It was five years ago today that the Rockies played Game 1 of the 2007 World Series at Fenway Park in Boston. For Rockies fans, it seems like a century. The thrills and chills of Rocktober are a distant memory, not simply because the 2012 team set a franchise record with 98 losses, but because the talent, passion and chemistry that fueled that remarkable run are long gone.

“The guys on that 2007 team were very close and very talented,” said Ryan Spilborghs, a quirky reserve outfielder who became a fan favorite. “Of all the teams I’ve played with, that group was the most special and the closest.”

Over the course of 29 days in September and early October, the Rockies won 21 games and lost just once, shocking the baseball world en route to the World Series. The Red Sox swept the Rockies, but that didn’t tarnish the players’ fond memories.

“What’s always stuck with me was the feeling I got when I went to the ballpark,” Spilborghs said. “It was like we knew that it could be any one of 25 guys who was going to come through for us. That’s how we all felt, and that feeling is so rare in this game.”

And so fleeting.

Yes, the Rockies made the postseason again in 2009, qualifying as a wild-card team before losing to Philadelphia 3-1 in the National League Division Series. But since then, the Rockies are 46 games under .500.

And the boys of Rocktober have scattered to the wind.

Of the 25 players on the Rockies’ 2007 World Series roster, just three played for them this season — first baseman Todd Helton, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and starting pitcher Jeff Francis. And none of them played a full season. Injuries slowed Helton and Tulowitzki, while Francis spent the first third of the season pitching for Cincinnati’s Triple-A club.

“We have had a lot of turnover, but that’s the nature of professional baseball,” Francis said. “But you know, in a way, it makes the memory even more special. At the time, I really don’t think we realized how amazing it was when it happened. We didn’t realize the magic it took to make it happen.”

Francis is reminded of that magic by the framed Sports Illustrated cover that hangs on a wall in his home. The headline reads: “Out of Thin Air.” The photo features Francis pitching the Rockies to a 4-2 victory over the Phillies in Game 1 of the National League division series.

“Everybody started talking about the Sports Illustrated curse,” Francis recalled with a laugh. “But then I won Game 1 against the Diamondbacks in the NLCS, so the curse didn’t work. All of the guys said the SI curse didn’t count because I was Canadian.”

Journeyman right-hander Josh Fogg, out of baseball since 2010, has his own wall-mounted memory of Rocktober. It hangs in the children’s playroom of his home in Tampa, Fla. The painting, the work of an anonymous fan, depicts Fogg as “The Dragon Slayer,” a nickname bestowed on him by teammate Matt Holliday.

In 2007, Fogg repeatedly outpitched opposing aces. Among the dragons Fogg slew that season: Arizona’s Brandon Webb in early September and aces Mike Mussina of the Yankees and Curt Schilling of the Red Sox during interleague play. Fogg also won Game 3 of the NLCS, allowing Arizona just one run over six innings in the Rockies’ 4-1 victory at Coors Field.

“One of the things I really like about the painting is that it makes my forearms look like Holliday’s,” Fogg said. “I tell everybody who sees the painting, ‘That’s what I looked like when I played.’ “

Like Spilborghs and Francis, Fogg was amazed by the chemistry that developed.

“Our winning streak, in a lot of ways, was the end product of our team chemistry,” Fogg said. “I mean, we’d have an off day on the road and 18 or 20 guys would go out to dinner together. That just doesn’t happen. Baseball is kind of a cutthroat game. And some people will root against their teammates so they can get themselves ahead in the game. I don’t think that played out at all in 2007. Everyone knew their job and knew their role. They were comfortable in it.”

The Rockies of Rocktober were also a talented bunch. Yes, they needed to win 13-of-14 games just to reach the wild-card tiebreaker vs. the Padres. But the Rockies’ 72-46 record after May 22 was the best in the National League.

The Rockies led the National League in batting with a .280 average. Their defense was superb, their .989 fielding percentage setting a major-league record. Their team ERA of 4.32 was the eighth-best in the NL and the best in franchise history up to that point. Five years later, the club’s 5.22 ERA was the worst in baseball.

The players heard the critics who called Rocktober a fluke, but they vehemently disagree with that characterization.

“We had great talent,” Spilborghs said. “Todd, Tulo and Holliday. And (third baseman) Garrett Atkins was a very good player. It was a very good team with a very good core group and role players who did their jobs. Even if you put it together now, it would be a very good group, a very good team.”

But five years later, the Rockies are at rock bottom, starting from scratch, searching for a manager, and a direction. It’s certainly not what the boys of Rocktober envisioned.

“At the time, we all thought it was the start of something big,” Francis said. “We all thought we had great careers ahead. I know I did. I certainly thought we were going to keep going to the postseason.”

Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428, psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp

Rocky Mountain High

A breakdown of the team’s Rocktober march into the record books:

– Won 13 of their final 14 regular-season games to force a one-game play-in with San Diego for the right to advance to a NLDS as a wild-card team.

– Defeated San Diego 9-8 in 13 innings, scoring three runs off closer Trevor Hoffman at Coors Field to make the playoffs for second time in club history.

– Swept Philadelphia 3-0 in NLDS to advance to the NLCS.

– Swept Arizona 4-0 in the NLCS, making it 21 victories in 22 games.

– Got swept by Boston 4-0 in the World Series, ending a near-miracle run.