By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
Sticking to my recent theme of linking, a recent MLB.COM article has flown somewhat under the radar, when in fact, its impact could be of some significance. Essentially, all teams are now going to be required to store their baseballs in temperature-controlled settings. While this isn’t exactly the same as the Rockies’ humidor, the trend points to eventually having all venues adopt a similar apparatus. While standardization seems like a good thing, clearly Colorado needs to be viewed differently considering their unique environment.
“All 30 clubs will be keeping their baseballs in temperature-controlled settings. In another move toward ensuring that balls stay at specifications set by manufacturer Rawlings, Major League Baseball has adopted a shelf-life rule, MLB executive vice president, baseball operations Jimmie Lee Solomon said Thursday.”
How Major League Baseball can truly regulate when each team uses what ball is questionable, at best. Then again, so is the actual effect; runs were way down in Colorado last year, but scoring did pick up as the season wore on. Probably not a big deal either way, but it’s at least something to take note of. Personally, I’m not putting too much stock into the Coors Field of last year and would be happy to draft Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins; also, I’d stay away from any Rockie pitcher not named Brian Fuentes, even if there was a good one.
Leave a Reply