Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.
Coors Field is such an iconic part of the Rockies’ brand, but as someone who works in MLB sports modeling and projection, it’s the top hitter’s park by a mile every single year in MLB. Fenway is getting close, and you see the Red Sox tanking, too.
At what point would ownership consider major renovations to the stadium — or a new one — to protect pitchers to the other extreme and play more low-scoring contests? I’m talking about a 550-foot center field. It’s how the Rays and Athletics can field more competitive efforts with significantly less talent/payroll.
— Austin, Lubbock, Texas
Austin, I’ve been asked a similar question many times over the years and I can tell you that there are no plans to radically change Coors Field. And the Rockies have a lease at Coors Field through 2047.
Many fans’ conceptions about Coors Field are incorrect. Yes, it is the most extreme offensive ballpark in the majors, but it’s not primarily about the home runs given up in LoDo. In 2024, for example, 109 homers were hit at Coors, ranking eighth in the majors. Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark (“Great American Small Park”) led the way with 128 homers.
Of course, the Rockies’ lack of production played a part in that ranking, but through the last 15 years, Coors has not given up the most homers in the majors.
The bigger problem is the size of the outfield, which is the biggest in the majors. Coors Field’s dimensions — 390 feet to left-center field, 415 to straightaway center, 375 to the bullpens — create a large expanse of green.
Line drives into the gaps and bloop singles into no-man’s land are the hits that haunt pitchers. For example, Baseball Savant gives Coors Field a score of 198 on triples, by far the most in the majors (Arizona’s Chase Field and Kansas City’s Kaufmann Stadium with 168 tied for second). That 198 number is calculated so that “100” is the average for that metric.
Boston’s Fenway Park led the way with a score of 123 on doubles while Coors ranked second with 118.
If you want to take a deep dive into the statistics on major league ballparks, check out Statcast’s ballpark factors.
Moving the center field well back to “550 feet” (I assume you’re exaggerating) makes no sense. It would only make the ballpark bigger, and inside-the-park homers could become epidemic.
The Rockies have made some adjustments over the years. The most significant was the “Bridich Barrier” installation in 2016. The screen atop the wall raised the height in right-center field from just under 8 feet to 16 feet, 6 inches. Former general manager Jeff Bridich created it, and former shortstop Trevor Story nicknamed it.
There have long been discussions about reconfiguring the left and center field walls, but it would be problematic. If the fences in left and left-center were moved in and the wall built up, the Rockies would have to remove at least several rows of seats, many of them designated for fans with disabilities.
For now, the solution is developing better and tougher pitchers and a Rockies offensive that turns Coors into a house of horrors for opposing pitchers.
One of the top-10 pitching coaches over the years was Leo Massone. Any chance he could be brought into the Rockies staff to help resurrect its young arms? The club has a new pitching lab and the wisdom of Leo and Bud (Black) might speed up the youngster’s careers. What are your thoughts? Thanks for your coverage.
— John P., Aurora
John, I don’t see that ever happening. As respected as Massone is, he’s now 76 years old. Plus, I don’t think he’d be a fit for the Rockies in this day and age of advanced analytics. Plus, Coors Field would drive the old-school Massone crazy.
FYI, here are the current men charged with developing Rockies pitching:
• Flint Wallace, pitching strategist
• Steve Foster, director of pitching operations
• Darryl Scott, pitching coach
• Dustin Garneau, bullpen coach (recently hired)
• Bud Black, manager
Do you think the Rockies will ever land a major Japanese star who’s coming over from Japan? And not one we acquire through trade or free agency like Kaz Matsui. Roki Sasaki wouldn’t join us because he’s a pitcher and that’s not a great career move pitching at Coors Field for half the season. But what about a guy like Munetaka Murakami? He broke Nippon Professional Baseball’s single-season mark for most home runs by a Japanese player a couple of years back. Lord knows we could use some more power in the lineup and he’s eligible to come over in 2025.
— Mike, Denver
Mike, the short answer is no — at least not now. The Rockies are not a major player in the Asian baseball market and don’t plan to be.
Last fall, as part of The Denver Post’s “Rockie Way” series, I wrote:
While bigger-market teams have been actively signing talented Asian players — Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani being the prime example — the Rockies have waved the white flag.
“It’s about where you put your resources, and we have put more into Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Republic,” (general manager Bill) Schmidt explained. “We feel like we have a better chance there. It’s difficult to go head-to-head when you’re talking about the Mets and Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers; those kinds of teams.”
Hey Patrick, hope you’re enjoying the offseason! What do you think of Drew Romo’s chances of being the main guy behind the plate next year? I think he has Gold Glove potential if his bat keeps him in the lineup.
— Gabriel, Boston
Gabriel, Romo has a long way to go before he becomes a No. 1 catcher. He’s grown defensively and is learning to handle the pitching staff more confidently, but he’s still raw in many ways. You have to remember that he’s only 23 and turned pro straight out of high school.
Hunter Goodman supplanted Romo as the No. 2 catcher at the end of last season, in part because Romo was struggling at the plate in limited opportunities. In 16 games (53 plate appearances), he slashed .177/.208/.235 with no home runs and a 34% strikeout rate.
It’s way too early to talk about Romo winning a Gold Glove. His first step is earning a spot on the big-league roster in spring training.
Patrick, are our coaches preaching patience to our batters? We had the second-most strikeouts and the fifth-worst number of walks last year. Our batting slash is miserable on the road: .217/.275/.364. That’s White Sox territory of badness. Is it our batting coach? Is it a lack of talent? What’s going on?
— Marshall, Parker
Marshall, I’ve fielded this question a lot over the last few years. Here was my response from a Rockies Mailbag from last month:
“I’ve asked around, and it’s clear that general manager Bill Schmidt and manager Bud Black believe Meulens is a good coach and a solid teacher. This is despite the Rockies’ terrible team batting average (.242) and high strikeouts (1,617), both of which were the worst in franchise history.
So, if Meulens is, indeed a good coach, as the Rockies insist, that leaves me with a number of conclusions:
• The Rockies had a bushel full of young players getting at-bats this past season, which is certainly a primary reason for the poor offensive output. (Then again, the Rockies have had a sub-par offense for five seasons now.)
• The Rockies have failed to draft and develop enough good hitters. Not potential sluggers, mind you, but accomplished hitters who don’t strike out a lot, put the ball in play, get on base and move runners over.
• The current generation of players thrived at the lower levels of baseball by swinging for the fences, but when they face big-league pitchers, they don’t have the approach or the experience to get the job done. Plenty of players — many of whom have their own hitting coaches during the offseason — can be very stubborn when it comes to making changes to their swing and approach at the plate.”
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