Coors Field

At 5,200 feet (1,580 m) above sea level, Coors Field is by far the highest park in the majors. The next-highest, Chase Field in Phoenix, stands at 1,100 feet (340 m). Designers knew that the stadium would give up a lot of home runs, as the lower air density at such a high elevation would result in balls traveling farther than in other parks. To compensate for this, the outfield fences were placed at an unusually far distance from home plate, thus creating the largest outfield in Major League Baseball.[15] In spite of the pushed-back fences, for many years Coors Field not only gave up the most home runs in baseball, but due to the resultant large field area, the most doubles and triples as well.[16]

In its first decade, the above-average number of home runs earned Coors Field a reputation as the most hitter-friendly park in Major League Baseball, earning the critical nicknames "Coors Canaveral"[17] (a reference to Cape Canaveral, from where NASA launches spacecraft) and "Williamsport" (referring to the site of the Little League World Series, which has been traditionally dominated by batters). Prior to the 2002 baseball season, studies determined that dry air rather than thin air had a greater contribution to the increased frequency of home runs. It was found that baseballs stored in damper air are softer and therefore less elastic to the impact of the bat.^[A] To address this problem, a secure room-sized humidor was installed to have a damper place to store the baseballs prior to games. Since its introduction, the number of home runs at Coors Field has decreased and is now nearly the same as other parks.[18]

Regardless of ball humidity, elevation is still a factor in games at Coors Field. The ball does slip more easily through the thin air allowing for longer hits. In addition, the curveball tends to curve less with the thin air than at sea level leading to fewer strikeouts and fewer effective pitches for pitchers to work with.[19]

Coors Field twice broke the major league record for home runs hit in a ballpark in one season. The previous record, 248, had been set at the Angels' original home of Wrigley Field in Los Angeles in 1961, its only year for major league ball. In Coors Field's first year, the home run total fell just 7 short of that mark, despite losing 9 games from the home schedule (or 1/9 of the normal 81) due to the strike that had continued from 1994. The next season, 1996, with a full schedule finally, 271 home runs were hit at Coors Field. In 1999, the current major league record was set at 303. The annual home run figure dropped noticeably in 2002, and has dropped below 200 starting in 2005.[20]

Although the number of home runs hit per season at Coors Field is decreasing, Coors Field still remains the most hitter friendly ballpark in the Major Leagues by a wide margin. From 2012 to 2015, the Colorado Rockies led the league in runs scored in home games, while being last in the league for runs scored in away games. This demonstrates the extreme benefit that Coors Field's low air density provides to hitters.[21]

Many, however, feel that Coors Field has hurt the Rockies' success. One concern over the years has been poor adjustment when playing road games at lower altitudes. The Rockies score an average of just 3.9 runs per road game, the lowest among all teams. This has had a detrimental effect on Colorado's all-time road record, which sits at 888-1352, or 39.6%, the worst in the majors by a large margin. Additionally, many feel that pitcher development on the Rockies has suffered because of how much of an advantage opposing hitters have at Coors Field. Rockies pitchers are more likely to finish with an ERA of at least 4, if not higher, and only Ubaldo Jiménez and Jhoulys Chacín maintained sub-4 ERAs during their Rockies tenure (3.66 and 3.84 respectively). This can hurt the trade value and careers of pitchers. Some have claimed that starting pitchers such as Kyle Freeland, Jon Gray, and Germán Márquez would have developed better if they didn't play for Colorado. Additionally, notable relief pitchers such as Jake McGee and Wade Davis are cited to have suffered significant drop-offs due to playing at higher altitudes. Compounded with poor coaching and management decisions, Colorado has gained a bad reputation among the pitching community, and some pitchers have cited their reluctance to play for the Rockies.

Panorama of Coors Field on the night of Game 4 of the 2007 World Series

Behind home plate at Coors Field in 2022

On September 17, 1996, Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers threw the first of his two career no-hit games as the Dodgers won 9–0. Nomo's first no-hitter at Coors Field is of special note due to the park's overwhelming hitter-friendly reputation (before the usage of the humidors, even), it being the only one thrown there through the 2022 season, as well as Nomo pitching for the visiting team; while still a fairly new park at the time, the Rockies started out in the similarly elevated Mile High Stadium and would naturally be more accustomed to Coors Field's nuances such as the larger fielding area as it is their home field.

The 1998 and 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Games took place in Coors Field.

In 2011, a man fell to his death when he was attempting to slide down a stair railing during the 7th inning of a Rockies-Diamondbacks game.[22]

On April 23, 2013, Rockies and Braves played in the coldest game since MLB began tracking game time temperature in 1991, at 23 °F (−5 °C).[23]

There have been eleven 1–0 games in Coors Field history, through April 6, 2023. The first 1–0 game at Coors Field was on July 9, 2005,[24][25] meaning all eleven games have occurred since Major League Baseball allowed the Rockies to start using a humidor on May 15, 2002:[26]

Panorama of Coors Field during Todd Helton's final home game. This was also the final game played at the stadium before the removal of part of the right field upper deck.

• July 9, 2005, Rockies beat the San Diego Padres[24][25]
• April 16, 2006, Philadelphia Phillies beat the Rockies[27]
• July 25, 2006, St. Louis Cardinals beat the Rockies[28]
• August 1, 2006, Milwaukee Brewers beat the Rockies[29]
• June 11, 2008, Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants[30]
• September 14, 2008, Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in 10 innings[31][32]
• September 17, 2008, Rockies beat the San Diego Padres[33]
• July 6, 2009, Rockies beat the Washington Nationals[34]
• June 12, 2010, Rockies beat the Toronto Blue Jays[35]
• July 4, 2018, Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants[36]
• April 6, 2023, Rockies beat the Washington Nationals[37]

Games 3 and 4 of the 2007 World Series between the Rockies and the Boston Red Sox were held at Coors Field. The Red Sox swept both games to win the title.[38]

On August 7, 2016, Ichiro Suzuki collected his 3,000th MLB career hit: a seventh-inning triple that was off the right field wall off Rockies pitcher Chris Rusin.[39]

Coors Field also hosted three outdoor ice hockey games in February 2016. First, on February 20, the local Denver Pioneers defeated their arch-rival Colorado College 4–1[40] in a college match billed as the "Battle on Blake".[41] Then, one week later on February 27, the Colorado Avalanche lost to the Detroit Red Wings 5–3[40] as part of the 2016 NHL Stadium Series.[42][43] The day before that also hosted the Alumni exhibition game where the Colorado Avalanche alumni defeated their Detroit Red Wings counterparts.