Saturday, October 27, 2007
UPDATE: Game 3
It appears the Red Sox are having no trouble at all adjusting to the high altitude at Coors Field. In the third inning, they lead the Rockies 6-0. Follow the live action online at espn.com.
The Rockies Go Home
After two disappointing games for the Rockies on the east coast, they are heading home to Coors Field. The Rockies will have the home field advantage for tonight's game, as the World Series heads to Denver for the first time ever. But there might be something besides screaming Rockies fans standing in Boston's way: the altitude.
Coors Field is at an elevation of 5,280 feet, one mile above sea level. Up there the air is thinner and the balls will move faster, possibly giving the Rockies who know this field oh so well, an advantage. But will the difference in air pressure really affect the outcome of the game?
According to an article in the Boston Globe it will. "Baseball is about physics as much as physical coordination and conditioning," writes Colin Nickerson of the Globe staff. "And the atmospheric physics of mile-high Denver are markedly different from those of Boston-by-the-Sea."
Nickerson writes that while the thinner air makes for longer hits, it will also affect the pitchers' games - most noticeably the Red Sox pitchers' games. "'Breaking pitches will break less. Fastballs will pick up a little speed, but rise less . . . because they are moving through a thinner fluid,' or air," according to physicist Barry Zink.
But is all this about the thinner air and its effect on the game just an excuse for Red Sox players not looking forward to playing away from home? The Red Sox have only played one series at Coors Field, losing two of three games to the Rockies in 2004.
An article in the Denver Post says its not the balls the Red Sox should be worried about, its their endurance. In the thin air, players get winded faster and can become easily dehydrated. "The Red Sox told their players to drink, drink, drink—water, that is...'On the plane, all over the locker room, trainer's room: Just drink that water, stay hydrated,' rookie center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury said."
It's not that the Red Sox are going to be the only ones affected by these altitude conditions, but the Rockies are used to what the thinner air does to them and know how to adjust their game accordingly. It remains to be seen whether Boston can learn to do the same.
Coors Field is at an elevation of 5,280 feet, one mile above sea level. Up there the air is thinner and the balls will move faster, possibly giving the Rockies who know this field oh so well, an advantage. But will the difference in air pressure really affect the outcome of the game?
According to an article in the Boston Globe it will. "Baseball is about physics as much as physical coordination and conditioning," writes Colin Nickerson of the Globe staff. "And the atmospheric physics of mile-high Denver are markedly different from those of Boston-by-the-Sea."
Nickerson writes that while the thinner air makes for longer hits, it will also affect the pitchers' games - most noticeably the Red Sox pitchers' games. "'Breaking pitches will break less. Fastballs will pick up a little speed, but rise less . . . because they are moving through a thinner fluid,' or air," according to physicist Barry Zink.
But is all this about the thinner air and its effect on the game just an excuse for Red Sox players not looking forward to playing away from home? The Red Sox have only played one series at Coors Field, losing two of three games to the Rockies in 2004.
An article in the Denver Post says its not the balls the Red Sox should be worried about, its their endurance. In the thin air, players get winded faster and can become easily dehydrated. "The Red Sox told their players to drink, drink, drink—water, that is...'On the plane, all over the locker room, trainer's room: Just drink that water, stay hydrated,' rookie center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury said."
It's not that the Red Sox are going to be the only ones affected by these altitude conditions, but the Rockies are used to what the thinner air does to them and know how to adjust their game accordingly. It remains to be seen whether Boston can learn to do the same.
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