Rapids By The Numbers: #6

Up to number 6 already.  There's quite a mixed bag here:

Ian Butterworth (1996)
David Patino (1997)
Peter Vermes (1998-1999)
Ross Paule: (2000-2001)
Steve Shak (2001)
Danny Jackson (2002)
Darryl Powell (2003-2004)
Mike Petke (2005-2006)
Brandon Prideaux (2007)
Jose Burciaga Jr. (2008)
Greg Dalby (2009)
Anthony Wallace (2010-2013)
Jose Mari (2014)
Sam Cronin (2015-2017)
Benny Feilhaber (2019)
Lalas Abubakar (2019-2020)

16 different players, tying the record with #2 and three other numbers for the most used number.

Immediately I dismiss anyone who used the number for a single season.  None of them stand out as anyone with a claim on best ever.  That leaves us with Vermes, Paule, Powell, Petke, Wallace, Cronin, and Abubakar.  Paule was #20 his first three years here, which were his best ones, and we'll reevaluate him then.  Vermes was #2 for his first year but his other two years in #6 stand up well.  Powell (18), Wallace (23), and Abubakar (24) all have less than a season's worth of appearances even though they were on the team for multiple seasons.

Cronin was an All-Star in 2015 and of course Wallace started and won MLS Cup 2010.  Those are the only league-wide awards in the group.  Vermes did start during the USOC final run in 1999.  Other than Paule's assists (two thirds of which were while he was wearing #20) the only appearance in the team record books are Petke's, for card accumulation.

So again, much like 2, we're left with a list of journeyman players.  In this case we have a three way battle between Vermes, Petke, and Cronin.  I'm going to eliminate Petke as being not quite as good as the other two (which is backed up by the other two being All-Stars) and for being a walking card magnet.  Seriously, the third highest yellow cards/game total in the top 10 (Burling, Azira), he had as many yellows as Drew Moor does as a Rapid, in less than half the time.  The final decision between Vermes and Cronin is really hard to choose.  I could go either way.

In the end I'm going to side with Sam Cronin but I don't feel strongly about it.

Rapids History By The Numbers: #5

I have a feeling the best #5 isn't going to make some people happy.  First, the list:

Denis Hamlett (1996)
Jason Bent (1999-2000)
Geoff Aunger (2001)
Rivers Guthrie (2001)
Kyle Beckerman (2002-2007)
Facundo Erpen (2008)
Ty Harden (2009)
Joseph Nane (2012)
Diego Calderon (2013)
Thomas Piermayr (2014)
Michael Harrington (2015)
Mekeil Williams (2016-2017)
Tommy Smith (2018-2019)
Auston Trusty (2020)

No, I have no memory of Rivers Guthrie either.  Despite a personal favorite in Jason Bent, the clear answer here is Kyle Beckerman.  Yes, the traitor.  He appears all over the Rapids record book:

• 6th in Games, Starts, and Minutes
• 9th in shots
• 10th in Shots on Goal
• 3rd in Fouls Committed
• 6th in Fouls Suffered
• 2nd in Yellow Cards
• 3rd in Game-Winning Assists

Yeah, nobody else come close.  As much as he's turned to the dark side, he was a key component of those mid-2000's teams.  He also gets credit for calling out Clavijo's tactics in a live interview, which is probably what got him traded.

Rapids History By The Numbers: #4

Now we come to the first number where I'm not even sure as I write this sentence who the best player who wore it is, #4.  Lets take a look at the list and see which candidates stand out.

Steve Trittschuh (1996-1999)
Scott Vermillion (2000)
Robin Fraser (2001-2003)74
Adrian Cann (2004)
Ricky Lewis (2004)
Dan Gargan (2005-2007)
Greg Dalby (2008)
Ugo Ihemelu (2009)
Jeff Larentowicz (2010-2012)96
Marc Burch (2014-2017)
Danny Wilson (2018-2020)

Well, that list narrow down to 4 pretty quickly.  Trittschuh, Fraser, Larentowicz, and Burch are the only possible choices.  The only league awards for any of these players were in 2010 when Larentowicz was an All-Star and of course won MLS Cup that year.  Larentowicz and Trittschuh both appear in the team record book in the top 10 of yellow cards received but I don't think that helps their case much.  Otherwise none of the players appear anywhere in team records.  Fraser got his final U.S. National Team cap in 2001 while with the Rapids, while Larentowicz got all 4 of his career caps as a member of the Rapids.

So what we have is similar to our list for #2, a number of journeyman MLS players that really never stood out.  I think we can eliminate Burch.  He was a strong component of a single good season (2016) and not much else.  He also had the least appearances of the 4.  Of the other 3 Fraser had 74 appearances but no finals, Trittschuh had 91 appearances and appeared in the 1997 MLS Cup, but did not play in either the Open Cup semifinal or final in 1999.  The Ginger Ninja had the most appearances in #4, with 96.

I think the obvious answer here turns out to be Larentowicz.  He had the most appearances, was an All-Star, and won MLS Cup.  Interesting that our best #2 and #4 are midfielders when those numbers are traditionally defenders.

Next up, a pick at #5 that will likely upset some people.

Rapids History By The Numbers: #3

Moving on to an easier choice at #3.  First the list:

Richard Sharpe (1996)
Sean Henderson (1997-1998)
Lance Key (2000-2001)
Richie Kotschau (2002-2005)
Eric Denton (2006)
Greg Vanney (2007)
Facundo Erpen (2007)
Rafael Gomes (2008)
Drew Moor (2009-2015, 2020)
Eric Miller (2016-2017)
Kofi Opare (2019)

Yeah, there's only one choice here.  Drew Moor.  Just a small list of his accomplishments:

• MLS Cup Winner, 2010
• MLS All-Star, 2015
• 2nd All-Time Team Appearances, Starts, Minutes (Pablo 1st in all)
• MLS Ironman Record Holder for most consecutive 90 minute games in a row by a field player
• Team Ironman Record Holder for most consecutive 90 minute games in a row by any player

and when he retires he'll almost certainly be immediately added to the Rapids Gallery of Honor.

No more needs to be said.

Rapids History By The Numbers: #2

Next up, the number 2.  This is one of five numbers that has been used 16 times in 25 seasons, a record for the team.  Here's the full list:

Felipe Rodriguez (1996)
Peter Vermes (1997)
Matt McKeon (1999)
Keyeno Thomas (2000)
Chris Dawes (2001)
Rick Titus - (2002)
Gary Sullivan (2004)
Ricky Lewis (2005)
Hunter Freeman (2006)
Jordan Harvey (2008-2009)
Danny Earls (2010-2011)
Hunter Freeman (2012)
Nick LaBrocca (2013-2015)
Mike da Fonte (2017)
Edgar Castillo (2018)
Keegan Rosenberry (2019-2020)

Not surprisingly that with 16 different players in 25 years there's no real standout in the group.  The notables are Vermes, McKeon, Freeman, Harvey, LaBrocca, Castillo, and Rosenberry.  Vermes, McKeon, and Castillo can largely be eliminated due to their single season body of work.

None of these players appear in the Rapids record book with any sort of record.  Nick LaBrocca is 10th all time in appearances, but half of those were while he was wearing #22.  None of them won any MLS awards while with the Rapids.  What we have here is really the ultimate journeyman number.

I think, if we look at this list again in 4-5 years we'll see that Rosenberry has claimed the title of best Rapids #2, but he hasn't yet.  A season + 2 games isn't enough for that.  Out of Freeman, Harvey, and LaBrocca I think I have to give it to Nick just for the longevity of actually hanging around for three consecutive seasons, something nobody else who has worn the number has (yet) done.

So not a stirring endorsement, but an endorsement none the less.