DENVER -- Opening Day 2005 -- which will be relived on MLB Network on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT -- will be remembered for Clint Barmes¡¯ walk-off, two-run homer off the Padres¡¯ Trevor Hoffman for a wild 12-10 victory at Coors Field.

But Barmes, one of an impressive group of rookies who made the feat possible, recalls it as the day he impressed his future father-in-law.

¡°My wife, Summer, and I were dating at the time and her parents were there,¡± Barmes said. ¡°She tells me the story that her dad looked at her and said, ¡®You didn¡¯t tell me he was that good.¡¯¡±

The Rockies were to have begun the 2020 season at San Diego on Thursday, but with the season delayed, MLB Network is airing a marathon of Opening Day games to help fans through this difficult time. Preceding the Rockies¡¯ classic game will be Yankees-Indians 1996 at 11 a.m. MT, Giants-Dodgers 2013 at 2 p.m. MT and Giants-D-backs 2017 at 4 p.m. MT.

Additionally, at 1 p.m. MT on Rockies.com and the MLB Twitter feed, Rockies fans can revisit the Nolan Arenado 2017 cycle, finished with a walk-off home run. Using the hashtag #OpeningDayAtHome, fans can connect while watching.

April 4, 2005, turned out to be the earliest sign that the Rockies would grow into something special. It also was a harbinger of another Rockies¡¯ win, and another Hoffman nightmare, in an even more important situation -- the tie-breaker for a postseason spot at the end of the 2007 season.

In ¡¯05, the Rockies were at the beginning of a youth movement that, at times, was painful. They would become known -- well, derided in many circles -- as ¡°Todd and the Toddlers,¡± a group that would have to grow up behind star first baseman Todd Helton. The team would go 67-95 and 76-86 the following year under manager Clint Hurdle before breaking through in ¡®07.

But, man, what a beginning.

Barmes, who spent the first eight of his 13 seasons with the Rockies, didn¡¯t mind being one of the Toddlers.

¡°For me, it was super-exciting -- my first Opening Day,¡± said Barmes, now 41. ¡°Being part of Todd Helton and the Rockies was a dream. It didn¡¯t bother me at all.¡±

Barmes said the game was ¡°a blur,¡± which is understandable. The first six innings were that way for everyone watching or playing.

The Rockies had leads of 4-0 and 7-3, only to see the Padres grab an 8-7 lead in the sixth. Through six, the score was tied.

The Padres opened the seventh with home runs from Ram¨®n Hern¨¢ndez and Xavier Nady for a 10-8 lead. When then-Padres manager Bud Black called on Hoffman in the ninth, it was supposed to be over.

Imagine being on the field, head spinning through the game¡¯s ups and downs, with the ambition of trying to prove yourself.

¡°I was trying to prove that I could play the shortstop position -- that was a big subject going into that season,¡± Barmes said. ¡°The talk was, offensively, I could hold my own, but I needed to worry about the defensive side of things.¡±

But it was hard to think much about the defense in this most offensive of contests. Barmes was 4-for-6 and didn¡¯t even have the best day. He batted behind leadoff man Aaron Miles, who went 5-for-6 with three doubles.

¡°It was like having a man in scoring position the whole game,¡± he said.

But as the ninth began, the Rockies trailed by two. Five guys needed to come up for Barmes to get his chance and, Barmes reminded, ¡°Trevor Hoffman was coming in to finish the game.¡±

But the Toddlers overran the future Hall of Famer.

Jeff Baker doubled and then scored on Cory Sullivan¡¯s first Major League hit, a double. Miles singled to bring Sullivan home with his fifth hit of the game to tie the score.

Barmes had heard stories and seen the video of Hoffman¡¯s famous changeup. So, he came to the plate determined not to see it.

¡°At that point we had nothing to lose,¡± Barmes said. ¡°It¡¯s clear I didn¡¯t want to get behind, so I was going to swing at the first fastball I saw. I got a good pitch to hit and didn¡¯t miss it. That home run was something I¡¯ll always remember.

¡°It may have been my next at-bat when I faced him, he struck me out and came away saying, ¡®That¡¯s a really good changeup.¡¯¡±

Barmes floated around the bases -- and kept going. Through June 5, he batted .329 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs before being felled by a collarbone injury.

¡°The high I was on just carried and carried,¡± he said.

Did that day play a factor in Oct. 1, 2007? In the game at Coors that determined the National League Wild Card, the Padres took a two-run lead on Scott Hairston¡¯s homer in the top of the 13th and gave the ball to Hoffman.

Three extra-base hits and Jamey Carroll¡¯s sacrifice fly to drive in Matt Holliday later, the Rockies were headed to the postseason.

¡°Coors Field is a funny place,¡± Barmes said. ¡°Trevor is a Hall of Famer for sure, but in a situation like that, you¡¯d have to wonder if it was in the back of his mind. You¡¯d have to ask him. Sometimes even great pitchers end up on the tough side of things.¡±