Yes. 1) the pan absorbs heat; 2) the pan changes the hot air circulation in the oven chamber.
Hot air circulation in the oven chamber is critical to baking. The air heats the metal cake pan; the heat is transferred into the batter; the batter bakes from the metal in contact with the cake pan toward the center. Another pan in the oven changes the flow of hot air around the cake pan.
This is why some types of commercial ovens are convection. A dozen cakes will not bake evenly unless the air circulates around each pan. The commercial convection ovens are designed to circulate the hot air around and in between multiple pans/baking sheets.
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