Table
of Contents
1970
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
The Ballparks of ATB
As usual, owners have their choice of ballpark in ATB
VII. This season, I thought it would be
great to take a deeper look at these palaces, both old (1901 West Side Grounds
of Chicago) and new (2004 Dodger Stadium in
It is a true 'pick your poison' situation in ATB VII this year. The East stadiums house some of the most prolific homer run hitting parks of all time, but yield little else for the batter. The West Stadiums are virtually impenetrable to the long bull, but are paradises for gap hitters who thrive on doubles. Unfortunately, for those that love the triple - ATB VII is not for you.
West Division
For the most part, the parks of the West Division should
generally be considered pitcher friendly.
From the huge left and right field lines of the Bee Hive, to the
enormous center field of
Avg 1B Rate: 102 LH, 104 RH
Avg 2B Rate: 111 LH, 102 RH
Avg 3B Rate: 89 LH, 80 RH
Avg HR Rate: 80 LH, 81 RH
The discussion of the West Division Parks must begin with one of the most extreme parks of all time – 1939 Bee Hive. Originally (and later) called Braves Field, the Bee Hive was built in 1915 for the purpose of increasing inside the park home runs - seriously. By 1939, after many changes, the fences down the lines stood an astounding 368 feet away in left, and 378 feet in right.
In right, the distances increased steadily from there until they peaked 410 feet away in right center. In left center, the field was actually shorter there than down the left field line, but still far enough away to limit the home run potential. Center field itself was an average distance away from the plate – 407 ft.
Also making it difficult are the prevailing winds – generally very strong, they tend to blow either from right to left, or from left to right, and almost never from home plate to the outfield.
The fences were 8ft in left and 10ft in right.
Who to Watch For:
Vida Blue: plagued by his 19 HR given up in real life, Blue may thrive in this large park.
A gap hitter’s heaven, Forbes field in
Both the right and left field lines had high fences (27ft and 25ft respectively), and the rest of the park varied from 9ft walls (right) to 12 ft walls (left).
Later,
Who to Watch For:
2001
Team Chutney (Brad Peterson)
One of the newest parks in baseball,
Both the right and left field lines are a typical distances away – 325ft and 320 ft respectively, but the left field line quickly extends deeper before leveling off to a long 410ft on the left field gap. Center is shorter than normal at 399ft.
The outfield fences make a difference: only 6ft in left, and climbs as high as 21ft in right.
Who to Watch For:
Nolan Ryan: With the reduced HR rates all around, watch Ryan challenge for 20 wins.
A power hitter’s haven, Cinergy field is one of the smallest
‘on-the-field’ parks in ATB. Originally
the cookie-cutter Riverfront Stadium, the park was renovated 1997. The outfield was brought in closer all the
way round – 5 feet in each corner and alley, and 10 feet to center. The result was a homer happy, non
cookie-cutter stadium that was to be torn down a few years later for the
Aside from the Bee Hive, Cinergy Field is the harshest field in ATB for the threat of triples. Doubles are increased significantly, especially for left handed hitters.
Who to Watch For:
Mark McGwire: 70 HR’s not enough for you? Try it in a park that increases right-handed home runs by 30%!!
1906
The only stadium I am aware of that is no shorter than 400 ft to any part of the outfield wall; the builders also thought it a good idea to place a 20ft high fence around the entire outfield! Not surprisingly homer runs are suppressed, but a little surprisingly everything else plays fairly equal.
Who to Watch For:
Robb Nen: already mostly automatic, Nen’s only issue was the long ball. Remove 28% of them and let’s see how good he can be.
An all-around hitter’s park, especially for lefties, Sportsman’s Park was one of the many early 1900’s built stadiums we have in ATB today. Right field is considerably smaller than left field: 310ft down the line (vs. 351ft.), 328ft in right (vs. 357ft in left), and 376ft in the right field gap (vs. 393ft in left). Center field is 420ft away with an 11 foot fence.
However, most of the coziness for left-handed hitters is negated by an enormous 33 foot fence that extends from the right field line up until the right field gap.
Who to Watch For:
George’s Sisler and Brett: two all around great hitters should thrive in this lefty friendly park.
Also knows as "Jack Murphy Field" and the "Q.", Qualcomm stadium is another 1960's cookie cutter type ballpark. This one, as most we have seen in the west, also plays a true pitchers park as home runs 23% for lefties and 16% for righties. However, unlike all other parks in West except the aforementioned Bee Hive, doubles are also suppressed significantly (19% lefties, 14% righties). We should clearly expect so see slugging averages down across the board. One interesting fact that makes little sense to me is that triples are increased a great deal for right handed hitters.
Both lines stand 327 ft away and there are typical dimensions elsewhere: 356 ft to Right and Left, 389 Ft to the gaps, 405 ft to center. Most of the field has an 8 ft fence with the exception of right field and the right field line where it climbs to 18 ft.
2002
Algul Siento Breakers
(Mike Smitko)
So much has been said about
Who to Watch For:
Albert Belle: A right handed power hitter in Fenway who uses the Green Monster, Belle will enjoy the increased doubles and about average home runs.
East Division
Chicks dig the long ball. Unlike the West, pitchers may fear waking up in the morning in the East. Home Runs are a dime a dozen and will be seen with much regularity this summer. However, all other forms of hits are either close to neutral or suppressed, meaning pitchers who keep the ball in the park may be in for excellent seasons.
Avg 1B Rate: 97 LH, 97 RH
Avg 2B Rate: 94 LH, 91 RH
Avg 3B Rate: 79 LH, 77 RH
Avg HR Rate: 117 LH, 122 RH
One of the most beloved stadiums in the history of sports, Ebbets field represents all that is right with baseball. Home of the places where the color barrier was broken, one of the most influential minds in baseball history Branch Rickey, and the first televised game, Ebbets field was truly mourned when demolished as the Brooklyn Dodgers moved west to become the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In ATB its main impact is the extremely short right field and right field line – only 319ft to right and 297ft down the line, home runs are increased by 25% for lefties. Imagine what the rate would be without the 38ft fence in the area.
Elsewhere, the dimensions are more typical: a short 397ft to center, 365ft in the left field gap and somewhat deep 348ft down the left field line.
Who to Watch For:
Frank Baker: played in a pitchers park in 1912, and led the league in HR’s three times in his era, should benefit from the short RF. 25+ homers not out of the question.
1970
Originally opened in 1932, the stadium only saw action a few
times a week until 1947 – 15 years later!
This is because the
On the field in ATB, the stadium is a hitter’s park. All offense is inflated, but homers are significantly increased. This is due to the relatively short gaps (350 ft in both left and right) and the very short lines (315 ft).
Who to Watch For:
Barry Bonds: While Ruth gets to play in Ebbets field, a legitimate home run park, Bonds gets to play in a true hitters delight. 60 HR, 145 RBI is almost probable, 70 HR and 160 RBI not out of the question.
Like Fenway, Yankee stadium is a classic that we already have so much information on. What you need to know is that this is the post-renovated stadium and aside from left handed hitter home runs (increased by 12%) and it’s suppression of triples all-around, it played very average in 1980
Who to Watch For:
Larry Walker: how much of the Coors benefit is off-set by the Yankee stadium benefit? Probably not enough.
1901
Yes, 560 ft to straight away center and 460 ft plus in each gap makes for an expansive outfield to say the least. It is hard to believe home runs were suppressed ‘only’ 40%, but one must remember that it was the early 1900’s and most home runs were of the inside the park variety and the lines were not that deep: 340 ft to left, 316 ft to right.
They key to this park is to have speedy outfielders: 423 ft to left, 470 ft to the left field gap, 560 ft to center, 462 ft to the right field gap, and 418 ft to right is a lot of ground to cover.
Who to Watch For:
Mark Prior: With the long ball almost out of the equation, Prior may be able to dominate - which he hasn’t been able to do in past ATB seasons.
1976
Famous for the expansive foul territory in play, the Oakland Coliseum suppresses all offense except home runs. It is a cookie cutter stadium built in the mid 1960’s and has generally played the same ever since: reduce singles, doubles, and triples, and help out with the long ball.
All dimensions are on the slightly deeper side, until you get to center field were it is a relatively short 400ft. The ball generally tends to carry to right field when wind is present.
Who to Watch For:
Joe Wood: Since he only yielded 2 home runs in over 340 real-life innings, the increased home runs may not impact him. Add to that the suppression of all other offense and he may be a Cy Young candidate.
1921 Polo Grounds
Four versions of the Polo Grounds were built - the first
lasted 5 years between 1883 and 1885 and was ultimately confiscated by
The Polo Grounds we all know and love is ATB VII's version. The stadium was built for the New York Giants but was also home of the New York Yankees (1913-1922) and the New York Mets (1962-1963) for a short while. The stadium itself was oddly shaped - after each foul pole the fences went almost straight out, to a monstrous 450 ft or so. In center, there was a little nook that extended the field an additional 30 ft. This 1921 version was a home run stadium (249 ft down the right field line, 298 down the left field line), but suppressed all other offense. The fences were 10-12 feet of all around, plus a 20 ft tarp to dead center.
Who to Watch For:
Mike Schmidt: hit 31 home runs in only 350 AB in the Vet, the short lines here may turn that total to 50 over the course of a full season.
Everybody knows Dodger Stadium as a pitchers park, but not everybody knows it’s true except for homeruns. In fact, home run rates are historically increased at Dodger Stadium. Foul territory is very large, second to only Oakland Coliseum in baseball today, and accounts for much of the home run suppression.
Not a true symmetrical circle like the outfield of
Who to Watch For:
Joel Pineiro: late round dark horse bullpen candidate, may not be hindered by increased home run rates and his 6.0 H/9 rate may improve
Mendham Maulers (Andy
Matsil)
Home of the original Seattle Pilots, Sicks Stadium was not one of the finer parks to house a baseball team. The outfield walls were made of concrete 3 feet up from the field, and then wire for at least 5 ft on top of the concrete. Needless to say this resulted in more injuries than normal (not reflected in DMB).
As with many other East Division parks, Sicks Stadium increased home run rates while suppressing most other areas of offense. Here, right handed power hitters have the advantage as home runs are increased by 35%. This is quite interesting as it is right field, not left, with the short porch (320 ft down the line, 329 ft in right).
Who to Watch For
Ken Griffey Jr.: Played in a real-life pitcher’s park that only inflated home runs by 10%, Griffey has a shot at the league lead here.
