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Coors Field
Experience
Denver, CO
by: Anthony Lorenzo
Thermal undershirts, long johns, gloves, wool hats, snow boots, down
jackets, and baseball. Which of these do not fit? Sure most would
say baseball, but for the fans in attendance at Coors Field on
Opening Day 1995 they would think it’s a trick question. Welcome to
baseball in the Mile High City.
April 26, 1995. After spending their first two seasons at Mile High
Stadium, the Colorado Rockies opened Coors Field to 40-degree
temperatures and a full house. The Coors Field opener was
originally scheduled for 1pm, but thanks to the folks at ESPN, who
moved the game to 6pm, fans had to endure a 14-inning marathon that
ended with Dante Bichette’s 3 run home run. Rockies 11 Mets 9
Temperature 26 degrees!
Major League Baseball was brought to Denver for the 1993 season.
The reception could not have been any better. The Rockies drew 4.5
million fans at Mile High Stadium in their first season and were on
pace to exceed that the next, averaging 57,570 fans, before the
strike prematurely ended the season. Rockies fans’ interest did not
wane. The Rockies led National League attendance from 1993 to
1999. Coors Field was the jewel of the franchise and a cog in the
revitalization of Lower Downtown Denver. Baseball would never be
the same.
Denver’s altitude adds 9% to balls hit. For example, a ball hit 400
feet at Shea Stadium in New York would travel 436 in Coors Field.
This forced ballpark architects to make Coors Field the largest
ballpark in the Major Leagues; CF is 415 feet from home, LF 347
feet, RF 350 feet. In theory these dimensions should have provided
Rockies’ pitchers with hope, but those hopes did not come to
fruition. Until this season the Rockies team ERA ranged from 5.28
to 6.35, by far the highest in Major League Baseball. Following the
2001 season Rockies management decided to combat the thin air of
Denver by storing 500 dozen baseball in a humidor that keeps balls
from drying out and shrinking in the low humidity. This allows
pitchers to grip the baseball tighter, which cancels out the fact
that at the higher altitude the ball spins less when thrown. It has
taken 5 seasons for the humidor to take affect, along with the
improvement of the Rockies pitching staff which currently in second
in the NL’s ERA race at 4.13. Opponents have accused the Rockies of
using baseballs from the humidor when they are up, but switching to
non-humidor baseballs when the Rockies are at-bat. These
accusations are ridiculous as the Rockies home run production has
dropped dramatically, 239 HR in 1997 compared to 150 in 2005, since
the humidor has been built. This new style of baseball is a far cry
from the frequent 12-10 slugfests during the first decade of Rockies
history. With a number of promising young players like Matt
Holliday, Jeff Francis, and Jason Jennings the Rockies future is as
high as the Rocky Mountain sky.
For the first time on the Ballpark tour Michael and I took ….a
ballpark tour. We were given unprecedented access, walking onto
Coors Field and spending time in the Rockies dugout. Incredible! I
have never seen greener grass. It was the perfect complement to our
day of baseball, which unfortunately ended when the Padres defeated
the Rockies 4-2. Nothing like a well pitched game from Jeff Francis
(7 innings, 2 earned runs) and Padres Chris Young (5 innings, 1
earned run) to reinforce the new style of Rockies baseball, although
we did see solo home runs from Eric Young and Khalil Greene of the
Padres. Coors Field signature feature is its’ mile high purple
seats across row 20 of the Upper Deck. These seats offer a majestic
view of the Rockies, one of the countries great treasurers.
Mike and I spent our non-baseball day in Colorado driving up Pike’s
Peak, America’s most popular mountain range. With an elevation of
over 14,000 feet Pike’s Peak offers a unique view of the world
below. Prior to our visit, Michael’s uncle had warned us to bring a
jacket, but with 95 degree weather why would we? Well we found
out. When we reached the summit the temperature had dropped to 60
degrees. The hour-long drive gave me a new perspective on the
environment. It’s beautiful to see that there is still some part of
the United State we have not damaged with drilling, pollution or
construction. It has inspired me to become more responsible with the
resources I use during each day. Hopefully Mike and I can visit
Pike’s Peak in 40 years and our pictures will remain the same.
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