Ballparks that taint stats?

Question

What do you feel are ballparks that taint stats?

I would go with Fenway Park, due to the 40 foot wall. For Example, Mike Lowell bats .373 at home, yet bats only .276 away. Out of his 15 doubles at home, 14 of them came via the help of that wall. As well as the very short wall in right field, which helps a lot in getting ground rule doubles.

Some people say Coors Field taints stats too because of the humidifier, but I'm not big on science so I don't know the details on how it effects the ball.

What park/s do you think taints stats?

Answer 1

Every answer before me was great. I love the analysis. I only hope my thoughts can be equally as good. That being said I must say that I will simply concur with all above said statements and add the simple fact that baseball is one of those games where an umps call can affect the game's outcome. Hence what I call "residual fallout". This makes baseball what it is. Anything can happen and history is what it is. Each pallpark is designed so that we HAVE this coversations. That's is what makes baseball so unique from other sports like football or baskeball or hockey or soccer in the fact that where you play means something to certain types of hitters and certain types of pitchers. That is one thing that makes baseball what it is like it or not (I like it) but that being said your point is valid. "Impressions" affect MVP voting, Cy Young voting and many other awards. The history of the game is based on this and it is something worth debating but is also something that is worth keeping for it's difference to other sports. I mean c'mon should all sports be the same? My point is that we care so much for "home field" advantage... this game provides us w/ the best leverage for it. Your team can attract certain hitters to win... and also those hitters may come cheaply to you or more expensive given the fact they may hit well home or away. It adds another level to strategy and makes baseball the far and away best intellectual sport around today. It's a beautiful chess game in motion. The fielders play differently given the dirt and wind and dimensions, the pitching must be modified, and the hitter has to adjust from place to place. Anyone saying baseball is boring overlooks these things. You fail 7 out of 10 times and are considered a good player. Nothing is harder in sports because of this fact that there is variance in the ENTIRE game. No other sport comes close and people who love baseball know this.

Answer 2

Just part of the game you know? There are plenty of examples of how some ballparks particularly in the past either helped pitchers or the hitters. The Polo Grounds in New York used to be a ridiculous 483 feet to dead center and a very short distance down the lines of like 258 feet down the left field line and about 290 down the right field lines for example. Old Griffith Stadium in Washington used to be nearly impossible to hit home runs in. There has also been a lot of talk regarding Colorado and the thin air at Coors Field where balls fly out of there and players have better stats at home than away.

Answer 3

Actually Fenway is a two edged sword for right handers. Yes, there are fly balls that hit or go over the wall that are homers or doubles in Fenway and would be outs somewhere else. On the other hand, numerous screaming line drives off the wall if fielded cleanly by a left fielder familiar with the wall, can be gunned to second to hold the batter to a single or an out going into second.
Fenway can be tough on lefties. From the short right field foul pole (the Pesky pole), the wall quickly moves out to about 340 in straightaway right at the bullpens and the center field triangle is 420.
Yankee Stadium is known for the short porch in right field that has helped lefties like Johnny Damon turn fly balls into home runs.
On the other extreme is Petco Park in San Diego. On a night game in Spring or early summer, the fog rolls in and moderate home run balls in other parks either hit a power alley for a double or die in the heavy night air for an out. Every pitcher out of the bullpen looks like Cy Young.

Answer 4

Fenway because it's small and the monster.

Wrigley because the wind is a major factor. If it's blowing in then you could see a 2-1 game, even with the worst pitchers on the mound. If the wind is blowing out then you can see a 10-9 game with the best of pitchers pitching. And the wind direction changes from day-to-day so you can never count on it.

Coors because of the thin mountain air. The humidor was put in to actually counter the thin air making the ball travel further. Coors also has a deeper than normal centerfield.

The wind can also be tricky at AT&T (or whatever the park in San Francisco is called now), but it was a lot worse when they played at Candlestick Park.

Answer 5

Since every ballpark has its own unique characteristics, then every ballpark affects stats in one way or another, whether it favors pitchers or hitters, I wouldn't call that "tainting" stats.

For example, there are parks where larger dimensions on the field and off the field (foul territory) tend to favor the pitchers, those include Dodger Stadium, Petco Park, the Oakland Coliseum, the former Busch Stadium, the Astrodome. Pitching stats in those parks tend to be better than in others, while hitting stats tend to be lower (imagine how many homeruns would Steve Garvey had hit if he had played in a different park as home field).

Of course, the most notable of all are parks that favor hitters, and there are (and have been) a lot of them: Fenway Park, Camden Yards, Wrigley Field, Coors Field, the Rangers ballpark, Fulton County Stadium (Atlanta, dubbed the "launch pad"), the Metrodome, the Kingdome, Houston's actual ballpark whatever its name is, etc.

You've mentioned Fenway Park, which short left field dimensions favor righty hitters, but there's also the opposite, and not just because it's their longtime rivals: Yankee Stadium's short dimensions in right field have always favored lefty hitters, you just have to take a look at all those Yankee legends, almost all of them hit from the left side.

Answer 6

Actually all ballparks taint stats and are usually designed to have these quirks so that they are unique.

Dodger Stadium and San Diegos Petco Park both lower offense and ERA's. Fenway inflates doubles. Yankee stadium inflates homers for lefthanded hitters. Coors Park inflates Batting Averages and ERA's. The Metrodome inflates homers for right handed batters while hurting lefthanders (the trash bag).

Each ballpark affects stats in some way.

Answer 7

Well, not to beat a dead horse, but I think Fenway is the biggest culprit. I will admit, I'm a Yankee fan, so I'm bitching a little but not only the Green Monster produces more doubles, the Pesky Pole is almost as bad as the Yank's short porch in right field. I've seen balls hit by Manny and David Ortiz that would be foul balls in other stadiums and their crowd is so close to the field, it doesn't make fielding easy (remember the playoff game with Sheffield in right?).

The Oakland A's ballpark (which is really a football field) is definately a pitcher's park, the foul territory is SO LARGE.

Pro-Player stadium is also a pitcher's park: Cark Pavano only gave up 15 homers the season b4 he signed with the Yanks. He gave up almost 15 in his first 5 starts as a Yank. The Marlin's outfield is so huge, homers become outs.

Answer 8

I mean you play where u play and all that. However, Coors does with certain players look at somebody like Garrett Atkins whose numbers are amazing at Coors but aren't so good away. Then again look at Wes Helms this season for the Phils his numbers were pathetic at best the season before in Florida in a HUGE ballpark his power numbers where somehow better. I mean it's all relative, that's what's great about baseball all the fields have their own identity.

To answer your question....Coors, Citizens Bank Park, Minute Maid Park, Fenway.........Opposite...Petco, Turner, Dolphin Stadium, Safeco Field

Answer 9

Without a doubt the ballpark that taints stats the most is Great American Small Park in Cincinnati. not only for size but what ever Genius designed it failed to stand where the P 2B SS and CF will be on day games in june and july ecspecially the sunday 1235 and buisness man special games!!!!!! directly in their eyes the whole game and the shadow falls in such a wierd spot that it helps the hitter too. plus its on the river and the gap between 3rd and home is inline with sycamore st. left handed power hitters get alot of help from them gusts (Dunn Griffey etc.) my seats are in right field so many popups turn into souveniers its crazy

Answer 10

They are not able to inform those groups that they're now not allowed to play in there one hundred million greenback parks..... The Rockies cant do something approximately Coors Field being hitter pleasant, the dementions are already ridiculously deep. As a lot as I hate Clayton Richard Petco Park is reasonable.