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03/27/2004 Archived Entry: "MLB News: Time for a Rocky Mountain Reevaluation"
MLB News: Time for a Rocky Mountain Reevaluation, By Joe Connor
To many, it is still hard to believe. But – as the saying goes – time flies. So while it may seem like it was only yesterday, the 2004 campaign actually marks the Colorado Rockies 12th season in Major League Baseball. And with their expansion co-entrants, the Florida Marlins, having won two World Series since its own birth, now is definitely a perfect time to reevaluate whether the Rockies really belong in the National League – and whether significant changes need to be made to their home ballpark, Coors Field.
Forget about the humidor for a moment and just look at the numbers: they are staggering and speak volumes of the enigma that is Colorado’s baseball team. Away from mile-high Coors Field, the Rockies had the second worst road record in Major League Baseball in 2003, finishing only ahead of the hapless Detroit Tigers. But at home, the Rockies tied for the fourth best record in the National League with the Phillies, trailing only the playoff-bound Giants, Braves and Marlins.
Overall perspective? The Rockies finished 10 games out of the National League West basement in 2003, and only the Padres, Brewers, Reds and Mets posted worse overall league records. Based on the numbers, you could make a case that the Rockies wouldn’t want to make adjustments to their home ballpark. But look at it from another perspective: the anomaly that is Coors Field is killing the Rockies franchise.
Colorado's attendance has declined each of the past five seasons. Its season-ticket base is now below 20,000. The main reason? If you’re a Rockies fan, how can you really assess whether your team is any good when one game at Coors ends 15-13, and the next weekend on the road in a normal ballpark, the contest ends 5-4?
Just how odd is Coors Field? It’s a fair question, especially in light of the fact the Rockies have only made the playoffs once in their existence, in 1995. And since their only post-season entry, Colorado has failed to win 80 games five times and has finished no higher than third in the National League West.
Back in 1993, before Coors Field opened, the Rockies packed 80,227 fans into Mile High Stadium. The club’s 1993 attendance was nearly 4.5 million, and for the next seven seasons, one of the most unheralded sports towns in America led the National League in attendance. But the honeymoon has been over for five years now because running the Rockies is like running an insane asylum.
The fact of the matter is the most difficult task in Colorado isn’t being a Rockies pitcher or a University of Colorado admissions officer – it’s being the General Manager of Denver’s professional baseball team. In the era of free agency, Major League GM’s have a tough enough job as it is, revamping their club every season. Well, try being the GM of the Rockies; you have to somehow try to outfit two teams – one for Coors Field and one for the road. And the reality is – based on the facts – it doesn’t work.
What about the humidor, you ask? When you really analyze the situation, you have to draw a conclusion that it hasn’t had any tangible effect. Colorado's low humidity causes balls to become dry, hard and slippery, and the atmospheric pressure in mile-high Denver doesn’t help. Yet once balls are removed from the humidor, it's just a matter of time before they start to dry out again.
Despite two seasons of humidor balls, Coors Field remains the highest-scoring ballpark in baseball history. The 135 home runs in 2002, the first year of the humidor’s use, were the third highest in Coors Field history. Folks, in 2002, the Rockies were terrible, finishing a distant fourth in the National West. Last season, the Rockies posted their best home earned run average ever: 5.07. But you can’t view this statistic as promising because something remains terribly wrong when the Rockies can have the fourth best home record in the National League, yet also have one of the worst home ERA’s is baseball. Yet for the third straight season, the Rockies will store its baseballs in the humidor starting in April.
Actual solutions? For starters, heighten the fences at Coors Field. Currently, most of the outfield wall is just eight feet tall, from the left-field corner to right center. Why not create a “Rocky Mountain Monster,” a la Fenway Park? Imagine: instead of a lazy fly ball hit off the bat of light-hitting Dodgers shortstop Cesar Izturis landing over the fence, it bounces off the 32-foot, or higher, wall and is only a double. That one scenario alone potentially cuts a run total in half.
A second solution? Either move the fences back, or move home plate back, at least another 20 feet. There’s no question Coors Field already has the largest outfield in baseball, but increasing the distance another 20 feet would cut down on the marathon four-hour games that last longer than a Broncos-Raiders overtime tilt. Imagine: Instead of the left-field line being 347 feet from home plate, it is 367 feet from home plate. And so what if left-center would be 410 feet away; center field, 435 feet; right-center, 395 feet; and the right-field line, 370 feet – outfielders have to cover a lot of ground at Coors Field now anyway. What’s more exciting than watching Preston Wilson leg out a triple, or better yet, trying for an inside-the-park homer?
What’s more, the never-before-seen dimensions would add further interest from fans outside Denver wishing to visit America’s biggest ballpark. That curiosity factor would help increase ticket sales that could pay for the fences to be moved and seats realigned. Even better: by moving the fences back, perhaps the Rockies could bring back the days of Tiger Stadium when fans could hover over and catch a home run ball, like in Coors’ upper deck right field bleachers. A third possible solution is to raise the pitcher’s mound.
A fourth and final possible solution is to seriously reevaluate whether the Rockies even really belong in the National League, and perhaps would be better suited for the American League where they could employ a Designated Hitter. Don’t laugh, because such a scenario is possible – and as early as next season. That’s because if the Expos are relocated to Portland, Oregon or Las Vegas, the nomads will inevitably switch from the National League East to the National League West. With only four teams in the American League West, such a scenario could have the Rockies joining the Mariners, Athletics, Angels and Rangers, the latter of which plays in among the most hitter friendly ballparks in baseball, too.
In my opinion the reality is the Rockies belong in the American League, and no matter what alterations are made to Coors Field, it is always going be a hitter-friendly ballpark. And it makes sense for a team like Colorado – given its home ballpark – to also employ the Designated Hitter.
Now, if the Expos head west, don’t expect realignment to be a picnic. Arizona owner Jerry Colangelo is still miffed the Devil Rays were awarded the American League slot when both franchises debuted in 1998. The Diamondbacks Bank One Ballpark is also a hitter-friendly ballpark – but it isn’t Coors Field. There is nothing like Coors Field, and for that reason, changes need to be made.
The Rockies 2004 playoff possibilities remain the same as they have since their franchise debut in 1993: largely uncertain. They are largely uncertain because predicting Colorado’s future is always an impossible enigma – an impossible enigma because they play their home games at Coors Field.
Joe Connor is a Major League Baseball Freelance Writer and author of the annually updated, easy-to-use electronic guide, “A Fan’s Guide To The Ultimate Ballpark Tour: Fully Loaded!” which is available exclusively at http://www.modernerabaseball.com. Contact him at joe@modernerabaseball.com.
