Question about Park Effects

[RockTheIvy]

Just a thought I had.

 

Has their ever been a case (outside of Coors) where a large ballpark, like say Florida, has been a friendly hitter's park? The only reason I ask is because larger ballparks have more ground for their outfielder's to cover. If they have a weak defensive outfield, wouldn't that allow for more hits to be given up there? So while long shots might stay in the park, short flies or gap shots might drop? Just something I was curious about.

[BigbadB]

Just a thought I had.

 

Has their ever been a case (outside of Coors) where a large ballpark, like say Florida, has been a friendly hitter's park? The only reason I ask is because larger ballparks have more ground for their outfielder's to cover. If they have a weak defensive outfield, wouldn't that allow for more hits to be given up there? So while long shots might stay in the park, short flies or gap shots might drop? Just something I was curious about.

 

Not sure about Florida, but I recall the Mets having a really horrible defensive outfield back in like 2002. You could probably study that. Maybe compare that team to the Mets team of 2005 that had both Cameron and Beltran in the outfield. Of course, pitching has a lot to do with the hit factor as well, so I don't know how you really perform a study that would have any accuracy. A weak infield defense probably factors in as well.

[Guest]

Just a thought I had.

 

Has their ever been a case (outside of Coors) where a large ballpark, like say Florida, has been a friendly hitter's park? The only reason I ask is because larger ballparks have more ground for their outfielder's to cover. If they have a weak defensive outfield, wouldn't that allow for more hits to be given up there? So while long shots might stay in the park, short flies or gap shots might drop? Just something I was curious about.

There are different ways to measure the impact different ballparks have on offense. Standard park effect numbers compare overall run production, so they look at the runs scored and allowed by a team both home and away. There are also park effects that study how the park influences HR totals and even K and BB rates. In your hypothetical situation, I'd guess that a large park would have a high number for a BA park effect but would score poorly when comparing its SLG to the rest of the league.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I don't have any numbers, but Busch in the 80's was pretty cavernous. The Cards tried to put a lot of speed on the field (McGee, Coleman, etc.)

[stitchface]

The real problem at coors is that the outfielders have to play very deep because of the extra flight on the ball.