Day Twenty, Denver, CO: Coors Canaveral

On Thursday night I went to a Rockies game at Coors Field. Among all the major league parks, Coors hosts games of the highest offensive output every year. Because the stadium is literally a mile above sea level, the thinner air causes the balls to fly farther and reduces the motion on a pitcher’s pitches. In the last several years, the Rockies have begun using a humidor to moisten the balls, compensating for the drier air. This has had some effect in dampening the hits, and begun to lessen Coors’ reputation as a launching pad for home runs.

Otherwise, Coors is really a Comerica Park clone, albeit with some more seats in the outfield, (Coors seats over 50,000, while Comerica seats about 41,700.) For some reason, the Comerica architects opted to provide us with a view of the Detroit Skyline in lieu of more seating. I suppose there aren’t enough sellouts to justify more seating, but there isn’t enough skyline to justify such an open-air approach either.

I’m assuming that most of you are not too interested in the details of the game, which is too bad, as it was one of the better games I’ve attended. I am going to note, however, that my fantasy baseball team – Team Adventure Ball – does have FIVE Rockies on the roster. And they came up BIG for both the Rox and I last night. The Rockies won 7-6, with the help of 5 RBIs and 5 runs scored from the Adventure Ball big men, along with a save from Adventure Ball Closer Huston Street. Fantasy baseball is very real.

After the game we went to a bar down the street from the park. There are a lot of people handing out free beer tickets outside Coors Field. And there are a lot of bars in downtown Denver and thus the competition is pretty fierce. For the most part, however, a bar is a bar. My buddy David and I chose a buy one get one deal.

It’s amazing the people that you meet in the most random places. Dave and I played shuffleboard at the bar with a nice couple from Grand Rapids, MI. They work in the painting business, and informed me that business in Grand Rapids is booming. I guess it’s surprising what happens when you leave Detroit. Shuffleboard is an interesting game. I think I like it.

I’m finally leaving Denver today (Friday) and am heading to Rocky Mountain National Park. Not sure how long I will be there, or where I will go next, or when I will have internet. I expect to stay a couple days and will probably make a post afterwards. In the meantime, you can check the Twitter feed on the right sidebar, (directly below the Latitude map,) which I should be able to keep going even in the park.