Homers still play with new Coors Field fences

DENVER — Even though Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado tied for the National League lead in home runs with 41 in 2016, Coors Field actually lowered his totals. Higher fencing in right-center field blocked three fly balls that would have been homers previously — a development Arenado greeted with a smile and a shrug.

“I didn’t know how many home runs I lost, but at the same time, you can get some home runs if you hit the ball in the air to left field that you don’t normally get,” Arenado said. “But, hey, I tied for the home-run lead. I would have had it if those balls had gone. But we need pitchers to have some success, and it’s OK to help them out.”

The increased height — from 8 feet, 9 inches to 16 feet, 6 inches in front of bullpens that ran from right-center to close to center, and from 8 feet to 13 in the left-field corner — was source of much curiosity when announced before the 2016 season, and drew some gasps when it had an effect on some balls early in the year. But over the course of 81 home games, how much did it matter?

Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said this week the club is focused on other projects, the full study is not complete and added, “I’d have to make a decision how public we want to make that stuff.”

But he said, instructively, “I’d be shocked if there’s some sort of landmark discovery or something completely earth-shattering.”

An MLB.com study of publicly available charts and video supports Bridich’s supposition. The fencing didn’t reduce the total number of homers at Coors Field, but otherwise it did what was intended — create opportunities for pitchers to reduce runs.

The study looked at balls hit to right field at a projected 370 feet, determined to be the distance necessary to hit a home run. The distance also allowed for determining if a ball would have bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double in the past. As for left field, where the increased fence height covered only a corner …

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