What on earth is this park (I was today years old when I learned of its current name) doing with the hitter-friendly group? The dry, thin desert air in Phoenix doesn't hinder power hitters in their efforts to put the ball on the other side of the outfield walls, regardless of whether the roof is open. Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement As I do in my other analysis here, I took all batted balls and compared actual performance to projections based on the application of MLB average production to each exit speed/launch angle bucket. In addition, the winds that blow in off Lake Michigan, while unpredictable, tend to carry balls over the outstretched gloves of leaping outfielders more often than they hold balls up. To wit, this is arguably the least likely of the 7 parks that have posted an average or higher homer park factor in each of the last 10 seasons. I would venture to say that almost no one sees Dodger Stadium as a hitters park, and while this years overall park factor does mark a high over the past decade, there are some truly hitter-friendly aspects to the place. I ran a difference in proportions test to compare the rates from both years; parks highlighted in red experienced a significant change at the alpha = .01 level, and parks highlighted in yellow experienced a significant change at the alpha = .05 level. In most ballparks, those tough pitches you battle are foul balls souvenirs in the stands. So there we have a quick snapshot of how the ballparks have played this season. As mentioned, we dont know for sure which parks added the humidor. Both Truist and its predecessor, Turner Field, have been tough home run parks - neither has posted an average or higher homer park factor in the last decade. The traditional run and homer-suppressing park boosted both, with park factors of 1.048 and 1.083, respectively. Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. #28 - Busch Stadium III (Cardinals) - 91.7 Overall Park Factor, 93.3 Fly Ball (20th), 91 Home Run (24th). It should come as no surprise, then, that Oakland's ERA (3.19) and WHIP (1.17) at home in 2012 and 2013 were significantly lower than they were on the road (3.95 and 1.30, respectively)or that the Coliseum is playing as even more of a pitcher's park than usual this season. #2 - Coors Field (Rockies) - 119.7 Overall Park Factor, 153.2 Fly Ball (1st), 116 Home Run (3rd). How far off the mound, in feet, a pitcher releases the While Cincinnati may boast a losing record at home this season (1-4), don't look at Great American Ball Park as a reason why offense is down at baseball's premier destination for home-run hitters. #6 - Wrigley Field (Cubs) - 104.8 Overall Park Factor, 113.0 Fly Ball (4th), 103 Home Run (14th). All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. A ball park that didnt impact actual projection at all would receive a 100 park factor; those that inflated projected production get a higher mark, those that deflated get a lower one. Its challenging to reach the seats in eight of these nine parks Oracle Park being the exclusion after last years renovations. We can only guess which parks now have them, but it is important to keep in mind that the ball is not the only difference. In 2019, these events were the wall scrapers that barely went out of the yard. AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants) - Right-center field at AT&T Park is perhaps the deepest alley and hardest spot to hit a home run in Major League Baseball. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out He's finished in the top 10 accuracy scores among experts here, at Fantasy Pros, in three of four years competing with his colleagues including a first-place finish in 2012. American Family functioned as an extreme hitters park in the mid-2010s, but has settled in as one of those more homer-than-run-friendly parks of which we have now spoken multiple times. The hardest place in baseball to put a run on the board, Dodger Stadium is, without question, a pitcher's paradise. The table is sorted by raw percentage difference, but the statistical tests incorporate sample size, which is why certain rows may have smaller differences but are still significant at a more extreme alpha level: Whats interesting to note here is that 25 of the 28 parks listed experienced some level of decrease in home run rate, which aligns with the broader trend that I broke down about last month. But with incredibly inviting short porches down the lines and reasonable power alleyscoupled with the difficulty that center fielders have when it comes to fielding balls on Tal's HillMinute Maid Park has proved itself to be slightly more favorable to hitters than pitchers. window.". Globe Life Field (Rangers) First-year Recap, The same small sample caveat applies to Marlins Park and the forthcoming Oracle Park, but some data is better than none. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. Period . That doesn't mean that there's nothing to learn from the 2014 numbers, though, and we'll examine whether the offense that we've seen so far this year is likely to continueor regressas the regular season continues to unfold. The 87 homer park factor is also a new low, representing the 9th straight year below 100. Coors Field sits 5,200 feet above sea level, which by far the highest ballpark in all. Its entirely possible that, between 2019 and 21, a team added home run hitters to its lineup or acquired home run-adverse pitchers for its staff, or the opposite could also be true. The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati has traditionally been a hitters ballpark since it first opened in 2003. Base hit types also correlate pretty closely - particularly homers (0.69), doubles (0.56) and, yes, triples (0.64). Over the past two seasons, Citi Field has seen the seventh-fewest runs scored (1,239), the 12th-fewest home runs hit (304) and a slugging percentage (.372) that is the eighth-lowest in the game. Even with the Phillies having pushed the outfield fences back in 2007, Citizens Bank Ballpark still sees more home runs fly over the walls than most other parks, thanks to inviting porches down the line and power alleys that aren't all that deep. MLB. Well, the Orioles moved the left field fence way in before the 2022 season, and it clearly had the desired impact. Thats because of the extreme nature of the two at the top, but I digress. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez), Raphinha Tipped For FC Barcelona Axe After Monumental Tantrum At Getafe, Brazilian Defends Himself, Xavi Hernandez Blames Grass After FC Barcelona Bore Draw With Getafe Breaks Unwanted Records, FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta Attacks Real Madrid For Referee Favoritism In Sensational Speech, NFL Draft: The Green Bay Packers Could Add Insurance At Running Back. For fans of high-scoring games, there's no better place to watch baseball than Coors Field. Jump is a Statcast metric that shows which players have Moving forward, I consider this park as slightly pitcher-friendly. A late . Base hit types also correlate pretty closely - particularly homers (0.69), doubles (0.56) and, yes, triples (0.64). Fenway Park is what its always been, though Im not sure many fans really understand the nuances of its park factors. wow! Additionally, the parks with the most extreme factors for run-scoring and homers are also featured. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. Sorry if I missed it, but is the 2019 data just the first two months as well? #3 Fenway Park Fenway Park being towards the top of this list shouldn't stun anyone. You may opt-out by. THE BAT's park factors also account for physical properties of the parks (altitude, fence distance/height, foul ground, etc.) He's thoroughly experienced playing in season-long re-draft leagues, keeper formats and daily games. and 32 degrees. With the deepest center field of any park in baseballone that features a flagpole and hill that are in playyou'd think that Minute Maid Park in Houston would be more of a pitcher's park than a hitter's park. Dont want to ignore the categories with lower correlation coefficients; liner (0.13) and grounder (0.12) park factors didnt correlate well this time around. #27 - RingCentral Coliseum (Athletics) - 93.5 Overall Park Factor, 85.9 Fly Ball (25th), 92 Home Run (22nd). Published: Feb 16, 2021. . A major limiting factor this time around was an odd MLB-low 77.3 grounder park factor that really looks like a one-off aberration. As a result, these. 2022 marked the 10th straight season that PNC recorded a homer park factor below 100. How much of a hitters park is this place? Perhaps the most iconic ballpark left in baseball (with Fenway Park providing the only other competition), Wrigley Field doesn't have the inviting short porches that some of the other ballparks on this list do. Lots of weird stuff. Anything above 400 is going to be pitcher friendly. Yup. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. #10 - loanDepot Park (Marlins) - 101.2 Overall Park Factor, 99.3 Fly Ball (16th), 92 Home Run (21st). A symmetrical ballpark with reachable porches down the lines and not-too-imposing power alleys make Rogers Centre one of the more hitter-friendly venues in baseball, consistently landing it in the top 10 in home runs and doubles when compared to its counterparts around the game. Statcast park effects show the observed effect of each displayed stat based on the events in the selected park. While the park has now posted a higher than average fly ball park factor for three straight seasons. Park Factors. The weather has yet to warm up, and comparing cold-weather numbers against those compiled across an entire season does us no good. Whether the roof is open or not, wind plays less of a factor at Rogers Centre than it does elsewhere thanks to the high walls that encircle the playing field. These are St. Louis, Seattle, and Cincinnati. As lesser pitching staffs make their way into Cincinnati, those park factors will normalize thanks to the deep, powerful lineup that the home team boasts. Back in the mid-2010s, it functioned as more of a hitters park, but since then, no more, making Aaron Judges 2021 feats all that much more amazing. His fantasy advice for baseball and football has been found at many locations around the internet. On a year-to-year basis (2022 vs. 2021), my overall park factors had a 0.66 correlation coefficient. Surprised? #13 - Nationals Park (Nationals) - 99.3 Overall Park Factor, 100.5 Fly Ball (15th), 103 Home Run (13th). Devan Fink is a Contributor at FanGraphs. Take Coors Field, for example, which was home to the highest number of runs (1,830) and the highest slugging percentage (.472) while allowing the sixth-most home runs (377). (That is why I am comparing 2019 to 21.). From ourTrade Analyzer- which allows you to instantly find out if a trade offer benefits you or your opponent - to ourWaiver Wire Assistant- which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much - we've got you covered this fantasy baseball season. Actually, you can almost throw a net over the parks in the middle third of this list. The uptick in offense this season can be at least partially attributed to mediocre home performances from pitchers like Paul Maholm (10.1 IP, 9 ER, 16 H) and the nearly season-long absence of Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher on the planet. But, the home of the 2021 All-Star Game is a reputable offering with notable aesthetics. Though it has now posted higher than average homer park factors for five straight. Lance Lynn (9) Its best to use last years park factor data from above for Marlins Park and Oracle Park. So, these rankings are based on data from the 2012 and 2013 seasons. #3 - Fenway Park (Red Sox) - 109.7 Overall Park Factor, 127.6 Fly Ball (3rd), 90 Home Run (25th). Though it only posted a 92 triples park factor in 2022, it had been an above average triples park (usually well above) for the previous five seasons. And the bottom of the order rarely tried to hit a home run. Take a look at both and let us know which you think is the more effective ranking systemand whyin the comments below. While thats somewhat normal for liners, grounder park factors usually correlate much more closely. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle While Nationals Park grades out as slightly hitter-friendly when it comes to scoring runs, collecting hits and legging out two-baggers, it only ranks in the top 10 in one of those categoriesdoubles (564)and just makes the cut as a pitcher-friendly venue over the past two years. Also, as you might expect, singles park factors (0.24) didnt correlate as well as other types of base hits. Baltimore Orioles and the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, June 3, 2022, in Baltimore. Typically, the Brewers home park is going to finish in the top half of this list. These are the parks to chase them. #9 - Guaranteed Rate Field (White Sox) - 101.3 Overall Park Factor, 95.9 Fly Ball (17th), 103 Home Run (15th). Globe Life Field played nothing like its extremely hitter-friendly predecessor, Globe Life Stadium. A range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a That said, we'll still look at the 2014 numbers in order to see how parks are currently playing and also to determine if we should expect more of the same as the season rolls along. MLB reportedly added humidors to five stadiums for the 2021 season, bringing the total league-wide to 10. The difference is that instead of weighting each statistic as they do, we simply assign a numerical value (equal to its ranking in the category) to each ballpark for each statistic and then add them up. Over the past decade, its also been the 2nd most hitter-friendly line drive and 4th most hitter-friendly ground ball park in MLB. 390 to Center (Tennessee) is going to be VERY hitter friendly. While offense at Chase Field has been down so far in 2014, that will pick up as the season progresses, once again putting the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks near the top of the list when it comes to hitter-friendly venues in baseball. one base to another, like Home To First. This season, it's not even closeNationals Park has been one of the more extreme pitcher-friendly parks in baseball. Lets tackle the more pitcher-friendly half of the 30 MLB parks today, and move on to the hitter-friendly ones tomorrow. Part of that can be attributed to a mediocre defensive outfield and below-average pitching staff in Minnesota, but the Twins lineup has been more productive at Target Field (.261 BA, 443 XBH) than on the road (.241 BA, 439 XBH), lending more credence to the idea that Target Field is a hitter-friendly venue. Arkansas Razorbacks. thrown with. The ballpark consistently allows around 200 home runs a season, this season . #11 - Globe Life Field (Rangers) - 99.8 Overall Park Factor, 103.2 Fly Ball (12th), 108 Home Run (8th). Nolan Ryan would legit have 7500 strikeouts, 12 no hitters and AT LEAST one 25 strikeout game if he pitched today and were allowed to stay in as long as he did. This is a fascinating thing but I do think you would need to take into account the getting better pitchers / getting worse hitters aspect of this in a more direct way. On the other hand, it has posted homer park factors below 100 in 8 of the last 10 seasons. Even pitchers duals arent exciting anymore because they usually are the result of bad hitting and not great pitching. The Rangers opened a new ballpark in 2020, and two parks, Marlins Park and Oracle Park, featured notable renovations. play. Only one other American League park, Angel Stadium, has seen more balls clear the fences this year (16) than the 15 that have reached the seats on Chicago's South Side, while four balls have rolled around the outfield long enough for batters to reach third base. Practice fast mock drafts with our fantasy baseball software, Subscribe:Apple Podcasts|Spotify|Google Podcasts|Stitcher|SoundCloud|iHeartRadio. Not counting openers and ranked by WAR, the White Sox rotation in 2019 (starts): Lucas Giolito (29) With its inviting short porches down the lines and a power alley in left field that makes right-handed sluggers drool (both of Nelson Cruz's home runs in 2014 have come at home),no other ballpark in baseball saw more balls fly over the outfield walls from 2012 to 2013 than Camden Yards, which holds a commanding 40-home-run lead over Toronto's Rogers Centre (458-418). Among baseball's 30 venues, PNC boasts the game's lowest slugging percentage (.355), second-lowest run total (1,150) and third-lowest number of home runs (231). Year-round warm temperatures, relatively low humidity, short fences and a lack of foul territory have all contributed to make Globe Life Park in Arlington one of baseball's most notoriously hitter-friendly parks since it opened in 1994, when it was known as Ameriquest Field. (A 10-mph wind is close to the average prevailing wind in the United States.) 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