Pitch selection at Coor's Field

[Mattingly]

I'm curious, I haven't followed the Rockies in quite awhile. I'd presumed that the score would always be very high over there, since the approximate 1-mile altitude would allow for balls to soar pretty quickly (and far).

Which pitches are generally most effective in that kind of weather? Do curves not have the movement that they normally would in that park? What are some of the more effective pitches that the Rockies' pitchers generally throw?

I'm, of course, still curious how they'd had such low-scoring games against the Yanks and won all of them, opposed to the 40+ runs scored by the Yanks in 2002.

[Old Sweater]

I'm curious, I haven't followed the Rockies in quite awhile. I'd presumed that the score would always be very high over there, since the approximate 1-mile altitude would allow for balls to soar pretty quickly (and far).

Which pitches are generally most effective in that kind of weather? Do curves not have the movement that they normally would in that park? What are some of the more effective pitches that the Rockies' pitchers generally throw?

I'm, of course, still curious how they'd had such low-scoring games against the Yanks and won all of them, opposed to the 40+ runs scored by the Yanks in 2002.

My favorite pitchers here have been Jennnings and Cook, both sinkerball pitchers. Francis does good when he can spot his fastball and work his change and slider.

Daryl Kile and his curve got hammered here, but on the other hand, Zito came here, and in his 1st start at Coors this year had that beautiful 12-6 curve going and shut the Rockies out. Lowrey on the other hand has the worst ERA going at Coors, so the great curve can be thrown here. The humidor has made some difference for gripping the balls and getting more bite on the breaking stuff. Maddux with the little movement he gets on all his pitches hates pitching here.

The Yankees series was just good pitching on both sides in a 3 game series and the pitchers keeping confidence in there pitches, save Pettitte. Pettitte threw that one high chageup to Holliday for a HR, went to just his cutter and fastball and got hammered. Pettitte even said in the paper, that was his undoing.

Coors Field like all parks, if you can keep your pitches low and have good location, you are going to have success, IMO.

Of the players that make the majors from Colorado, 95% of them are pitchers and learn to throw the curve here with Tippy Martinez having one of the best. Roy Hallady is from Arvada West HS here in the Denver Metro and does pretty good. I watched some legion ball down in my home town Pueblo last weekend at a big tournament and the kids from Missouri, Calf., Las Vegas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado were all throwing decent curves for that level of ball.

[Mattingly]

Old Sweater, very nice reply. Many thanks for this.

You'd mentioned something about the humidor. Was this upgraded in the past few years? They'd gotten something more tailor-made for the 1-mile altitude?

Also, have you noticed that the Rockies' pitchers have made certain pitches work (particularly those with lots of movement, and you'd mentioned Zito's 12-to-6 curve) that generally worked elsewhere but didn't at Coor's Field?

Appreciated. :)

[Old Sweater]

Old Sweater, very nice reply. Many thanks for this.

You'd mentioned something about the humidor. Was this upgraded in the past few years? They'd gotten something more tailor-made for the 1-mile altitude?

Also, have you noticed that the Rockies' pitchers have made certain pitches work (particularly those with lots of movement, and you'd mentioned Zito's 12-to-6 curve) that generally worked elsewhere but didn't at Coor's Field?

Appreciated. :)

Don't know a thing about the humidor except it keeps the baseballs from drying out so bad and the pitchers can grip them better and they don't fly as far now.

IMO, there isn't no smoke and mirrors by Rockie pitchers. Throw the same here at Coors as they do on the road. Zito had his good stuff going here at Coors and shut the Rockies down. Next time he is here the Rockies may get to him just like any other park. I myself believe that the 7% factor of our altitude has been blown out to 20% by the media and other fans. I asked HiddenGem about playing at Colorado Springs which is above 6000 ft. and he said the power hitters on his team didn't mention much about the ball flying further, if so he didn't remember.

[FlashGordon]

Don't know a thing about the humidor except it keeps the baseballs from drying out so bad and the pitchers can grip them better and they don't fly as far now.If I'm not mistaken, the reason the balls don't fly as far has to do with their weight. The ball is a little heavier than it would be if it were completely dried out--kind of like the difference between a dry sponge and a damp one. I don't know what the settings are, but it is possible that they are kept at a relative humidity level beyond what would be faced at most locations in the Southwest. I'll bet they are something closer to Seattle, simply to make up for the slight edge that thinner air (thus less wind resistance) and slightly diminished gravity have on the ball.

I doubt most people would notice the difference, but I wonder if the extra heft could shorten the life of a pitcher, or at least lower their pitch count.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad that the Rockies have pulled it together and starting to prove that baseball can be played in the mile-high city.

On a related note: do the Broncos keep their footballs in a humidor, too?


Addendum: found this interesting discussion about baseball physics in Denver. (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhighaltbaseball.html)

[Old Sweater]

LOL, I don't think the Broncos have a humidor.

Here is park factor at Coors Field.

2000-131
2001-131
2002-122
2003-112
2004-120
2005-113
2006-107
2007-107


And here is a 2006 article saying Coors Field started using the humidor in 2002. The article even has the part about Jeff Cirillo crying cheat.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/17/sports/ROCKIES.php

[FlashGordon]

And here is a 2006 article saying Coors Field started using the humidor in 2002. The article even has the part about Jeff Cirillo crying cheat.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/17/sports/ROCKIES.php
Interesting read. I got an answer to one of my questions, though:
According to the Rockies and Major League Baseball, engineers set the humidor at 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 Celsius), with 50 percent humidity, the same specifications that Rawlings uses in its plant in Missouri.