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In the NoCo

How baseballs with thicker seams could help the Colorado Rockies move past their worst season yet

Crew members toil on Coors Field before a baseball game as the Colorado Rockies host the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Denver.
David Zalubowski
/
AP
Crew members toil on Coors Field before a baseball game as the Colorado Rockies host the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Denver.

The Colorado Rockies are wrapping up their worst season in franchise history – and the second-worst season on record for any baseball team in the modern era.

So today, we’re talking about an idea that might hold potential to change the team’s fortunes in future seasons.

A big part of the Rockies’ misfortunes is the fact that Coors Field sits a mile above sea level. Baseballs fly further here, which means more home runs. Playing at 5,280 feet also means pitches like curveballs have less curve to them, which make life harder for Rockies pitchers.

Colorado Sun reporter John Ingold recently wrote an in-depth look a possible solution. It examined whether using baseballs with raised seams could make playing at Coors Field similar to what players experience at other ballparks.

John joined In The NoCo’s Brad Turner to talk about how it might work,and the science of playing baseball a mile above sea level.

This photo shows John Ingold, a health care reporter for The Colorado Sun, wearing a light blue button-down shirt and smiling for the camera with a white background behind him.
Courtesy of John Ingold / The Colorado Sun

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.
Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.
As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.