San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants going higher than Coors Field

Fans of the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants often voice their displeasure about their respective teams having to travel from sea level to the altitude of Denver to take on the Colorado Rockies as part of the annual National League West schedule. However, a trip to Denver will perhaps not seem as imposing next season when the two franchises meet in a two-game series in Mexico City.

Mexico City will provide an altitude test for the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres in 2023

In the first-ever games scheduled to be played in the capital of Mexico, the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres will square off on April 29 and 30 at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, a stadium that holds more than 20,000 fans. The stadium will provide an interesting couple of days for the two teams as the games will be played at the highest altitude ever for an MLB contest as Mexico City’s elevation sits at 7,349 feet.

Yes, that is much higher than Coors Field in Denver, with the ring of purple seats in its upper deck signifying the elevation of 5,280 feet, or a mile high. Both the Giants and Padres through the years have had their troubles playing in Denver, with San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler recently blaming a poor outing by starting pitcher Alex Wood on the altitude’s effects on the movement of his pitches.

San Diego, meanwhile, is just 1-6 against the Rockies this year in Denver.

While the two teams playing in the heart of Mexico will be interesting to watch next April from a cultural standpoint, it will also be fascinating to see what effects playing at an even higher altitude than Denver will have on the baseball, both when it is thrown and when it is hit.