Into Thin Air
Offense has long defined the Pacific Coast League, but a handful of organizations have taken measures to protect their pitching prospects. The solution happens to be a tad more advanced than a high school science fair project.
Player development evaluations within the PCL have been slanted, and the effort to level the playing field has only recently been made. Ballparks in high altitude and low humidity environments are employing humidors to control the moisture content of baseballs that are used in games to make the PCL more pitcher friendly and give hitters more realistic results.
Aerodynamics is the largest force that is affected by altitude. Air is thinner at higher elevation and therefore reduces aerodynamic drag, the amount of air displaced by the baseball as it travels. Drag is the dominant force opposing forward motion to attempt slowing an object moving on a forward trajectory and gravity is the principal force bringing it back to the ground. Diameter and mass of each baseball is slightly increased in the humidor, and pitchers claim that grip is improved by the climate controlled chambers.
Reliever Michael Kirkman, who was recently recalled to San Diego, played his home games in Colorado Springs during the 2015 season and has pitched in four of the five humidor ballparks in the PCL.
"You can tell the difference, especially at Colorado Springs," says Kirkman on the effects of the humidor. "The balls aren't as chalky, it's almost like they are a little heavier because they have a little moisture in them. It definitely helps us throw the ball."
After half a decade of record offensive numbers, the Colorado Rockies introduced the first humidor in baseball at Coors Field in 2002.
Chihuahuas pitching coach Bronswell Patrick made his Major League debut for the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field in 1998, four years prior to the humidor's introduction.
"I think the main thing is for guys to just go out and really not to think about it," says Patrick on pitching at high altitude. "I think guys really get into trouble when they go to Coors Field and the first thing they think is 'Oh, the ball flies,' or 'I can't get a grip on this pitch.'"
Five of the sixteen members of the PCL now have climate controlled storage for their baseball inventory. El Paso, Texas is at the lowest elevation of those baseball cities that employ a humidor at 3750 feet above sea level. Unlike all other ballparks with a humidor in use, Southwest University Park has had one since the stadium completed construction in 2014.
Based on the elevation of the Borderplex, Chihuahuas general manager Brad Taylor says El Paso was one of four minor league cities approached to add a humidor for the 2014 season. During the construction process, the perfect location was found.
"We found a space down in the umpire's [locker] room that would have been dead wall space, and it actually fit real well to be a humidor," explains Taylor. "We also thought it's perfect to be in the umpire room because they are the ones that bring the balls out in the bag after they rub them up. It fits. It made sense."
Access inside the humidor is limited to just six team representatives. Among those are home clubhouse manager TJ Laidlaw, Taylor, and Lizette Espinosa, Chihuahuas Director of Baseball Operations. Espinosa is in charge of ordering team baseballs and ensures the humidor is stocked.
"We use roughly ten dozen baseballs per game," states Espinosa. She also adds, "We keep MLB balls on hand in case there is an MLB pitcher in town [on rehab] so he would have the option to use them if approved for use."
Each baseball that arrives at Southwest University Park must be clearly dated and placed into the humidor for a minimum of two weeks at 70-degrees Fahrenheit and 50-percent relative humidity, per Major League Baseball regulation. While the team is on the road, baseballs are rubbed up for game use and placed back in the humidor for reconditioning for at least two more days.
The common man would associate humidors more with cigars than baseball, but the climate controlled vaults have spread across high-elevation baseball towns.
Security Service Field, home of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, became the first minor league park to install a humidor in 2012. Colorado Springs is at an even higher elevation than Coors Field in Denver, placed 6531 feet above sea level.
Albuquerque's Isotopes Park was next in line in 2013 and 5157 foot elevation, where the climate most closely mirrors El Paso when compared to the other ballparks. Reno fitted a humidor in 2014 at newly renamed Greater Nevada Field, elevation 4498. The most recent minor league stadium to add a climate controlled environment for baseball storage was Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake for the 2015 season.
The large question that looms around the usage of humidors in baseball is whether or not they have a distinct influence on the game.
"This ballpark has pretty much played in the middle," states Brad Taylor about Southwest University Park in El Paso. "It's not a homer dome by any stretch of the imagination when you look at the two years' worth of stats. I guess that means that the ballpark plays normal or the humidor does what it's supposed to do."
When looking at offensive data for the PCL over the last 10 seasons, it is difficult to say whether they are having a significant reduction in offense. The more reasonable response could be that the variability of offensive outputs have reduced significantly.
Data includes home runs hit and runs scored in each ballpark with a humidor. Zephyrs Field in New Orleans is included in the data due to the city lying at sea level.
Home run data is difficult to decipher because of the large range between the highest and lowest amounts.
Fans at Southwest University Park saw 142 home runs launched in their first year, which was the second highest total behind Albuquerque in 2014. The most home runs in a single year was at Isotopes Park with 220 total long balls in 2008 and the lowest total was just 79 in New Orleans during the 2006 season.
Colorado Springs had the most drastic results during their first year using the humidor in 2012 as home runs dropped to 101 after 181 bombs in 2011. Salt Lake's first humidor year saw home runs increase from the 2014 total. Still, home runs are a tough statistic to gauge the effectiveness of the climate control process.
The story of the humidor's effectiveness at high altitudes might be better told when looking at runs per game at each ballpark. Isotopes Park, Greater Nevada Field, and Security Service Field all averaged more than 12 combined runs per game until the installation of a humidor. Zephyrs Field cracked the 9 combined runs per game average in just one season over the last 10 years. Colorado Springs again saw the most drastic changes when the ballpark averaged nearly 16 runs per game in 2011 and dropped under 12 runs per game in 2012. The range of combined runs scored in all humidor ballparks has been less than two runs since the age of the humidor began in the Pacific Coast League.
Bronswell Patrick understands that runs will happen in this league and execution is key. He explains, "The damage is minimized by not walking guys because when you walk guys that is when you're setting yourself up for a big inning."
Although the effectiveness of the humidor has not brought offensive numbers all the way back to "normal" levels, they have at least pulled in the reigns. However, the San Diego Padres visit to El Paso may have debunked the affects after 8 total home runs, 22 combined runs, and 38 hits combined in their exhibition game on March 31st.
Witness whether Southwest University Park will favor hitters or pitchers in 2016 with full-season or Paw-tial season seat options. For information on tickets or upcoming promotions, visit EPChihuahuas.com or call (915)-533-BASE.