A month ago, I watched some videos on YouTube. One was a highlight of a pitcher’s great performance at Coors Field. Additionally, I also watched a show and a chart was shown. The chart provided the stats of that pitcher’s most recent 2 starts at Coors Field. He was just dominating.
As we all know, Coors Field is a hitter’s park. It’s extremely hard for pitchers to pitch well at this ballpark. While watching that video, I was wondering which pitchers had pitched well at Coors Field.
To understand a little bit more, I chose to check on the statcast website.
Firstly, Huston Street was the 2005 AL Rookie of the Year award winner and he spent 13 seasons in the majors. Moreover, Street played for the Rockies for 3 seasons. In his career, opponents’ batting average against Street at Coors Field was .224. From 2009 to 2015, Street had a .227 BAA at Coors Field. Furthermore, 3-time All-Star Matt Cain pitched for the Giants from 2005 to 2017. Cain spent all 13 seasons with the Giants. As a Giant, it was common for Cain to visit Coors Field. In his career, Cain pitched 19 games at Coors Field and had a .235 BAA. From 2009 to 2017, Cain had a .227 BAA at Coors Field as well.
In addition, Daniel Bard is the 2020 NL Comeback Player of the Year winner. His story is certainly encouraging. Bard pitched for the Red Sox from 2009 to 2013. He didn’t pitch in the majors from 2014 to 2019. In 2020, he inked a deal with the Rockies. Bard already made 100+ relief appearances at Coors Field. From 2010 to 2023, opponents hit .228 against him at Coors Field.
Thirdly, Adam Ottavino used to pitch 7 seasons for the Rockies. Hence, pitching at Coors Field is one of his main tasks and he already threw 200+ innings at this ballpark. Ottavino made his MLB debut in 2010, from 2012 to 2023, he had a .231 BAA at Coors Field.
Finally, Ian Kennedy announced his retirement after winning the World Series with the Texas Rangers last season. He spent 17 seasons in the majors. In his career, he threw 66 innings at Coors Field and had a .232 BAA. Furthermore, Jonathan Sanchez pitched in the majors from 2006 to 2013. From 2008 to 2012, his BAA was below .240 at Coors Field.
Pitching at Coors Field isn’t easy. Lots of pitchers used to face serious problems at this ballpark. It’s possible to see a pitcher toss a gem at this ballpark. However, it’s quite difficult to consistently pitch well here. But there are still some pitchers who demonstrated that they could consistently get the jobs done at this ballpark. Street collected 84 saves for the Rockies and he certainly showed that he can close the door at Coors Field. Moreover, Matt Cain threw 100+ innings at Coors Field in his career and the Rockies didn’t hit very well against him. In the 2024 season, there are still more than 60 games to play at Coors Field and let’s see who can pitch well at this ballpark.
No comments:
Post a Comment