Improbable Dimensions...

[RoastedPeanut]

I have an odd question that came at random.. How many ballparks, other than the Polo Grounds, had improbable or impossible power alleys or any other field dimensions that were never brought in or altered..?

[80SHOCK]

I have an odd question that came at random.. How many ballparks, other than the Polo Grounds, had improbable or impossible power alleys or any other field dimensions that were never brought in or altered..?

:lookitup:lookitup:lookitup

[DaBigMotor]

I believe Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium had preposterous dimensions in straight away center. I'd heard it was something like 480-520. Ridiculous.

[StrawberryField]

I have an odd question that came at random.. How many ballparks, other than the Polo Grounds, had improbable or impossible power alleys or any other field dimensions that were never brought in or altered..?

Go to andrewclem.com

he has dimensions for all parks new and old.

If you look at the deadball parks it starts to make sense why guys weren't hittin' homeruns, and if you look at earlier pictures these ballparks had no fences!

Baseball was meant to be played without a fence, but to make sure people paid admission they started to enclose the ball grounds with a fence, and the first one to take advantage of playing in a fenced in field was none other than Babe Ruth.

[Calif_Eagle]

Go to andrewclem.com

he has dimensions for all parks new and old.

If you look at the deadball parks it starts to make sense why guys weren't hittin' homeruns, and if you look at earlier pictures these ballparks had no fences!

Baseball was meant to be played without a fence, but to make sure people paid admission they started to enclose the ball grounds with a fence, and the first one to take advantage of playing in a fenced in field was none other than Babe Ruth.

I would have to think the first player(s) to take advantage of playing in a fenced in park were Ned Williamson and his teammates at Lakeside Park in Chicago. Williamson hit 27 home runs in the 1884 season. 25 of these came at home. He set an MLB record that lasted until Ruth hit 29 in 1919. 3 of his teammates hit 20 or more. The team had a staggering for the era 142 HR that season.

Lakeside or Lakefront Park had amazingly short dimensions. The right field fence was LESS than 200 feet from home plate. This is so short that balls hit over the fence were doubles until the ground rules were changed for the 1884 season. Williamson's record 27 was a career high, in no other year of his career did he exceed 9 HR. Chicago typically hit between a dozen and 2 dozen HR in a season before the explosion to 142, which left Buffalo a distant 2nd with 39 team HR.

After the 1884 season, the city of Chicago reclaimed the park land that Lake Front Park was built on, and the White Stockings (today's Cubs) went on the road for 2 months at the start of 1885 while awaiting the completion of their new field, West Side Park.

[efin98]

Can't think of anyone whose dimensions were worse for hitters than the original dimensions of Braves Field:
402 to right
402 to left
440 to center
520 to the flag pole(in play)
550 to the deepest corner

[ipitch]

John Kruk's waistline.

Oops, sorry, I thought this thread was about something else.

[ipitch]

.............

[Pikachu732001]

John Kruk's waistline.

Oops, sorry, I thought this thread was about something else.

:laugh:laugh Yeah, right!

[bandaide300]

How about the Huntington Avenue Grounds(1903 World Series - Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Boston Pilgrims) center field was 635 feet away!

[SJLT252]

I have a feeling that if Yankee Stadiums demensions to LCF and CF were still 457 and 461, they would have a lot more steroid aided home-runs then before the steroids came into play.

[216rules]

Is that 635 a major league record for distance to a wall from home plate? I had come across that a few years ago on another site. Just imagine the number of inside-the-park home runs that could have been or were hit in any of these parks, if it was an official statistic. The Polo Grounds was 483 to center as late as 1963, I believe.