Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks had an explanation for his late-game meltdown in a 10-7 loss to the Rockies Friday afternoon.
He blamed the humidor at Coors Field. Specifically, he blamed the baseballs coming out of the humidor, saying, “They were not uniform from ball to ball.”
“They were horrible,” Fairbanks said. “You can mark that down in all caps for me — horrible. No excuses, though. I didn’t throw strikes, and that’s what happens when you don’t throw strikes. You get punished for it.”
Saturday morning, Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt’s response was short and to the point.
“We are not in charge of the baseballs, that is overseen by Major League Baseball,” Schmidt said. “Plus, there are humidors in every major league park now.”
The Rockies installed a humidor room at Coors in 2002 to prevent the baseballs from drying out in Denver’s dry, mile-high environment. The Rockies were the first team to store baseballs in a humidor.
Fairbanks issued three walks in the ninth inning, setting up Ryan McMahon’s walk-off grand slam off Jason Adam, who replaced Fairbanks. It was an ugly outing for Fairbanks, who walked Jake Cave, Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones in succession. The right-hander threw 17 pitches, just five for strikes, without getting an out. Adam struck out Kris Bryant before giving up the grand slam to McMahon.
When asked if the baseballs were too wet or dry, Fairbanks said, “They were just overall bad. I’m not going to elaborate further than that. They were not uniform from ball to ball. Just dry, smooth, whatever you want to say.”
Fairbanks said he hoped for different results — and different baseballs — the next time he pitches at Coors.
“I’d love to see those (baseballs) come out of the humidor tomorrow in a little better shape before they get rubbed up,” he said. “But there’s nobody to blame but myself for not being able to adjust to some of the quality issues.”
Friday was not the first time a pitcher complained about the baseballs at Coors Field.
In 2010, Giants Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum essentially accused the Rockies of cheating, hinting that they used non-humidor baseballs when they came to the plate.
“(Expletive) juiced ball. This is (expletive),” Lincecum was caught on camera saying.
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After Giants general manager Brian Sabean complained, MLB ordered changes in how baseballs were monitored at Coors. Under the new procedure, umpires began carrying bags of balls out of the humidor and placing them in Colorado’s dugout where they remained in the umpires’ view.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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