curt Schilling (Pittsburgh), New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro (Chicago White Sox), KMOX’s Kevin Wheeler (Houston), and KC Star baseball writer Sam Mellinger (Kansas City). The complete list of participants is available here. The all-time St. Louis Cardinals team — a formidable club of Albert Pujols, Pepper Martin, Stan Musial, Jim Edmonds, Dizzy Dean and Steve Carlton, no doubt — is being general-managed by Dustin Mattison, a superb writer at Scout.com. (He has invited folks to contribute to his roster-building.)

Due to Rocky Mountain roots, I got the fused history of the Colorado Rockies/Arizona Diamondbacks, the clubs from the Time Zone Baseball Forgot.

The D’Rocks. The Rockbacks.

The Historically Challenged Nine.

Say this about putting together a 40-man roster from the history of Arizona and Colorado: There aren’t too many years to research. Not like, say, the Cardinals or Browns/Orioles (Roy Firestone’s team).

But there’s also decisions like Kaz Matsui, Tony Womack or Chad Qualls for that 37th spot on the roster to consider. Filling out a bullpen requires some … creativity. My team is going to essentially break down like this: Colorado hitters, Arizona pitchers. There will be the rare exception, but not many. Consider the starting lineup I’m just about sold on:

• C Charles Johnson
• 1B Todd Helton
• 2B Eric Young
• 3B Vinnie Castilla
• SS Stephen Drew (L), Troy Tulowitzki (R)
• LF Luis Gonzalez (L), Matt Holliday (R)
• CF Ellis Burks
• RF Larry Walker

The starting rotation is all Arizona rattlers. Randy Johnson, the aforementioned Schilling, Brandon Webb and, yes, Dan Haren, as the top four. See, how the simulation works is it considers only the performance of the player with said team. Haren’s one year with Arizona then stands as his career mark. For Wheeler’s construction of the Houston roster, Johnson’s brief time as an Astro makes him an asset as a lefthanded reliever out of the bullpen. (Eager to see how those Johnson-Ruth or Johnson-Musial late-inning showdowns turn out.) Heck, Jeromy Burnitz is a compelling addition because of his mile-high 2004 with the Rockies. Troy Glaus is definitely on the bench as the backup corner infielder for his one-year tour with Arizona.

Any suggestions anyone has are welcome. Even encouraged. Needed.

But leave the 40th spot on the roster open.

That goes to Murphy.

With Colorado he appeared in 26 games and had 42 at-bats. He drove in seven runs, but only one of his six hits for the Rockies went for extra bases. At 37, he hit .143 in his final season, his final swing at 400 and he retired. It’s not exactly the kind of performance that is going send the simulation into a calliope of whistling production — like, say, Manny Ramirez’s tenure as a Dodger — but there’s a spot for him. It’s a long season and there will be at-bats some time. At-bats mean opportunities.

And there are two home runs to hit.

Small victories. Because let’s face it, against the holy canon of clubs, the D’Rocks are toast.

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