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Colorado Rockies: The Phillies TV broadcast’s mistakes and snafus were aplenty this weekend

By Noah Yingling

Apr 17, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies second baseman Ryan McMahon (24) throws to first for an out in the first inning against the New York Mets at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 17, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies second baseman Ryan McMahon (24) throws to first for an out in the first inning against the New York Mets at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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DENVER, CO – JULY 14: The sun sets over the stadium behind the scoreboard as the Milwaukee Brewers face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on July 14, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Brewers 12-3. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

1) “Coors”

You knew this one was coming and this applied for both broadcasters this weekend.

In a way, you can’t blame them because this is the narrative for just about anybody that covers or watches baseball but not the Rockies on a daily basis. It takes a lot of digging and/or watching of Rockies games to discover the nuances of Coors Field.

Does Coors Field impact the Rockies play? Yes, it does. Is it as big of a factor as most people or even the sabermetricians would like you to believe? No.

In reality, the biggest factor for the Rockies is going to sea level from altitude and back again. The Rockies, obviously, play at a mile-high in altitude. The next highest is Arizona, and they are just above 1,000 feet in altitude, so they are 80 percent lower than the Rockies.

Atlanta is just over 1,000 feet (they were just under 1,000 feet until they moved out of Turner Field), but the other 27 stadiums are between sea level and 900 feet in elevation.

This creates an adjustment for Rockies hitters and pitchers, especially when San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles are all between sea level and, roughly, 100 feet in elevation.

It also creates more strain on Rockies players with injuries and recovery (for injuries and regular play).

But contrary to the belief of the Phillies broadcast and most other broadcasts, a home run that is hit 400 feet or more is going to be a home run just about anywhere. When you hit a ball that is 433 feet or 447 feet, like C.J. Cron or Trevor Story did on Sunday, that’s going to be a home run everywhere.

Ryan McMahon leading the NL in home runs is not because Coors Field. When the average exit velocity is nearly 104 MPH and a distance of 408 feet on your homers thus far in 2021, they weren’t 301-foot cheapies. And when you pull a ball and hit it 424 feet like he did on Saturday, that’s going to be out anywhere.

To top it off, if you check out his seven home runs by stadium, there are four stadiums in which he’d have more than seven home runs. Guess where one of them is? Citizens Bank Park, in Philadelphia. So, if you want to talk about a bandbox, look no further than the Phillies own stadium.

We’ll touch more on McMahon later.

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