Rocky Mountain High: The Physics of Baseball at Elevation

The Physics of Baseball is a very broad topic. In this talk, I will stick to a small sub-area, namely, the influence on baseball of the thin air in Denver, where the Colorado Rockies play. Playing at an elevation of one mile (1.6 km) above sea level definitely favors hitting over pitching. In 2002, the rockies took steps to mitigate this effect, by storing the baseballs in a climate-controlled humidor. I will examine the effect this has had on the game in Denver.