Not that this is shocking news considering their overall record, but even with a sweep to complete their home schedule, the Colorado Rockies finished with a disappointing 35-46 record at Coors Field, their worst record at 20th and Blake in their 20 year history.
To be fair, this was after a rain delay. Image: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE
According to the Denver Post, their second worst home record was all the way back in the strike-shortened 1994 season. In those days they were a brand new franchise, still building a talent pool and establishing themselves. So it is not unreasonable to put two asterisks next to that statistic. Let’s move on and look at their 3rd worst home record.
38-43, way back in 2011…oh…
To be fair, that is tied with 2004 for the 3rd worst home record. Still, the point is that not until the last two years have the Rockies had teams who consistently did not capitalize on the distinct advantages that Coors Field offers.
To me, there have been two ways that the Rockies have dominated opponents at home. The first method dates back to the old days, the pre-humidor, Blake Street Bomber days when they built deep lineups of sluggers who mashed the ball and won high scoring games. The only problem was, those hitters never did enough on the road to make that home record count, partially explaining the fact that the Rockies only reached the playoffs once before 2007.
The second way they took advantage was something we only saw for a fleeting stretch in the years immediately preceding the dreadful stretch in which we now find ourselves. With the humidor installed, pitchers found a way to be efficient and give their teams a chance to win normal games. If not for huge offense, what was the advantage? It was that thing they call LoDo magic, and frankly it just resembled the home field advantage you might see anywhere else in the league. It was that extra little bit of oomph late in games, that extra little bit of belief.
Both are lacking these days, and it is unclear how far the Rockies are from reclaiming that advantage.
