Two kinds of pitchers that are not likely to be successful in Coors are fly-ball pitchers and curveball specialists. In the cutthroat world of major league baseball, this can be enough of an edge to keep a team down. But the real tragedy of the Rockies is that I'm not sure that management or players are taking the distorting effects on statistics into account when they evaluate themselves. Yoshii, who was and is a promising young pitcher, has no doubt had his soul crushed by all those home runs, and is not going to get much of a chance in an overcrowded 2001 staff. You see, pitching is an especially delicate business.
Hitters typically have to go through a much shorter period of adjustment.
For a young Rockies pitcher, those years are spent watching easy fly balls loft over the fence and pop-ups fall into a cavernous outfield. This results in gaudy ERAs and ugly stat lines, even when you've got your best stuff popping. Inevitably, this leads to futile tinkering with mechanics, delivery, and whatnot. I can envision poor Yoshii's game being warped beyond recognition. If only the Rockies had the smarts to tell these kids not to panic.