953 replies to this topic

[ivanbalt]

I also sat in row 2 behind the wall last night and I felt the legroom was very cramped and that's not something Kelly and I complain about much as people with shorter legs. I don't recall this ever being an issue at OPACY before. Maybe my section was worse than others? We were in section 76.

The only section I've been in that was cramped is the weird angled seats near the LF foul pole.

[mweb08]

The only section I've been in that was cramped is the weird angled seats near the LF foul pole.

Well 76 is before the wall straightens out so maybe it's just those 2 or 3 sections.

[Mackus]

Numbers starting to level out after a crazy low beginning to the year in terms of scoring at home.

 

160 total runs in 21 home games = 7.62 runs/game

150 total runs in 19 road games = 7.89 runs/game

97 park factor for runs

 

Still below the longer-term park factor before the change.  Will be interesting to see what, if any, difference is made over a longer stretch.

 

Trending more towards a run-suppressing environment over the last couple months.  About 9/10ths of a run less per game at home since the last time I checked in mid-May.

 

Season totals:

 

425 total runs in 53 home games = 8.02 runs/game

490 total runs in 56 road games = 8.75 runs/game

 

92 park factor for runs based on the above numbers.  BB-ref calculates the one-year park effect as only 96 though, so still a pitcher's park but not to the higher degree I got to.  Not sure what the difference in the calculation is, maybe BB-ref uses last calendar year or 162 games and not just this season?  Or maybe they scale the numbers based on the teams playing, so generally high-scoring teams wouldn't inflate the number as much and generally low-scoring teams wouldn't deflate it?  

[BSLSteveBirrer]

Certainly have a beginning of a large enough sample size to demonstrate that the LF wall move has led to a drop in runs scored.

[makoman]

Team ERA 3.88. Last year 5.84. Two runs. Everything is proceeding as jamesdean has foreseen. 

[You Play to Win the Game]

I did a deep'ish dive on Krehbiel and Watkins recently - ironically both guys pitch far better on the road than at home.

 

Lyles on the other hand, a 2.73 ERA at home vs. 5.70 on the road. Cionel Perez has a nasty 0.41 ERA at home; 2.08 on the road.

 

Wells, Kremer, Voth, Tate, Bautista, Baker, Bradish and Akin are all pretty evenly split. So was Jorge Lopez FWIW.

[DuffMan]

Does the wall, make it easier for us to land a FA pitcher in the offseason?

[Mackus]

Does the wall, make it easier for us to land a FA pitcher in the offseason?

 

I think its gotta help for short-term deals for guys trying to re-establish value.

 

Long term deals, pitchers probably don't care about the environment.  Just pay me.  But for the guys who can't find what they want and want a 1-year deal to get them to another bite at the apple, OPACY may now be one they consider whereas in the past it would've been way lower on the list.

 

The wall won't help the Angeloses decide to spend money, though, so that's the big hurdle that remains.  We'll find out a ton this offseason.  They either do make a big commitment allowing Elias to spend as he pleases or they won't and there will be no reason to think they ever will.  I don't think we'll be unsure about the direction ownership is pointing by February.

[JStruds]

Does the wall, make it easier for us to land a FA pitcher in the offseason?

By itself, probably not. But add in that the team is competitive now and highly likely to get better, and sure, it should. But as Mackus just noted, the question is will the team spend the necessary money?

[Mike B]

Does the wall, make it easier for us to land a FA pitcher in the offseason?

I think the Wall has gotten a lot of attention on the MLB network and ESPN plus the guys that have pitched against the Orioles have had to notice that CY has gone from a hitters paradise to maybe one that favors the pitcher.  

I think a good left handed pitcher would fare well here.

 

The Orioles terrific outfield defense would help them too.

[Slidemaster]

I wish they'd even out left-center so it looked more aesthetically pleasing.

Otherwise I love it, and I think it's entirely purposeful with pitching in mind.

[hallas]

I wish they'd even out left-center so it looked more aesthetically pleasing.

Otherwise I love it, and I think it's entirely purposeful with pitching in mind.

 

They need to relocate the visitor's bullpen.  The best way to do this would be to either put it in the patch of replacement sod below the batter's eye, or to make a 2nd terrace that is currently used for standing room watching.  Maybe they plan on doing that in the future.

[Slidemaster]

They need to relocate the visitor's bullpen. The best way to do this would be to either put it in the patch of replacement sod below the batter's eye, or to make a 2nd terrace that is currently used for standing room watching. Maybe they plan on doing that in the future.

I'd like that. Feels only right that an organization who's hallmark historically was pitching and defense have a ballpark that caters to pitching and defense.

[weird-O]

They need to relocate the visitor's bullpen.  The best way to do this would be to either put it in the patch of replacement sod below the batter's eye, or to make a 2nd terrace that is currently used for standing room watching.  Maybe they plan on doing that in the future.

They would either need to raise the CF wall, or dig and place it almost below ground. Otherwise, all the activity in the BP would be visible and distracting to the batter.

[JStruds]

I wish they'd even out left-center so it looked more aesthetically pleasing.

Otherwise I love it, and I think it's entirely purposeful with pitching in mind.

Was looking at it the other night. If they just softened the angle from its current 90 degrees to 65-75, little else would need to change; just shift the home bullpen to the right @15 feet to make up for the lost ground. Maybe not great aesthetics, but better than it is now.

[jamesdean]

I'm not too worried about the aesthetics. Some of the old ballparks early in the 20th century were pretty strange looking with various angles but it made them unique and gave it a certain charm. I say just leave it the way it is. Over time, people will get used to it and grow to appreciate it.

[Mackus]

Something small that I think would be cool would be for the wall that goes straight back at Elrod's corner to have some viewing panels so you can see into the bullpen from that side instead of just being more padded wall. Kind of like the screens for the field crew in RF. Nobody is very likely to run into that portion of the wall, so you can play with it.

[makoman]

I'm cool with the angle the way it is. I don't know why but I like the unusual look. Of course I don't have to play LF!

 

I also like when a HR barely makes it into the corner where it'd be an out a couple feet to the left. I feel like I've seen that a few times in the past week or two.

[Mackus]

Thought it'd be interesting to update after last night's insane scoring:

 

Season totals:

 

466 total runs in 56 home games = 8.32 runs/game

548 total runs in 63 road games = 8.70 runs/game

 

Still a pitcher's park but effect has shifted up from 92 all the way to 96 in under two weeks.  Will take 2-4 more years to gain confidence in the specific effect of the stadium.  Just to show how noisy one-year data can be, here are the 1-year effects for the final 10 full years of OPACY before the reconfiguration (from ESPN):

 

2021 - 117

2019 - 109

2018 - 98

2017 - 103

2016 - 95

2015 - 123

2014 - 93

2013 - 106

2012 - 117

2011 - 100

 

I bolded '14-16 to show just how wildly these numbers can vary year-to-year even without changes to the stadium.  Single-year park effects could be near a longer-term average or at a pretty far extreme end.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Im confident itll never play to one extreme or the other which is good