1. Humidors: Not Just for Cigars Anymore
by Jennifer Jordan
Whenever we hear the word "humidor" it's easy to think of cigars: wiping drool from our mouths, we find ourselves thinking of Camacho's or Habana's. It's only natural; most of us believe that humidors are for cigars. Major League Baseball, however, has something to say about this notion.
Since the Colorado Rockies began the procedure in 2002, storing baseballs inside a humidor has become an increasingly practiced fad. The Rockies began using a humidor in hopes of keeping the balls in their original state and preventing them from growing smaller, getting harder, and losing their friction.
Before the humidor idea came along, Colorado was a hitter's haven and a pitcher's nightmare. The thin air and high altitude left pitchers up the creek without a paddle: they couldn't get balls to break, to curve, or to do much of anything. Runs and hits were on a record pace: even the batboy had a chance of hitting a grand slam when playing in Colorado.
Because of this, many of the Rockies' power hitters were criticized - their numbers were, the critics argued, inflated- and many pitchers stayed away: they didn't want their careers to die in the thin Mile High air.
Thus, Colorado decided to solve the problem: they couldn’t do anything about the altitude, they couldn't fix the thin air, and they certainly didn't want to lose their baseball team, so a humidor was proposed as the answer. Now, others teams appear to be jumping on this stable bandwagon.
Starting in 2007, all 30 Major League teams began keeping their baseballs in storage areas that possessed constant temperatures. While not all of these storage areas are - by definition - humidors, its likely that most them eventually will be. However, with each humidor possessing initial costs of 15,000, these purchases might take some time.
Until it is deemed mandatory, the teams that are using humidors- such as the Rockies - must file paperwork each week with Major League Baseball to insure that the humidor isn't providing the home team with some sort of advantage. Since no advantage has yet been proved, it looks like humidors will soon be the future of Major League Baseball. But don't worry cigars, there's still enough room left for you.
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