Colorado Altitude

[FlipTheBird]

22 minutes ago, HowAboutThat said:

Have you been to Colorado?

we flew into Denver, and rented a minivan, and just driving through the mountains to our destination we all got altitude headaches, and a couple people were getting dizzy.

Well truthfully, you were gaining elevation the entire way. Depending on where you were headed, you may have gone well beyond a "mile high" and gotten closer to two miles above sea level. Which is a whole different thing.

I believe the challenge was more of a "how could we possibly know how each individual player will respond to the elevation?" than it was a challenge of elevation changes as a whole.

[Can_of_corn]

7 minutes ago, Orioles West said:

Robert K. Adair is the physicist - it was his book I was referencing regarding the ball travels about 10 percent farther than sea level and breaking balls don’t break as well.

The Physics of Baseball?  I have a first edition copy somewhere.

[Orioles West]

4 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

The Physics of Baseball?  I have a first edition copy somewhere.

Yes sir — although my copy is NOT a first edition. 

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, Orioles West said:

Yes sir — although my copy is NOT a first edition. 

Heh, sorry if that came off as a brag, I just googled it up and saw third edition.

[Orioles West]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Heh, sorry if that came off as a brag, I just googled it up and saw third edition.

No worries. Quite the opposite reaction for me, I was simply bummed that mine isn’t a first edition! It was one of my first baseball books, and while it has been a minute since I last read it, my copy is well read. Some fascinating stuff in that small, but informative book.

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, Orioles West said:

I did say it depends — but I’m pretty sure I left out the word impossible.

How about this, most athletes do well at altitude, unless they have pre-existing conditions (like asthma).

I think I can safely conclude, in hopes of avoiding the aforementioned thread police, the Orioles will probably be okay out at nearly one mile above sea level. The field itself is slightly below as the mile high level is marked by the row of purple seats in the top deck of the stadium.

 

I didn’t mean for the impossible part to sound like it was coming from you.   You said “it depends on the individual”.   The rest were my words.   I think it’s impossible to say how any particular athlete will respond or perform at high altitude.

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, Fiver6565 said:

OK since you're baiting me, one more response.  What he actually said was this:

it depends on the person and their level of health.

Now, I would say that a professional ballplayer's health is probably better than the average person - in general, but also certainly when it comes to toleration of thinner air.  That's already a better answer than you initially implied could be given.

You were wrong to call out this post the way you did, but you'll never admit it.

Great answer.   I’m sure we’re all better off that this thread was started which helped us learn how individual players or the team as a whole will perform or be affected by high altitude.     What did we learn?   Oh yeah, absolutely nothing.   Thank you.

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Yes, he most certainly is.

He cites me for violations weekly.

My latest was for being an abnormal fan.

For someone who nitpicks other posters multiple times per day it’s hilarious how often you play the victim card.   Thanks for the laugh.

[Fiver6565]

4 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Great answer.   I’m sure we’re all better off that this thread was started which helped us learn how individual players or the team as a whole will perform or be affected by high altitude.     What did we learn?   Oh yeah, absolutely nothing.   Thank you.

Yes, because EVERY thread on the Hangout is for learning.  What an absolutely laughable 'defense' of yourself.

[BRobinsonfan]

1 hour ago, Fiver6565 said:

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

There should be an abundance of data on this. The Rockies have existed in Colorado for 31 years, during which time visiting teams played approximately 2511 games there.  

[Fiver6565]

2 minutes ago, BRobinsonfan said:

There should be an abundance of data on this. The Rockies have existed in Colorado for 31 years, during which time visiting teams played approximately 2511 games there.  

OK

[Frobby]

Just now, BRobinsonfan said:

There should be an abundance of data on this. The Rockies have existed in Colorado for 31 years, during which time visiting teams played approximately 2511 games there.  

Even so, it’s not necessarily easy to separate out (1) the way the altitude affects the visiting players’ health and stamina, (2) the effect of the altitude on how pitches and batted balls behave, (3) the Rockies’ relative familiarity with the environment compared to their opponents, and (4) the negative effects on Rockies players when they go to play in a lower altitude environment.   

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, HowAboutThat said:

Have you been to Colorado?

we flew into Denver, and rented a minivan, and just driving through the mountains to our destination we all got altitude headaches, and a couple people were getting dizzy.

I have a pretty good idea how you and your friends were affected by high altitude.   Unfortunately, that tells me nothing about how young, professional athletes, will be affected and, even if they are, how long it will take them to acclimate.   

[RavensNOsGuy]

Eloy won’t even be able to make it down to first. 

[HowAboutThat]

2 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I have a pretty good idea how you and your friends were affected by high altitude.   Unfortunately, that tells me nothing about how young, professional athletes, will be affected and, even if they are, how long it will take them to acclimate.   

That is certainly true, but it is highly unlikely that there is zero effect, and I guess I was trying to see if anybody knew whether it would be meaningful. And then the question about how the pitching would be affected occurred to me.
The difference may be negligible, but it was worthwhile to ask the question