Colorado — When folks talk about Coors Field, they typically discuss two things: how far the ball flies and how difficult it is to throw breaking pitches. They also often talk about how difficult it is for pitchers to adjust to their stuff not placing as well as they’d like it to (Mario DeGenz wrote an excellent series on this last year).
But Rockies hitters feel the same challenges on the other side of the ball.
“There’s a huge difference,” said third baseman Ryan McMahon. “Breaking balls don’t break as much, but they break later, so recognizing where they’re going to be sometimes is tough. And fastballs hold three miles per hour extra velocity [at Coors Field] compared to sea level, so fastballs literally feel faster. So with your timing and everything, it’s two completely different ways of hitting.”
The differences are indeed stark. As a team in 2024, the Rockies are slashing .217/.275/.364 on the road and .267/.333/.437 at home. They own 83 road homers and 90 home homers. It’s not the biggest of differences (it’s also an overall down year for the Rockies offense), but there is a noticeable gap between home and away.
Of course, each player is different.
Rookie first baseman Michael Toglia, for example, has hit 17 of his 25 home runs on the road. But shortstop Ezequiel Tovar has just about equal splits home and away.
Outfielder Sam Hilliard also notices a difference between sea level and elevation.
“It’s hard to adjust that first day,” he said. “The pitches are just slightly different, so people don’t take that into account a lot. They just think that being Denver gives you an advantage, but when you’re constantly having to adjust and then adjust back on what pitches are going to do, it makes it tough.”
But Hilliard shed light on how Rockies hitters and coaches are attempting to combat the differences.
“We have this spinball machine in the cage, and we take all the measures that we need to help,” he said, “so it’s a lot easier than it used to be. But I think the more you think about it, the harder it is, so I try to just treat everything the same.”
Catcher Jacob Stallings had a different perspective on playing at elevation versus sea level, both in the batter’s box and behind the plate.
“Colorado is obviously a great place to hit, but for me, it’s a hard place to game plan as a hitter because opposing teams all come in, and a lot of times they’ll use completely different usage of their pitches just because they’re in Denver,” he said.
“We were facing [Arizona Diamondbacks’ left-hander] Jordan Montgomery the other day, and he was throwing four-seam fastballs that were cutting like crazy! I didn’t see that on film one time from him, so in that way it’s really challenging.”
The usage and pitch mix poses an interesting challenge, and Rockies pitchers do it, too. For example, in his start on Friday at Dodger Stadium, Kyle Freeland threw five four-seam fastballs that averaged 90.5 MPH. In his previous start against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field last Saturday, Freeland used the same four-seamer just one time (92.5 MPH).
Another unique challenge facing the Rockies is the film, or lack thereof, on opposing pitchers pitching specifically at Coors Field.
“[Montgomery] had never pitched in Coors, so there wasn’t anything to go on,” Stallings continued. “But [Dodgers’ right-hander Yoshinobu] Yamamoto threw in Denver and we’re facing him again in Denver, so I’ll definitely watch film and pay attention to usage and what the pitches are doing. But when guys haven’t pitched there that much, or haven’t pitched there that year, it’s challenging because it’s a new year so you’ve gotta figure it out quick.”
And as far as game planning as a catcher, he’ll talk to Rockies pitchers not so much about other pitchers, but their stuff.
“[I try] to get on the same page with them, especially early in the year like, ‘Hey, this plays better like this,’ or ‘This plays better in this situation.’ It’s a challenge for those guys to go from Denver to San Francisco or San Diego when you’re at sea level, pitches just doing completely different things. So it’s hard on guys, but luckily we have some guys who have been here for a while.”
Hitting coach Hensley Meulens provided some insight on how the coaching staff is working to combat the challenges of elevation and sea level.
“First, we get data from our [Research & Development] department on what’s happening all the time when we go back and forth,” Meulens said. “Usually we do well the first couple of days on the road – this was from last year – and then it tapers off when they get used to being at sea level. I thought it was the other way around, to be honest, but I was wrong. Charlie [Blackmon] and I talked about it, and we were both wrong. And then the other way at home, we usually struggle the first couple of days, and then we finish the homestand really well. We were wrong about that, too.
“I talked to [Special Assistant to the General Manager] Vinny Castilla about it, who had a very good career with the Rockies and everywhere,” he continued. “He told me that when they were playing back in the day, it was the first couple of days getting used to playing at sea level and then they took off after that, but it’s the opposite for us and the data confirms that.”
That said, looking at the Rockies’ most recent long road trip and homestand (excluding the three-game weekend series in Los Angeles), here is what that data shows us about team batting stats in 2024:
@ Atlanta Braves (Sept. 3-5)
- Game 1 (3-0 loss): 6-for-33, 3B, BB, 13 K
- Game 2 (3-2 loss): 5-for-36, 2B, 3B, 5 BB, 16 K
- Game 3 (3-1 win): 6-for-32, 2 HR, 3 BB, 16 K
@ Milwaukee Brewers (Sept. 6-8)
- Game 1 (3-2 win): 3-for-30, 2 2B, HR, 3 BB, 14 K
- Game 2 (5-2 loss): 6-for-33, 2 HR, 1 BB, 16 K
- Game 3 (4-1 win): 12-for-38, 3 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 6 K
@ Detroit Tigers (Sept. 10-12)
- Game 1 (11-0 loss): 3-for-27, 5 K
- Game 2 (7-4 loss): 7-for-34, 2B, HR, BB, 11 K
- Game 3 (4-2 win): 9-for-35, 2 2B, HR, 10 K
vs. Chicago Cubs (Sept. 13-15)
- Game 1 (9-5 win): 12-for-34, 2B, 3 HR, 4 BB, 6 K
- Game 2 (6-5 win): 8-for-34, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 BB, 9 K
- Game 3 (6-2 loss): 4-for-31, HR, 6 BB, 11 K
vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (Sept. 15-18)
- Game 1 (3-2 win): 4-for-29, 2 HR, 3 BB, 6 K
- Game 2 (8-2 win): 12-for-35, 4 2B, 2 HR, 5 BB, 9 K
- Game 3 (9-4 loss): 8-for-34, 2B, 2 BB, 11 K
It’s no secret that Coors Field is a challenging environment in which to play half your games. It’s both physically taxing and mentally taxing to have two different game plans. But it’s an ongoing challenge that the Rockies need to continue to address if they are going to turn a corner and rediscover their offensive prowess.
