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Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Mets’ Citi Field to become more homer-friendly next season; center-field wall gets chopped to 8 feet

Good…gives the Marlon Anderson Hernandez’s something to shoot for.

The height of Citi Field’s center-field wall will be sliced in half, making the ballpark more homer-friendly, the Daily News has learned.

Last season, the wall measured 16 feet in front of the sparsely used Home Run Apple. Now, with the second level of padding being removed, it will measure eight feet in the middle of the outfield.

Still, as the Daily News exclusively reported in September, the stadium’s spacious dimensions won’t be altered.

The Mets hit 95 homers last season, by far the fewest in the majors. San Francisco ranked 29th with 122.

Wright, whose home-run power is more to right-center than the left-field line, saw his power plummet as the Mets moved from Shea Stadium to Citi Field. He went from a career-high 33 homers in 2008 to 10 homers last season - five at home, and five on the road.

Repoz Posted: February 09, 2010 at 07:32 AM | 22 comment(s)
  Related News: General, NY Mets

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   1. bobm  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 08:44 AM (#3456687)
(Adjustable) Outfield wall heights are the next market inefficiency.
   2. Teal & Black Tie's Giant Masturbatory Ninja Brain  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 08:47 AM (#3456689)
Will they be slashing the walls at every ballpark they visit?
   3. Jose Can You Seabiscuit  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 08:48 AM (#3456690)
49 home runs at home
46 home runs on the road

Will they be lowering the fences at other ballparks too?

EDIT: Coke to T&B
   4. Clemenza  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 10:41 AM (#3456743)
So how many balls hit this wall between 8 feet and 16? Would a couple dozen total among all teams that played there be a reasonable guess? Even that seems high to me. If they hit 49 HRs at home would 55-60 made that much of a difference assuming their opponents are picking up a similar number?
   5. Mattbert  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 10:45 AM (#3456747)
Am I the only one who thought this was a headline from The Onion, as in they were moving the fence in to 8 feet from home plate?

That would help.
   6. HowardMegdal  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 10:57 AM (#3456756)
If Carlos Beltran is healthy, this will increase the number of times he is able to scale the wall to rob a hitter of a home run from zero. For that reason alone, I am for it. Beyond that, what everyone else said.
   7. Banta  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 11:07 AM (#3456766)
I think David Wright hit one partway up that wall last year, but I can't recall any other homeruns being prevented as a result of the centerfield wall. The left field wall is another story.
   8. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66)  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 11:26 AM (#3456787)
so--Shea stadium was a pitcher's park and that was good for the Mets; now Citi is also a pitchers park, and that's bad???
   9. Cris E  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 11:30 AM (#3456794)
so--Shea stadium was a pitcher's park and that was good for the Mets; now Citi is also a pitchers park, and that's bad???

No, Mets' pitchers hit as well, so it's still a home field advantage. Wait...
   10. Greg Goosen at 30  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 02:21 PM (#3456953)
Now Luis Castillo can break Jeff Kent's record for career home runs by a second baseman.
   11. Ron Johnson  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 02:46 PM (#3456975)
#4, don't know. But a change in the opposite direction was made in Atlanta in 1983 and the home runs went from 181 in Brave home games and 91 on the road in 1982 to 137 in home games and 125 in road games in 1983.
   12. Lassus  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 02:59 PM (#3456990)
I have a reflexive horror over moving walls IN, but I can be ok with this because it allows for home runs to be robbed, which is always a great defensive play.
   13. Diamond Research  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 03:45 PM (#3457057)
This is all about getting David Wright back to his 2008 approach.
   14. Ned Colletti makes me :(  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 03:53 PM (#3457065)
[5] No, you aren't. That was my first thought as well.
   15. dejarouehg  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 05:25 PM (#3457223)
Hopefully, I'll be at one of the games where one of the two extra home runs resulting from this change will occur.
   16. Teal & Black Tie's Giant Masturbatory Ninja Brain  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 05:37 PM (#3457239)
I have a reflexive horror over moving walls IN, but I can be ok with this because it allows for home runs to be robbed, which is always a great defensive play.


Agreed. Walls too tall to scale = suck. Looking at you, Omaha.
   17. danielj  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 05:52 PM (#3457258)
It would be a lot more fun if they cut off the bottom half of the wall and left the top part intact. It'd be like mini golf.
   18. Nasty Nate  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 05:55 PM (#3457263)
I have a reflexive horror over moving walls IN, but I can be ok with this because it allows for home runs to be robbed, which is always a great defensive play.


Agreed. Walls too tall to scale = suck. Looking at you, Omaha.


The flipside is more rulebook doubles on plays that could be exciting triple or IPHR chances...
   19. Ned Colletti makes me :(  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 05:56 PM (#3457265)
[17] So would a ball rolling under the wall be a ground rule double?
   20. danielj  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 06:01 PM (#3457272)
So would a ball rolling under the wall be a ground rule double?


No. If the swinging door is closed when the ball hits it, it will bounce right back to the CFer. If the door is open, is goes down a shoot and rolls out somewhere in RF.
   21. Swedish Chef  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 06:20 PM (#3457290)
No. If the swinging door is closed when the ball hits it, it will bounce right back to the CFer. If the door is open, is goes down a shoot and rolls out somewhere in RF.

And if all three targets are hit multiball mode will be triggered.
   22. PreservedFish  Posted: February 09, 2010 at 06:49 PM (#3457321)
Urkel was really good at those Rock Jock Softball games.
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