Blue Jays Turf: Home Field Advantage?

Credit: S Doyle

Fenway Park- Boston Red Sox

The dimensions of Fenway park clearly show a huge advantage for a left handed batter. The RF foul pole is only 302 ft away. As well, the famous Green Monster is only 310 ft. In fact, according to BaseballAlmanac.com, the Red Sox have been adjusting the distance to the walls for a very long time. In 1912, LF was 320 1/2 ft away and CF was 488 ft! They’ve brought it in over 100 ft. Throughout it’s history, RF has been 313 ft, 358 ft, 332 ft. Did this cause MLB to “monitor” situations?

Photo via BaseballAlmanac.com

But, the distance is not the only thing that stands out. If you look at the outfield wall, there are 7 (!) different distances. That creates a potentially confusing situation for visiting players. Let’s not forget about the Green Monster itself. It is a 37 foot wall! While RF is about waist high, LF is ridiculous. Now, many will talk about how it has become a hallmark of Fenway Park, a traditional symbol. That’s true. But, haven’t we seen many visiting players get beaten by a ball that hits the metal and doesn’t know where it will ricochet? What about the manual scoreboard? It is quaint and nostalgic, but if a ball hits just so, it could create some crazy bounces, resulting in the error rate mentione dpreviously.

Fenway Park is a part of American history. But, if we want to be picky, it creates several advantages for the home team. It also sits at a .295 BABIP according to Owen Watson’s list at Fangraphs. That’s 9th in baseball.

Next: Tropicana Field