Discover timely sports news adapted for students in K12 classrooms. We offer multiple reading levels, reading comprehension questions and endless fun.
This article explains how high altitude affects professional athletes, with a focus on baseball players. At higher altitudes, there's less oxygen available, causing athletes to breathe faster, experience quicker fatigue, and need longer recovery times. The body can adapt through a process called acclimatization. In baseball specifically, altitude affects both players and the ball - players tire more quickly while the baseball travels farther and breaking pitches don't curve as much. Coors Field in Denver is the highest Major League Baseball stadium at 5,200 feet above sea level, followed by Chase Field in Phoenix (1,100 feet) and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (500 feet). The "Coors Field Effect" results in balls traveling about 10% farther than at sea level because of reduced air resistance. Teams develop specific strategies to account for these altitude effects.
May 19, 2025
This article explains how humidity affects baseball players and other professional athletes. It defines humidity as the amount of water vapor in the air and explains how high humidity makes it harder for sweat to evaporate from the skin, reducing the body's ability to cool itself. The article details how this impacts baseball players' stamina, grip, and risk of dehydration. It also explains that humid conditions make baseballs heavier and create more air resistance, causing them to travel shorter distances when hit. The piece concludes by describing strategies players use to adapt to humid conditions, such as increased hydration, using drying agents, and changing uniforms during games.
April 28, 2025
