Colorado Altitude

[HowAboutThat]

I’ve been in Denver, and the altitude really takes some adjustment. My stepdaughter suffered from altitude sickness the whole time we were there, although she’d probably have adjusted if we’d stayed longer. I like hiking but wasn’t able to because I was affected by the altitude. Just walking through town was a bit of an effort.

Question is how is the higher altitude going to affect athletes who push their bodies so hard?

Baseball does have a lot of just standing around, so maybe it won’t be too much of a negative?

Is that going to be a problem for the Os?

Any comments?

[RZNJ]

No offense, but how could anyone possibly answer that question?

[Fiver6565]

I had this thought earlier this week actually.  You hear about this all the time in the NFL - whenever the Ravens go to Denver, its usually a fairly hot topic.  Oxygen on the sidelines, etc.  Obviously football is a much more strenuous sport, but I gotta think scoring from first on a double, for instance, may leave you more winded than usual.  Or a max effort long route on a fly ball in that gargantuan outfield, etc.  Yet I can't recall this ever even being brought up.  The only time you hear about the conditions in Denver is in regard to the ball and ball flight, but never this aspect, which is curious to me.  Maybe I just don't hear about it because the O's basically never play there.

[Fiver6565]

5 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

No offense, but how could anyone possibly answer that question?

Clearly no one could definitively answer it, duh.  That doesn't mean its not a worthy topic.  Half the topics on here, if not more, are about things that no one can 'possibly answer', by that logic....

[Orioles West]

As a Maryland Native who has lived in Colorado a long time — I can answer, it depends on the person and their level of health.

Some people are more affected by the thinner air than others.

The O’s have done fine in their previous visits to Coors Field.

They’ll get the same advantages and disadvantages as the host Rox. The ball will travel about 10 percent farther on average and breaking balls will not break as well as they do at sea level.

I’ve seen a couple NFL players have difficulty adjusting and need sideline oxygen, but most do fine after being in Denver a day or two. 

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, Fiver6565 said:

Clearly no one could definitively answer it, duh.  That doesn't mean its not a worthy topic.  Half the topics on here, if not more, are about things that no one can 'possibly answer', by that logic....

Ok.  Go ahead and answer it.

[LookitsPuck]

I can't even remember the last time the O's played in Colorado. It's been awhile.

[Fiver6565]

9 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Ok.  Go ahead and answer it.

Look at that, Orioles West was already able to, in spite of your snarky additions to this thread.  Unbelievable.

[Fiver6565]

9 minutes ago, LookitsPuck said:

I can't even remember the last time the O's played in Colorado. It's been awhile.

They said 2016 for Dodger Stadium, could be same for CO, without looking it up.

[RZNJ]

Just now, Fiver6565 said:

Look at that, Orioles West was already able to, in spite of your snarky additions to this thread.  Unbelievable.

Ha.  In not so many words, he said it’s impossible to answer.    Snark!

[Fiver6565]

Just now, RZNJ said:

Ha.  In not so many words, he said it’s impossible to answer.    Snark!

That's not at all what he said, but OK.  I'm dropping it because you are evidently the thread police.

[Spy Fox]

The difference definitely favors the Rockies when you visit them, and you can see that in their home/away records over the years. 

In franchise history they have a .538 W% at home, and a .388 W% on the road. That's a very high home/road differential for baseball, and it happens often that they are a very bad team on the road but an average or better team at home. (This year: 19-50 away, 31-34 home.)

No way to perfectly attribute why that is, but it's generally thought that one contributor is visiting players struggling with the unfamiliar conditions. Especially pitchers struggling with the ball moving a bit differently. 

[Orioles West]

I’ve been to all the O’s v. Rox games in Denver, and it’s not a big sample size.

2004 and 2019

The O’s won one game in each series and are 2-4 in Denver.

The Rox have the all time series lead 11- 10, Baltimore holds an 8-7 edge at home.

[BirdinBama]

We should handle any team, regardless of the environment, that is 50-84!

[RZNJ]

4 minutes ago, Fiver6565 said:

That's not at all what he said, but OK.  I'm dropping it because you are evidently the thread police.

 

5 minutes ago, Fiver6565 said:

That's not at all what he said, but OK.  I'm dropping it because you are evidently the thread police.

He said it depends on the individual and it’s impossible to say how it might affect any one individual player on the Orioles.   The thread police request that you continue to drop this.