Earlier this week, Marc Normandin of SB Nation wrote a commentary on the Ubaldo trade. In it, he laid out a somewhat compelling argument for why it was necessary for the Rockies to trade U. Basically, Normandin’s theory is that pitching in altitude inevitably leads to break down. The idea being that it’s harder for the body to recover this far above sea level and the additional wear and tear has caused the demise of many who have pitched for the Rockies. It’s an interesting thought, but his logic is flawed.
To begin with, as evidence to support his position, Normandin points to the fact that no Rockies pitcher has ever thrown three consecutive 200 inning seasons. There are some problems with using this line of thinking. For one, the Rockies have been traditionally terrible at drafting and developing pitchers and throwing 200 innings in three consecutive seasons is something only good pitchers can do. It’s a pretty tall task.
Since the Rockies began play in 1993, I would venture to guess there are more than a few franchises that have not had a pitcher throw 200 innings in three straight years. In the grand scheme of things, it is a very small sample size, and, in baseball and life, it’s important not to put too much stock in small sample sizes. Not only that, Ubaldo missed that milestone by just two innings, only reaching 198 in 2008. However, even this year when he missed most of the first month, he should still get very close to the 200 inning mark. Basically, in four years, U will have thrown close to 800 innings. So to say that it’s impossible to shoulder that kind of load is off-base.
However, more than anything, this position bugs me because it’s very short sighted. No Colorado pitcher has thrown 200 innings for three consecutive seasons, therefore it’s impossible to keep pitchers healthy in Colorado. Right now, there is insufficient evidence to back that up.
When I first moved to Denver, I couldn’t walk thirty yards without battling suffocation. It is definitely taxing on anyone that isn’t acclimated. But, as anyone that lives here knows, you adjust to the altitude. Things get easier. Now, I don’t feel like my exercise is any more difficult than when I used to do it at much lower elevations.
In addition, if this theory were true, it should apply to more than just pitchers. However, we haven’t seen that. Nobody is alleging that position players in Colorado can’t stay healthy. Also, if true, it should carry over into other sports. But, the Broncos, Nuggets, and Avs don’t seem to have any more injury trouble than the other teams in their leagues. Not only that, but this area is a haven for world class athletes looking for an advantage in training. If any of them ever thought that the altitude caused the body to break down, Boulder would see an exodus of Olympians.
Coors Field suffers from an undeserved reputation already. The last thing the Rockies need is this theory to gain traction. Not only would they not be able to sign free agent pitchers, but the draft would become even more trickier. How many fathers out there would balk at the idea of their son pitching in Coors ? If everyone starts thinking that Colorado pitchers will inevitably become injured, that will really put the Rockies behind the eight ball. Good thing it’s probably not true.
Despite the fact that I disagree with the theory, I still find it fascinating. What does everyone else think?
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7 comments
Travis Lay
August 3, 2011 at 10:46 AM (UTC -6)
When I read the first two paragraphs I immediately thought of the Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs (higher in altitude than Denver) and if altitude was bad why would so many world class athletes train here? I see countless teams of bike riders around where I work in the tech center everyday apparently training for some insane bike ride.
Who has been a real lock for Colorado to throw 200 innings a year? This goes beyond durability, skill is also involved. If most pitchers make 35′ish starts a year that they need to average just about 6 innings per start to get to 200 innings. Unfortunately that is a bigger task than it sounds and guys like Cook, even when they are going really good, have the occasional stinker where they barely get 5 innings completed.
Jennings, Francis, Cook – all pitchers in recent Rockies history that were supposedly “Aces” for the Rockies but wouldnt have been much more than #3 or #4 starters for most other teams. The Rockies simply haven’t had good pitching, ever, in Colorado until Ubaldo.
Will that change?
Logan Burdine
August 3, 2011 at 2:57 PM (UTC -6)
I’d like someone to study injury reports since 1993. If this theory is true, the Rockies should have a lot more pitcher injuries than the rest of baseball. Any volunteers?
Simone
August 3, 2011 at 4:08 PM (UTC -6)
I’m not buying the argument. Let’s buy Lincecum and see how he does @ Coors Field
MAW
August 4, 2011 at 12:16 AM (UTC -6)
The only aspect of baseball that has been proven to be affected by altitude (which only means that there is less air and therefore oxygen up here) is the distance that fly balls travel simply because there is less material for the ball to run into in the air. This equates to less air friction and therefore more speed and an increase in distance traveled.
Hence the addition of the humidor. A region-specific injury that I’ve seen our pitchers sustain is cracked skin on the throwing hand but that is hardly a Colorado-only phenomena, that has more to do with the climate and the dryness of the air rather than the lack of it. I’d wager that pitchers for the Diamondbacks have their fair share of arid climate ailments such as those.
There is a very good reason why the USOC is headquartered in Colorado Springs (not Boulder!): because of the increased altitude. Downtown CSprings is somewhere around 6000 ft and the further north you go, the more the altitude goes up. Black Forest is almost 7000 ft above sea level. Athletes who train here acquire an increased lung capacity as well as increased lung efficiency. If anything, they are better athletes BECAUSE they train here.
Unfortunately people who do not live in altitude will never understand the extent of it until they do but something tells me that pulled ligaments and rotator cuff injuries have little to do with the fact that the Rox practice and play at a mile higher the people who wrote that live.
Ken
August 4, 2011 at 1:22 PM (UTC -6)
Well, it looks like everyone’s done a good job of tearing down Normandin’s argument. The only thing that I can think of that would keep his argument alive is if there were somehow a negative affect on fast-twitch muscle fiber at altitude. We know that there’s a huge advantage to endurance athletes training at altitude but could there be a correlation between athletes who rely on short powerful bursts of energy at high altitude and the “break down” of those athletes’ performance? The problem that Logan has pointed out is that this break down in performance is multi-causal. Even if we were to compare between Pro Football, NHL Hockey, the NBA (including the Utah Jazz?), and the MLB Rockies we might not have a definitive answer. All four of the major sports teams in Denver have truly sucked with their drafting and player development recently. Perhaps look at the Broncos from 1976-1982 and again from 1990-2000? I’ll bet anything that this very study on fast-twitch muscle fiber and the effects at altitude has been done before (and probably numerous times). For kicks, I’ll see if I can find some citations…
Ken
August 4, 2011 at 1:40 PM (UTC -6)
Immediately, the internet revealed a wealth of information that pretty much kills Normandin’s argument. There’s a drug on the market for training called Tournitech. I found this interesting; essentially this drug produces the same effect as training at altitude without having the athlete change geographic location by depriving muscle fiber of oxygen. Oxygen deprivation is one tool used to increase the size of fast-twitch muscle fiber. Here’s a quote from the article:
“Overtime, runners in higher altitudes experience greater endurance, speed, and strength when competing in lower altitudes, not because of greater oxygen levels at a lower altitude, but because the fast twitch fibers within the muscle have increased in size. Larger fast twitch muscles increase circulation to the entire region. This carries with it a greater degree of endurance when slower twitch muscle fibers requiring oxygen are used.” http://tinyurl.com/4xw8ttf
This is by no means exhaustive, but it points out that Marc Normandin didn’t do any research for his article. So, spread the word to all of the father’s of promising pitchers that there son will be BETTER in Colorado than in San Francisco, LA, or San Diego!!!
Logan Burdine
August 4, 2011 at 1:43 PM (UTC -6)
Ken, that’s great stuff. Excellent point on fast twitch muscle fibers. Hadn’t thought of it like that.