So, it's easy to see how a good tailwind can beat high altitude for home-run hitting any day. Hope that these numbers can be the jumping off point for a more robust analysis by someone else! As mentioned on the opening slide, we've got a second set of rankings to take a look at. #23 - Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Orioles) - 95.3 Overall Park Factor, 86.0 Fly Ball (24th), 83 Home Run (27th). Here, in Oakland, they're outs. Devan Fink is a Contributor at FanGraphs. With the team's offense in the toilet, the St. Louis Cardinals are looking to make Busch Stadium more hitter-friendly . How far, in feet, a runner is ranging off the bag at the Only Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium saw harder-hit fly balls on average than did Rogers last season, but those flies turned into much less production north of the border. It typically would rate as a bit more hitter-friendly, but 2022 was the first time since 2015 that PNC posted a sub-100 doubles park factor (at 99). It would be a great development for the Phillies if things click for Moniak in his second taste of the bigs but the Phillies surely have their eyes on players around the league capable of playing center field, even this early . 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. . Wrigley has a reputation as a hitters park, but that is not entirely true. But there are no cumulative totals for ballparks across all six categories, which struck me as odd. Its recorded fly ball park factors in the 70s in five of those seasons, and never posted a homer park factor over 89 over that span. *All non-ESPN Park Factor statistics courtesy ofBaseball-Reference,unless otherwise noted. 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. 2022 marked the 10th straight season that PNC recorded a homer park factor below 100. This is perhaps the king of the Homer But Not Necessarily Run-Friendly parks. Actually, you can almost throw a net over the parks in the middle third of this list. I feel this way about Dodger Stadium, too (and the data! #9 - Guaranteed Rate Field (White Sox) - 101.3 Overall Park Factor, 95.9 Fly Ball (17th), 103 Home Run (15th). It's 347 feet down the left field line, 350 down the right field line and 415 to center field from home plate, though the deepest part of the park is in right-center at 424 feet. Rather than use ESPN's Park Factors, these rankings are based on raw data across three statistical categoriesruns scored, home runs and slugging percentagethe same three fields used by the folks over attheSporting News' Fantasy Focus when compiling their Ballpark Power Index. So, fasten your shoulder harnesses, keep both hands on the bar in front you at all times, and enjoy the ride. 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. GhostOfDrTobaggan. Its singles park factor has been average or higher in 8 of the last 10 seasons. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Next Up - FantasyPros Baseball Podcast: Leading Off, Monday, April 17 (2023), 0 K. Are you looking to contact Customer Support about a subscription or account related question? #5 - Oracle Park (Giants) - 107.0 Overall Park Factor, 106.2 Fly Ball (10th), 82 Home Run (28th). Additionally, the interaction between outfield space and outfield wall height may also play a role, as could climate and, more specifically, weather so far this season. Pitcher-Friendly Ballparks 1. And there are some. Before that, however, is the 2021 MLB Home Run Derby, which takes place Monday, June 12. If there is one ballpark that shocks me by its presence in the top 15, it's Target Field. Despite this fact, its just as likely as not to post a below average fly ball park factor, largely because its a tough park in which to hit a double. 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. produces a result. While most think of parks impacting home runs, parks actually impact everything that happens on the field. Still, its 91 homer park factor matched its high mark over the last decade, and its 93.3 fly ball park factor is the highest over that span. The chart is sortable, so you are able to examine any changes in fly ball quality within this broader 95109 mph exit velocity, less-than-30 degree launch angle group as you wish. 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. The small sample enhances the value of keeping tabs on how the ballpark plays during the 2021 season before treating the park factors as gospel. 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). Typically one of the more difficult places for a player to pick up an extra-base hitevidenced by a .388 slugging percentage that ranks 20th out of the 30 ballparks in baseballthe 2014 figures for the home of the defending National League champions are skewed by a small sample size of only six games. I also only included fly balls hit in games on or before May 31 to control for weather effects. The stadium is amazing and so much history but is actually quite a launching pad. This is a fairly large range that is impacted by quality of hitters and pitchers. a batted-ball event with a launch angle between eight There's been an increase in home runs, with Safeco coming in with the ninth-lowest total in baseball over the past two seasons (286), but even that power surge hasn't resulted in a dramatic increase in runs scored (1,203, fourth-lowest) or slugging percentage (.366, third-lowest). On the other hand, it has posted homer park factors below 100 in 8 of the last 10 seasons. Spoiler alert: there are more hitter-friendly ballparks than pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball. The Rangers opened a new ballpark in 2020, and two parks, Marlins Park and Oracle Park, featured notable renovations. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to That PNC Park, Safeco Field and Citi Field are among the five most pitcher-friendly venues in baseball comes as no surprise to anyone. Stream exclusive games on ESPN+ and play Fantasy Baseball. While "The House that George Built" grades out as a hitter's park in home runs (1.135), runs scored (1.036) and walks (1.045), it falls well short of the mark elsewhere. player has saved over his peers. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. pitch. #28 - Busch Stadium III (Cardinals) - 91.7 Overall Park Factor, 93.3 Fly Ball (20th), 91 Home Run (24th). And this place thwarted grounder production long before Nolan Arenado arrived - its posted a sub-100 grounder factor in 7 of the last 8 seasons. One of baseball's most storied and celebrated ballparks, the subterranean ballpark (fans enter in the middle of the stands, not at ground level) has been home to the sixth-fewest home runs (256) and fifth-lowest slugging percentage (.368) in the game over the past two years. Though its outfield is spacious, it doesnt yield many doubles (lower than 100 doubles park factor 9 straight years) or triples (10 in a row). These are St. Louis, Seattle, and Cincinnati. It actually was even more hitter-friendly in the shortened 2020 season after 7 straight pitcher-friendly seasons. This is a BETA experience. How high/low, in degrees, a ball was hit by a batter. In order to access this exclusive content you must have a Baseball America Account. Login or sign up Additionally, you can subscribe to. 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. #3 Fenway Park Fenway Park being towards the top of this list shouldn't stun anyone. Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays) (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports) Located across the bay in St. Petersburg and offering. Small ballparks like Cincinnati play well from both sides, where foul poles are less than 330 feet away. Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement 8 mo. Coors Field gets a 30 for runs scored, a 30 for slugging percentage and a 24 for home runs, giving it an overall score of 84, which we'll call BF (Ballpark Factor). *All non-ESPN Park Factor statistics courtesy of, explained his goals to MLB.com's Corey Brock. Give me a break. MLB. . It should come as no surprise, then, that the Orioles have hit more combined home runs (426) than any other team over that two-year span, with more than 65 percent of those coming at home. 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. It snuck onto the bottom of the hitter-friendly group by being the best park in the majors for singles this season (108 singles park factor). Aug 26, 2022. Ross Detwiler (12) Park Factors isolate the impact of the ballpark on in-game events, which can better help us predict the outcomes for players, teams, and games. In data analyzed by Baseball Savant's Statcast from 2019-21 , the 27-year-old stadium generated 14% more offense, compared to fellow MLB ballparks, including 19% more hits, 16% more home runs, and the second most triples (behind Comerica . Those park factors are in stark contrast to the three-year marks of 0.919 for runs and 0.772 for homers. A new, albeit abbreviated, season of data provides reason to check in on our updated. A statistically significant change in pitcher and hitter quality in just 2 years seems unlikely. For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. The lower a park's BF, the more of a pitcher's park it is. 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. Pay little attention to the team's hitter-friendly TPF in 2014, which has been caused largely by an abnormally high number of triples so far in 2014 (seven in nine games). It crushes both doubles and triples - no 100+ park factors in either of those categories have been posted in the last decade. Moving forward, I consider this park as slightly pitcher-friendly. Average Park Factors. The American League's most pitcher-friendly venue, Safeco Field consistenly ranks among the top third of parks when it comes to pitching-friendly factorseven with the changes the club made to the outfield before last season, which were intended to increase offense. The best is probably Shippett, it has less elevation but the walls are much closer than Coors. When we think of "hitter-friendly" ballparks, Coors Field and Yankee Stadium are often the first two that come to mind due to the tendency for fly balls to travel beyond the outfield walls and into the hands of a lucky fan. You might notice that Petco Park is the only California venue covered to this point. I did attempt to examine the impacts, if any, of these exit velocity changes on home run rates, and there was a moderate correlation (r-squared of 0.28) that is important to keep in mind. Its 2022 homer park factor was the lowest in a decade, so this would be on the lower end of its typical finish. #20 - T-Mobile Park (Mariners) - 96.2 Overall Park Factor, 95.6 Fly Ball (19th), 117 Home Run (2nd). Find out tomorrow. In general, curve balls will be a little less snappy, and fastballs will get about an extra six inches of giddy-up due to the decrease in resistance the thinner air provides. Base hit types also correlate pretty closely - particularly homers (0.69), doubles (0.56) and, yes, triples (0.64). Doubles totals mushroom here - lots of balls that would otherwise become fly ball outs, or homers, become doubles (and even singles). The conclusion was pretty much exactly what youd expect: A bouncier ball with more drag did reduce home runs, particularly among softer-hit balls at lower launch angles. On or before May 31 to control for weather effects can almost throw a net over the in! 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hitter friendly ballparks 2021
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