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Controversy Over Unders at Coors
The 2002 baseball season began with a golden opportunity for totals bettors to tap the Rockies; unfortunately very few people were aware of its existence until a week ago. The Colorado Rockies, who play their home games at the Coors Field launching pad, decided to doctor baseballs by storing them in a chamber environmentally controlled for humidity and temperature.
The goal was to reduce runs at MLB’s highest scoring venue. Club officials contend Denver's high altitude and dry climate cause baseballs to shrink below the minimum standards of five ounces and nine inches, citing studies that balls travel nine percent further than at sea level. They argue this “problem” can be rectified by storing them in a concrete chamber, blowing in air at about 40 degrees humidity.
The “solution” seems to be working. After their first five home series, Rockie games are averaging more than six runs less than a year ago, down to less than 9 1/2 per outing. Bettors have found 11 unders, four overs and one push, compared to eight overs, six unders and a push in 2001.
You may debate the merits of the humidor, but few support the Rockies’ handling of the situation. The Denver Post uncovered the story after the Rockies completed a three game sweep of the Pirates, featuring the first back to back shutouts in Coors history followed by John Thomson taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Team president Keli McGregor declared “we have nothing to hide,” which was obviously true after the chamber’s discovery, and insisted it had been approved by Commissioner Bud Selig.
Sandy Alderson, an MLB vice president and member of the rules committee, did not exactly concur. While indicating the humidor storage is probably permissible, he is sending a delegation to investigate and said “the secretive nature was unfortunate.” The leagues should be grateful the newspaper exposed the scheme before a "Detroit timekeeper" situation developed.
Reactions were predictable. Pirate manager Lloyd McClendon expressed shock. He noted that one need not be a trained scientist to realize a wet ball is harder to hit further than a dry one. His Rockie counterpart Clint Hurdle dismissed any thoughts of chicanery, and contended that his club was the one that had “been playing at unfair disadvantage” before the balls were moisturized.
Colorado's contention that the ball was the same for both teams does not hold water. If one side, or only the manager of one side, knows the ball is deader than usual, it gains an advantage. Nobody would insert boxing gloves of different weights, or basketballs of different sizes, without notifying all participants. It might be interesting to compare Rockies’ sacrifice bunt attempts to a year ago.
"Isn't the scoring down all over baseball?" asked McGregor defensively. It is, with 22 parks recording less runs than last year, but none so drastic as Coors Field. Its 35 percent decrease is largely responsible for the five percent overall drop. And no other club is alleged to be doctoring the balls.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which supplies the line to bookmakers in Nevada and the Caribbean, learned of the humidor at the same time as the general public. “We initially attributed the lower scoring at Coors to cold weather and bad teams,” explained a representative. “We adjusted the totals for the trend a couple of series back, but the bettors seemed to continue to like the over.”
Indeed, in the Rockies’ first return home after the news broke, the 12 1/2 total was bet up to 13 at some shops. Colorado’s 7-3 victory continued the under trend, so players who had inside information could have merrily milked this system for a long time, as others counted on the law of averages to register some higher numbers.
Bob Howsam, the former Big Red Machine GM who is now a Rockie advisor, claimed “good, young pitchers” were responsible for the lower scoring but defends the storage chamber. “I think what they’re doing now is something every baseball team should do-whether the goal be more humidity for the baseballs or less.” He also told the Denver Post that over forty years ago, MLB Commissioner Ford Frick allowed the Triple A Denver Bears to freeze baseballs before game time. “We thought freezing the rubber center of the baseball would make the ball travel further and we wanted more homeruns. But we didn’t see much of a difference.”
We’re seeing it now.
The 2002 baseball season began with a golden opportunity for totals bettors to tap the Rockies; unfortunately very few people were aware of its existence until a week ago. The Colorado Rockies, who play their home games at the Coors Field launching pad, decided to doctor baseballs by storing them in a chamber environmentally controlled for humidity and temperature.
The goal was to reduce runs at MLB’s highest scoring venue. Club officials contend Denver's high altitude and dry climate cause baseballs to shrink below the minimum standards of five ounces and nine inches, citing studies that balls travel nine percent further than at sea level. They argue this “problem” can be rectified by storing them in a concrete chamber, blowing in air at about 40 degrees humidity.
The “solution” seems to be working. After their first five home series, Rockie games are averaging more than six runs less than a year ago, down to less than 9 1/2 per outing. Bettors have found 11 unders, four overs and one push, compared to eight overs, six unders and a push in 2001.
You may debate the merits of the humidor, but few support the Rockies’ handling of the situation. The Denver Post uncovered the story after the Rockies completed a three game sweep of the Pirates, featuring the first back to back shutouts in Coors history followed by John Thomson taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Team president Keli McGregor declared “we have nothing to hide,” which was obviously true after the chamber’s discovery, and insisted it had been approved by Commissioner Bud Selig.
Sandy Alderson, an MLB vice president and member of the rules committee, did not exactly concur. While indicating the humidor storage is probably permissible, he is sending a delegation to investigate and said “the secretive nature was unfortunate.” The leagues should be grateful the newspaper exposed the scheme before a "Detroit timekeeper" situation developed.
Reactions were predictable. Pirate manager Lloyd McClendon expressed shock. He noted that one need not be a trained scientist to realize a wet ball is harder to hit further than a dry one. His Rockie counterpart Clint Hurdle dismissed any thoughts of chicanery, and contended that his club was the one that had “been playing at unfair disadvantage” before the balls were moisturized.
Colorado's contention that the ball was the same for both teams does not hold water. If one side, or only the manager of one side, knows the ball is deader than usual, it gains an advantage. Nobody would insert boxing gloves of different weights, or basketballs of different sizes, without notifying all participants. It might be interesting to compare Rockies’ sacrifice bunt attempts to a year ago.
"Isn't the scoring down all over baseball?" asked McGregor defensively. It is, with 22 parks recording less runs than last year, but none so drastic as Coors Field. Its 35 percent decrease is largely responsible for the five percent overall drop. And no other club is alleged to be doctoring the balls.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which supplies the line to bookmakers in Nevada and the Caribbean, learned of the humidor at the same time as the general public. “We initially attributed the lower scoring at Coors to cold weather and bad teams,” explained a representative. “We adjusted the totals for the trend a couple of series back, but the bettors seemed to continue to like the over.”
Indeed, in the Rockies’ first return home after the news broke, the 12 1/2 total was bet up to 13 at some shops. Colorado’s 7-3 victory continued the under trend, so players who had inside information could have merrily milked this system for a long time, as others counted on the law of averages to register some higher numbers.
Bob Howsam, the former Big Red Machine GM who is now a Rockie advisor, claimed “good, young pitchers” were responsible for the lower scoring but defends the storage chamber. “I think what they’re doing now is something every baseball team should do-whether the goal be more humidity for the baseballs or less.” He also told the Denver Post that over forty years ago, MLB Commissioner Ford Frick allowed the Triple A Denver Bears to freeze baseballs before game time. “We thought freezing the rubber center of the baseball would make the ball travel further and we wanted more homeruns. But we didn’t see much of a difference.”
We’re seeing it now.
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