With so many baseball parks banning smoking altogether but with cigar bars in three parks, it’s amusing to see the interest of baseball technical experts in “The Humidor” at Coors Field in Colorado.

Simply put, the thin air of Denver makes Coors Field a hitter’s paradise, but the Rockies have responded with a special storage program for all baseballs used in games. A special shed has been outfitted with computer-controlled temperature and humidification equipment to ensure that the balls don’t dry out in the Rocky Mountain air, keeping the scores down. “The Humidor” got some credit this past season for holding the runs-per-game average down to “only” 10.72 for the 81 games played at Coors.

The Rockies are careful to claim no advantage from this and submit weekly reports on the weight and measurements of the baseballs kept for game use to the Commissioner’s Office.

Now, Major League Baseball officials are looking at the possibility of installing “humidors” at other parks in order to create identical conditions across the game for all balls used in competition. No word, however, on whether team equipment managers will also be able to use ballpark humidors to store player cigars!