Amid baseball’s historic power surge, Rockies are behind home-run curve
In 1996, as the Blake Street Bombers emerged as one of the most feared offensive forces in baseball, the Rockies mashed 149 home runs at Coors Field.
That number has stood as the most ever at home in a single season in major league history.
The Bombers’ power, paired with the mile-high elevation, made for a distinct home-field advantage in Lodo, where opposing pitchers often looked for ways to avoid a start.
But this year, amid a historic home run onslaught throughout baseball, the Rockies aren’t joining the fun. And, perhaps not coincidentally, their home-field edge is gone.
Heading into the weekend, Colorado’s 157 home runs ranked 10th in the National League. And the team had hit only 89 long balls at home, tied for eighth in the league.
All of which begs a critical question: Is the Rockies’ current lineup constructed to consistently win at Coors Field? And, is the team’s lack of home run power a sign that it will continue to have trouble keeping pace with, and triumphing over, the power of visiting clubs?
“It’s hard to answer,” Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado said. “I don’t think it’s a huge con
cern we’re not on a record homerun pace. But we have some guys who are young and inexperienced, so the power isn’t going to be there right away. Some guys are going to develop into their power.”
The Rockies feature three heavy-hitters with Arenado (27 home runs), shortstop Trevor Story (27) and outfielder Charlie Blackmon (24), as well as an array of mid-tier power guys.
After that, there’s a significant drop-off featuring hitters with little to no ability to leave the yard, i.e. outfielder Raimel Tapia, infielder Garrett Hampson and catcher Tony Wolters.
Those three players have combined for 11 home runs. The result of such imbalance is increased pressure put on power production from the trio of Arenado, Story and Blackmon, especially considering that league-wide 51 players are on pace to hit 30 or more home urns.
That pressure is evident when comparing last-place Colorado to one of the power-surging teams this year, such as Minnesota.
The Twins have clubbed 236 home runs heading into the weekend, having already set a franchise record, and are on pace to break the Yankees’ single-season MLB mark of 267, set last year.
The Twins already have five hitters with 20 or more home runs and are likely to tie or break the MLB record of seven players with 20-plus long balls.
“There’s times where it feels like (me, Story and Blackmon) are the guys who really need to get some things done,” Arenado said. “But at the end of the day, we’re a team and we all need to pick each other up. That’s what the good teams do.”
Clearly, Colorado hasn’t been able to do that this season, both power-wise and overall with an offense that’s not dynamic enough to overcome the club’s glaring pitching deficiencies.
Throughout Rockies history, it’s become accepted that Colorado needs to use the advantage of playing at elevation to flirt with winning about 50 home games in order to get into playoff contention, due to the difficulty of adjusting to sea level on the road. This year’s Rockies team has hovered around .500 at home all season and is well under .500 on the road.
The lack of the ability to consistently deliver gut-punch homers has neutralized the team’s home-field advantage. Opponents have blasted 105 dingers at Coors Field.
However, Blackmon argues that pure power isn’t needed to win at Coors Field if the Rockies can become better at mastering other facets of the game, including stringing hits together.
“Where you don’t find a ton of power in our lineup, you find a lot of on-base skills and defensive value,” Blackmon said. “But if there’s one area that could definitely use improvement (in the lineup overall), it’s being more consistent hitters, and not having so many peaks and valleys.”
For now, Colorado’s accepted the fact that they’re not the Twins, Yankees, Dodgers or Astros, all of whom have clubbed over 200 home runs. So the Rockies will make do with who they are and try to compensate for not putting much fear in the heads of opposing pitchers.
“Everybody should understand their role and what they can bring,” Hampson said. “Guys like me and Tony, we’re not up there trying to hit home runs, and I don’t think anyone wants us to go up there and try that. To have a well-balanced lineup, you’re going to need some speed and some guys to do the little things like bunt a guy over.
“But obviously, this game has translated into one where there’s a lot of home runs and a lot of power. We’re going to need more of that as well to keep up with the other teams.”
“There’s time s wh ere itf eels like (me, Story and Blackmon) are the guy swhor eally nee dtog et some things done. But at th ee nd of the day ,w e’re at eam and we all nee dtopi ck each other up. That’s what the good teams do.” Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado