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While he did not attend Fort Campbell High School, one former member of the Colorado Rockies took his first breaths on the military installation that straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. Aaron Cook, who spent 11 years in the majors, was born right down the road at the home of the 101st Airborne.
Cook, who would end up attending Hamilton High School, in Hamilton, Ohio, was born at Fort Campbell on February 8, 1979. During his high school pitching career in Ohio, Cook would give up only one home run, and that would be to another future major leaguer Kevin Youkilis, who was playing for a school in Cincinnati at the time.
Cook would forego college and head off to the majors after high school. He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1997 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies. His journey to the majors would be complete in 2002, when he played his first season in Colorado.
Cook spent 10 years with the Rockies. He battled several injuries over the ten year period, and had a serious health scare in 2004 that carried over into the 2005 season, as it was discovered he was battling blood clots.
Cook’s highlights with the Rockies came in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, he was a part of the Rockies team that reached the World Series. Then, in 2008, Cook was selected to play in the All-Star Game. Cook would pitch three scoreless innings for the National League in the contest.
Cook was let go by the Rockies following the 2011 season. He would play one season for the Boston Red Sox in 2012. He would spend a short time in the Rockies minor league system in 2013.
For his career, Cook finished 76-79, with an ERA of 4.60. He had 12 complete games and three shutouts over his career. In his All-Star season of 2008, Cook finished 16-9, with an ERA of 3.96.
