SNY: Salfino: The number of dingers at the Stadium are not due to wind

But it makes me feel better each time it begins
Callin’ me homers, mockery wind

Dr. Alan Nathan’s study used the precise and consistent measurements of hitf/x data courtesy of Sportsvision, which has equipment at Major League parks, to track the initial batted-ball trajectory. From there, initial batted-ball velocity, vertical launch angle and horizontal spray angle was determined. Greg Rybarczyk’s hittracker data also was used. The result, says Nathan, was “an excellent approximation of the full trajectory” of a batted ball.

“The analysis begins by recognizing that in a vacuum, all balls hit with the same initial velocity and launch angle will travel the same distance,” Nathan says. “In reality, the ball will travel more or less than that, depending on the influence of the aerodynamic effects of drag and the Magnus force, including any influence of wind. One way to define the ‘carry’ is the ratio of the actual distance to the distance (the batted ball) would have traveled in a vacuum.”

The results will surprise amateur Yankee Stadium Wind Tunnel theorists.

“The new Yankee Stadium has a carry about two percent below average,” Nathan said in his study. “If home runs there were significantly aided by the wind, one might expect an above average carry. The fact that the carry is below average suggests that there is no evidence in the data analyzed for any significant effect of wind at the new Yankee Stadium.”