Ball Park Stuff

[DOUGHBOYS]

The off season has been full of chatter about how easy it is to hit home runs in Yankee Stadium and how tough it is across town at Citi.



Yankee Stadium fulfills its hype. Averaging almost three home runs a game, it outdistances every park in baseball. Ameriquest Field in Texas comes in second at 2.65 per game. Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, third. Camden Yards was fourth and surprisingly, Miller Park in Milwaukee was fifth.



Hyped home run haven, Great American Ball park in Cincinnati was ninth, while Coors was not even in the top 10 of easiest ballparks to hit a home run.



As for Citi, there were four other parks in baseball that yielded less home runs. Atlanta, St Louis, San Francisco, and San Diego had less home runs in their parks.

Heavily hyped Petco Park in San Diego had more home runs hit there, than both St Louis and Atlanta's home.



The lowering of fences in center field may help some players psyches and is good press, but will do little for the figures.



It makes one wonder whether it is ballpark effect or player effect. Maybe Milwaukee being fifth on the list of easiest ball parks to hit a home run is more due to the lineup than park. With fence busters like Fielder and Braun and McGehee, they can hit it out of Yellowstone Park, let alone Miller Park.



Gary Sheffield, Fernando Tatis, and Dan Murphy all hit in the middle of the lineup last year. Even at Yankee Stadium, home runs for those three would be few and they should be nowhere near the middle of anybodys lineup.



Players would also explain the low figures for Atlanta's Turner Field, with dimishing power from Chipper Jones and a half-blind Brian McCann.



St Louis is interesting, they are blessed with the best hitter in baseball. Albert Pujols hit the longest home run at Busch last year, and along with Ludwick and a half year from Matt Holliday, they should have pushed figures up. But the rest of the lineup included 'skinny's' like Julio Lugo, Skip Schumaker, and Brendan Ryan.



Before deciding, strictly on ballpark factor, remember who hits in that ballpark as well. Last year the Mets had 49 home runs at home, their visitors averaged one a game with 81 home runs.



Individually, Mark Reynolds hit the longest home run in three different parks last year.



Pujols and Adam Dunn had the longest at two different parks.



The longest home run of the year was by fantasy God, Wladimir Balantien, he hit one 495 feet at Great American Ballpark.



The 'shortest' long home run was hit by Pujols at Jacobs Field traveling 443 feet.



The longest home run at Fenway was hit by JD Drew, which may say something about Ortiz' lack of power and may speak to lack of punch in Youkilis bat.

Drew's home run was the second shortest at 446 feet.



The longest home run in Wrigley Field last year?



The name Cub fans are trying to forget, Milton Bradley.



[ February 12, 2010, 11:23 AM: Message edited by: DOUGHBOYS ]

[rockitsauce]

speaking of Mark Reynolds...I recall watching a DBacks/Mets game last yr, and I'm pretty sure the announcer said that Reynolds had hit like the 3rd most HR's in Citi Field.



This might not seem very significant, but that includes Mets.

[DOUGHBOYS]

He did have the longest home run at Citi last year.



I remember watching that series. I think he had three or four home runs in that one series alone. More than most Mets had there all year.

[GOD Loves You]

Man, what a tease, I thought I was going to finally find out what "stuff" goes into those Hot Dogs!



Dan, a website needs to sign you up so you can get paid for your "stuff."