These are the 5 weirdest weather games in Rockies history

May 20, 2022, 12:45 PM

Denver Sports Analyst

Name a type of weather, and there’s a good chance we get it here in Colorado.

Since 1993 the Colorado Rockies have played big-league ball in Denver, and they’ve had to weather some of the coldest, hottest, wettest and driest conditions in MLB history. Coincidentally a few of these whacky weather games have occurred against the New York Mets, who are in town this weekend as Denver preps for a rare late May snowstorm—already postponing Game 1 of the series.

The Rockies have played about 2,150 games at Coors Field; here are the five strangest weather-wise in the ballpark’s history:

1. April 15, 2013, heavy snow

I grew up in Boulder, and we started baseball season in February. I’ve played competitive ball with snow falling on the ground and two winter hats under my ball cap. I did this one time my senior year in 2013. There were several inches of snow on the ground and the Mets in town down the road in Denver. One game was canceled due to the cold and snow. But a doubleheader happened the following day after the field was cleared of snow. Nearly everyone in the Rockies organization, including owner Dick Monfort and mascot Dinger, took to the shovels.

Here’s the game story from the Associated Press from those days:

“The snow was over the tops of our shoes, up towards your ankle,” left-hander Aaron Laffey said. “It was like being a kid again, just out there trying to play catch. But it was kind of goofy, having snow like that on a major league baseball field. You just don’t expect that to happen.”

After the impromptu workout, New York bullpen coach Ricky Bones walked up the runway between the dugout and clubhouse with his catcher’s mitt filled with snow. He playfully banged it against the wall, knocking a mound of snow to the floor.

“As a player, I played in some snow in Milwaukee, but never this much,” he said. “But it was amazing how cold it got out there.

Laffey said it reminded him of being back home in Maryland.

“In my high school days, we’d have snow typically for our first couple of games of the high school baseball season, but never that much snow,” he said. “I’ve definitely played in some snowy ballgames. It reminded me of back home the day we left for spring training. We got like 8 inches of snow right before we headed to Florida.”

A few days later, on the 18th, Colorado and New York played in 28-degree temperatures, the third coldest game in Rockies history and one of the coldest in MLB history.

2. April 23, 2013, coldest game in MLB history

Five days later, the Rockies played in their coldest and fifth coldest games in club history. In a doubleheader against Atlanta, first pitch temperatures were 23 and 30 degrees. Game 1, was the coldest match in MLB history. The Braves won both games.

Here’s USA Today’s report of the game

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, wearing head-to-toe thermal gear, was jumping up and down and screaming in the clubhouse. Finally, an hour before game time, he pronounced himself warm.

“It’s miserable, to be honest with you,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss says. “It’s not easy. The conditions aren’t ideal. You have to control your mind.” …

“The best job today,” Braves first base coach Terry Pendleton said, “is to be the assistant hitting coach. That way, you can stay inside and just watch the video.”

3. June 25, 2012, warmest game in Colorado

The hottest game in MLB history was played with a temperature just under 100 degrees, as a few games make claims for the warmest. The hottest Coors Field ever got was in June of 2012, when Washington was in town.

I was there as Colorado topped Stephen Strasburg in his first Denver start. Todd Helton had a game-winning sacrifice fly.

4. May 8, 2017, hail delay

Usually, white stuff on the ground in May is the one-off hail storm, not snow like we’re seeing in 2022. Five years ago, the Cubs came to town, and fans were ready to see the reigning World Series champs come hail or high water.

So then pic.twitter.com/p0dQFmtLeL

— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) May 8, 2017

The game was postponed, made up a day later as part of a doubleheader.

5. June 14, 2009, tornado

Funnel cloud downtown, sirens, watches and warnings. The Rockies’ day game against Seattle came to a quick halt as fear of a tornado swelled. Luckily there was no tornado, but this Rockies win took a bit longer than played due to a delay for safety.

Bonus

Colorado’s strange weather doesn’t end there. Coors Field is the fourth most lightning-prone stadium in MLB, according to a study. It found that 175,151 strikes took place during 715 games that were looked at. Of those strikes, 2,732 were within one mile of a stadium.

Colorado and the west’s wildfires have gotten worse in recent years, which has led to smoke hazing over Coors Field. In the summer of 2021, nearly every day in Denver had poor air quality. The Rockies have had several games, including the 2021 MLB All-Star Game, impacted by wildfire smoke.