....And that it is more important to every other sport. Could this statement be more backwards? Baseball is the only professional sport that offers different dimensions of playing ground. I mean, I would think Pesky Poll would be a bitc# for an opposing team. The fans in that section are practically sitting on the field. It's probably the easiest place in all of baseball to rob a home run if you're the home team and the hardest in the game if your the away team. Think about every other park in baseball and all the little quirks that make it different. Would you agree that homefield advantage matters the most to baseball than all other sports......and that Michael Kay is an idiot?
2007-09-26 02:31:55 · 8 answers · asked by Personal Insult 3 in Sports ➔ Baseball
Add-on: Scuba Steve are you a relative of Michael Kay? My God! The only reason the Yankees have Ken, Al and John in that booth is so that they can correct him and make him sound less stupid. Please never throw basketball into the mix again. It is an indoor sport. One official favored calls, so don;t go there. And about Pesky, If you're a rightfielder from the visiting team, would you go charging into the corner for a ball with al those fans there? Didn't one of them punch Sheffield a few years back? You don't think if a guy who plays in his home park all year knows we he can stretch a single into a double when the ball is going into the corners better than the visiting team. Stop defending your brother!
2007-09-26 03:22:37 · update #1
I never listen to michael kay he annoys me. I totally agree I mean there is that field I forget whose it is that in center field there is a hill or the metro dome being a dome gives the twins such an adv when playing opponents I mean the ball being lost in the lights, the noise, Twins love it. Your totally right home field completely matters otherwise they wouldnt keep the winning percentage stats and away stats of teams and if Mike would have half a brain could see that more teams play better at home!!!! DUHHHHHH!!!!
2007-09-26 03:03:08 · answer #1 · answered by Yankeefan1986 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know who Kay is, but if he said homefield in baseball isn't as big a factor as in the lesser sports, he's right. It's been studied, and I cannot recall the details, but the HF in baseball buys about +10% (home winning percentage around .600) across all teams in history (so it's not just the best teams that benefit), which was less than in hockey or basketball or football.
Similarly, what are the best seasonal home records in each sport? Granted football has many fewer games, but there must be more than one that was perfect at home. The best in bkb was a mid-80s Celtics team that went 40-1 in Boston. Hockey, I have no idea. Baseball never has anything like that.
Let's look at two recent extreme-winning teams, the 2001 Mariners and 1998 Yankees (and I have no idea what I'm going to find).
2001 M's: 116-46. Home: 57-24 (.704). Road: 59-22 (.728). (Wow, didn't expect that!)
1998 Y's: 114-48. Home: 62-19 (.765). Road: 52-29 (.642).
Well. One played better on the road, and the other just crested the 3/4 success mark at home -- and these are two of the BEST teams (in terms of winning) in recent memory. No 80%-or-higher types as seen in other sports.
Anyway... homefield helps, but not as much as in other sports.
2007-09-26 03:21:00 · answer #2 · answered by Chipmaker Authentic 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Actually he said home field advantage in baseball isn't as advantageous as it is in other sports. He never said it didn't matter. And your example with the Pesky poll is flawed because if a fan reaches into the field to help a ball become a home run it's called fan interference and usually the batter is either called out or held to a double.
Also the actual field isn't an advantage for the home team because both teams have to defend the same dimensions.
Kay's argument does make some sense to me. I've played sports all my life, and it seems like in basketball the calls are swayed by the fans, same as in hockey; the fans don't really effect the outcome of the game, just the atmosphere. Football, I think, has the biggest home field advantage because of how loud the fans can get to disrupt the visiting teams communication. I think that's the point he was trying to make, at least that's how I interpretted his argument.
2007-09-26 02:53:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
Are you people serious?
The biggest advantage you have in sport is being the home team in baseball.
YOU GET TO BAT LAST.
The only sport that comes close is hockey, where the home teams gets to send players on the ice last on line changes.
I guarantee if you asked a manager or anyone that's ever played if they'd rather be the home team or the visitors, you'd get blank stares and "Next question." You'd lose credibility instantly.
Think about it this way, if this was the case (home field not meaning alot,) then the winner of the All-Star game would get the choice if they wanted to be the home team or not.
.
2007-09-26 08:20:30 · answer #4 · answered by Kris 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I used to love Michael now he is drives me crazy. Home field advantage would be great and we (NY Yankee players as my husband said I am not part of the we that its only them which I beg the differ. I AM TOO PART OF THE WE !!!!) could get last chance to bat BUT if we (NY Yankee players) get first place then we would have to face the Angels and we dont play them that well. Let the Sox and Angels battle it out and we will play the winner. GO YANKEES
2007-09-26 03:11:25 · answer #5 · answered by Mary 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i think you have a point
the most important thing about home field advantage is that the home team plays the bottom of the inning!
i still love Michael Kay both on the radio and on TV
Does one listen to the Micheal Kay radio show?
"Michal Kay is on the radio today"
2007-09-26 02:57:19 · answer #6 · answered by E G 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well the home bats last. Baseball is the only sport that turns are really taken in... Besides, in any sport I would rather be at my home field than somewhere else.
2016-05-19 00:06:44 · answer #7 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He's right, St. Louis didn't have it the the NLDS & NLCS last year and look what happened....same thing for the 2000 Mets, 2002 Angels & 2003 Marlins, and also the Red Sox in '04.
2007-09-26 10:12:06 · answer #8 · answered by samdugan 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋