What parameters are used by MLB in determining the distance from home plate to the wall. Why not a standard?

Answer 1

old days
real old days 1900

Original Yankess Stadium Red Sox park

they were in city center and luck to have any space to make a baseball diamond and the dimensions were dictated by space.


fastforward to the 1970s
Cincy, KC. Phill old park
the cut outs all were the same

Now they want the old look with the unususal lines.

history that is the reason.

Answer 2

From several books I have read about Baseball over the years. The size or distance of the field was normally determined by the size of the lot that was available in whatever city they were built in. That made for some quirky dimentions over the years, most noticed today in Boston's Fenway Park. The Polo Grounds in NY, was also a weird layout, with a massively deep center field, and very short foul lines. But I like the quirky old fields, and am very glad the modern ballparks are getting away from the cookie cutter style ballparks that were built in the 1960's and 1970's. They basically were the same ballpark, with no flare. Houston's ballpark with the odd hill and flagpole in center field is a good example of unique dimensions, and field design. It directly reflects on Baseball's history, when fields were different in every city, because the original lots were all different.

Answer 3

If you mean the outfield walls, MLB rules require that it be at least 325' to the foul poles and 400' to center field, though any pre-1958 parks that had shorter fences were allowed to keep them (that only applies to Fenway nowadays). Beyond that, it's left up to the individual teams.

There's no standard essentially because there's never been a standard. In the early days, parks were built to fit the space available and thus it was difficult to achieve uniformity and nobody even suggested it. By the time it did become feasible the notion of unique outfield dimensions from place to place was so ingrained that it would have been near impossible to change it.

Answer 4

From the midpoint of the pitcher's plate's front edge to the apex of home plate is 60 ft 6 inches.

Answer 5

If they tried to impose a standard now, people would complain about taking away home-field advantage and the cahrm of some of the stadiums.