// Pitcher-Friendly? Hitter-Friendly?
Looking at dimensions of two ballparks, Coors Field and Oracle Park, we
are able to find that it does not really match the data we have. Coors
Field (347’/415’/350’) has a center field distance of 415ft, third longest
out of 30 stadiums. Meanwhile Oracle Park (339’/399’/309’) has a
center field distance of only 399ft, second shortest in MLB. Just by
comparing these two ballparks, Coors Field is much bigger in size than
Oracle Park but it is the best environment for batters. Why are more
home runs produced, even though the field is larger?
The answer is on its location. The altitude is a big part of the “why”.
Coors Field is located in Denver of Colorado, which is situated at a high
altitude of 5,186 ft. This number easily outstands other ballparks,
whereas Chase Park, second highest stadium, has an altitude of 1,061 ft.
High altitude reduce the air's density and increases dryness, which is the
big factor that affects hitting and pitching performances in places.^17
In the pitching stage, the low density of the air reduces the friction of a
baseball with the air, which increases the speed. Increase of the speed
might seem beneficial, but when the friction decreases, it also decreases
the aerodynamic movement produced by the rotation of the baseball.
What this means is that the curve ball sinks less and the slider bends less;
the breaking ball does not break.
Then, you might think that fastball will be more powerful, but it is the
fastball which causes the biggest problem in Coors Field. Fastball is one
of the pitches with the most rotation. When throwing a four-seam
fastball, the backspin of it resists the gravitational force, forcing the ball