Mark Razum, Coors Field’s resident Boy Scout, is well prepared for Friday’s home opener, come snow, graupel, rain, or freezing temperatures. All four are in the forecast.
“We’re definitely keeping tabs on the weather,” the Rockies’ longtime groundskeeper said Wednesday. “We got our snow removal equipment out Wednesday morning, just to make sure it’s all working. To be on the ready.”
In early April in LoDo, that means being ready for anything.
Just ask the Rockies.
Colorado Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez (5) embraces the snow just outside of the dugout before the Colorado Rockies home opener against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field on April 6, 2018, in Denver. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
In 2017, when they beat the Dodgers at Coors as Denver native Kyle Freeland made his major league debut, the first-pitch temperature was 74 degrees.
The following year, the first-pitch temperature, coming after an hour-long snow delay, was 27, making it the coldest home opener in franchise history. By the end of the game, the temperature had dipped to 22. It was the second-coldest day ever for the Rockies at Coors, topped only by the 23-degree first pitch on April 23, 2013.
Somebody forgot to tell right-hander German Marquez to dress in layers for that 2018 home opener. The native of Venezuela bravely, and naively, took the mound in his short-sleeve jersey without a long-sleeve shirt underneath. He said he didn’t like the way the long sleeves felt.
Then, he promptly gave up four runs in the first inning in Colorado’s 8-3 loss to Atlanta. Marquez, who had trouble gripping the baseball, issued a career-high six walks and gave up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings. The seven runs allowed were the most by a starter in a Rockies home opener since 1996.
“A starting pitcher has to locate the fastball, and German will learn this,” Rockies manager Bud Black said after the game.
Marquez learned quickly. Ten days later, against the Pirates in gloomy Pittsburgh, he dressed for the occasion on a damp, 36-degree night with a 16 mph wind. He wore a long-sleeve shirt under his jersey and used pocket hand warmers. Trainers delivered heated towels to the dugout so he could wrap his hands.
Marquez pitched six innings, allowing two hits on two runs with six Ks and only two walks in Colorado’s 6-2 victory. Afterward, Marquez admitted he made a mistake by being unprepared and trying to be the tough guy at Coors Field.
“I was stubborn,” he conceded.
Colorado Rockies starting pitcher German Marquez (48) reacts to giving up an RBI triple to Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (7) in the 5th inning of the Colorado Rockies home opener at Coors Field on April 6, 2018. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Third baseman Ryan McMahon doesn’t try to brave the elements. Born and raised in Southern California, he’s no fan of weather that makes his hands sting when his bat meets the ball. But he’ll be prepared on Friday.
“The weather in Denver is definitely bipolar,” said McMahon, who had never played baseball in the snow until he came to Colorado. “You have to take it day by day. We have all the gear to keep us warm. ‘Tiny’ (home clubhouse manager Mike Pontarelli) and his guys treat us right.
“They’ll put mittens on the bench in the dugout and huge jackets on the bench. We’ll have heaters. They make it as good as they can.”
Given his druthers, McMahon will take flakes falling from a Colorado sky over the misery of a cold East Coast drizzle.
“I’d rather play in snow that have it be cold out and raining,” he said. “Because with the snow, you can kind of brush it off. It’s not so bad. But I’ll tell you what, we sure cherish those 75-degree days in April.”
So does Denver native and East High graduate Joey Lynch. But he’ll be at Coors on Friday, attending the LoDo party for the 21st time in the last 22 years.
“I’ll be there, for sure,” said Lynch, 43, a hard-core baseball team who lives in Park Hill.
Lynch’s regular opening-day routine includes a stroll around the ballpark.
“Our seats are in the right-field mezzanine, and it get’s really sunny there and gets really hot,” he said. “But in the cold games, we sat in our seats almost the entire time, trying to soak up the body heat around us.”
Lynch plans to layer up on Friday, but no puffy parka for him.
“I’m kind of like a kid in Halloween, and I don’t want to wear a coat over my nice Rockies jersey,” said Lynch, who currently sports a No. 14 jersey for Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar.
If Friday’s opener is played, Tovar and his teammates should have no trouble with field conditions. Razum and his crew are considered among the best in the business, and Coors is well-prepared for Mother Nature.
In March 2020, a six-month rebuild of the playing surface, including a new heating system, was completed.
“The old system — one that had been there for the past 25 years, ever since Coors was first built — was an electric-grid system,” Razum explained at the time. “Now we’ve upgraded it to a hydronic heating system, where you pass hot water through the tubing underneath. That’s what heats the soil and keeps the ground from freezing.”
But if it pours rain on Friday, or graupel coats the infield, or wet snowflakes fall, Razum and his 16-man crew will be prepared.
“Six of our guys are new, so they needed some extra work,” Razum said. “So this week we’ve had them practice rolling and unrolling the tarp. “But even for a veteran like me, it’s good to get familiar with it again. It’s kind of like our spring training.”
Denver’s weather at this time of year is more fickle than the Rockies’ bullpen — making it an interesting season for Chris Bianchi, a senior meteorologist at 9News.
Rockies owner Dick Monfort takes a break from shoveling snow with the grounds crew on the right field line before a double header against the New York Mets on April 16, 2013, at Coors Field in Denver. (Photo By John Leyba/The Denver Post)
“We can still get big snows in April, even though it’s not as often because of climate change,” Bianchi said.
Then Bianchi dug into his treasure trove of meteorological data.
“My absolute favorite Denver weather stat is this: April 27 is the day that two things happen,” he said. “It’s our average last day for measurable snow, and it’s our average first 80-degree day. They overlap. You can literally get any kind of weather this time of year.”
One thing that appears certain: Anyone planning on attending Friday afternoon’s home opener against the Athletics should come prepared for the worst.
On Wednesday, Bianchi said the city could get between three and five inches of snow between Friday night and Saturday.
“The forecast is looking dicier and dicier,” Bianchi said. “The game starts at 2:10, so I think the first hour will be OK. But once we start getting to about 3 or 5 p.m., we’re going to have a meteorological potpourri set in. We could even have a clap of thunder.
“Most likely, we’ll end up with a rain-snow mix toward the end of the game. If I’m a Rockies fan, I would root for a 1-0 game so they can just get through it. Then I’d power over to the Viewhouse and watch the snow fall.”
Mile-High Extremes
Springtime baseball in Denver is often a risky proposition. Here’s a look at both the coldest and warmest home openers in franchise history:
Coldest Rockies home openers
2018: 27 degrees
2004: 37 degrees
1995: 42 degrees
1998: 44 degrees
2014: 48 degrees
2003: 48 degrees
2006: 50 degrees
2009: 51 degrees
1994: 51 degrees
2002: 51 degrees
Warmest Rockies home openers
2024: 75 degrees
2017: 74 degrees
1993: 72 degrees
2021: 70 degrees
2013: 70 degrees
2019: 69 degrees
1996: 68 degrees
2005: 68 degrees
2022: 66 degrees
2007: 66 degrees
2012: 66 degrees
Based on the temperature at the ballpark at first pitch. The 2020 pandemic season is not included.
Sources: Colorado Rockies and Baseball Reference
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