Does Size Count?

[Arbfarkle]

Is the Omaha field as big as the Disch-Falk field?

I really don't understand why diffierent fields have different distances to the fence. I just write it off to "that's baseball".

 

[LonghornCatholic]

Don't remember which player it was, but on LHN he said dimensions are the same. Not sure if he was being precise though. He also said that should give them an advantage. I guess it has to do with the art of small ball. I guess.

 

[Hu_Fan]

It should be the same. For the reason, that if I were adjusting the field lengths here in Austin, I'd make it match the field in Omaha -- so the team is basically geared to playing there.

I would not be surprised if that has not been in the design all along.

By the way, I really want the Longhorns to win the title this year. I'm ready to put Texas back on the top heading into the 2014 school calendar for all athletics.

Didn't UT win the baseball title the year before, or the summer following, the Rose Bowl Nat'l Championship?

 

[Orangeblood]

Spring of 2005.

And DFF is laid out in the size and directional orientation that it is because that is what Rosenblatt was at the time DFF was built. That was not an accident.

 

[marley]

Rosenblatt:

Field size Left Field - 335 feet (102 m)
Left-Center - 375 feet (114 m)
Center Field - 408 feet (124 m)
Right-Center - 375 feet (114 m)
Right Field - 335 feet (102 m)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Rosenblatt_Stadium


TDAmeritrade:

Field size Left Field Line – 335 ft (102 m)
Left Center – 375 ft (114 m)
Center Field – 408 ft (124 m)
Right Center – 375 ft (114 m)
Right Field Line -335 ft (102 m)[3]


Disch-Falk:

Left field - 340 ft (103.5 m)
Center field - 400 ft (122 m)
Right field - 325 ft (99 m)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disch-Falk_Field

 

[NBHorn7]

The dimensions at Rosenblatt has changed over the years.

When we won it all in 1983 it was 420 feet to dead center.
This was a good thing because in the bottom of the ninth the Alabama catcher sent a long drive to center that would have won the game if it wasn't 420 feet. Instead is was a very long out.

Then Brumley caught the pop up off the bat of Furmin Lake and was jumped on by Johnny Sutton and the celebration was on. It was a long drive home the next day for many of us.

Baseball parks dimensions were different for many reasons. There were no limits on the dimensions at first and also the dimensions were often because of the limited space for the ballpark or the particular boundaries of the land. This was espcially true in urban areas.

In later years teams would make the dimensions for the particular brand of baseball they played. The would move the fences in or back accordingly.

Then when many new ballparks in MLB were built in the 70's they were made all the same and were called "cookie cutter ballparks because they all looked the same such as "Three Rivers" in Pittsburg and "River Front" in Cinncinatti.

Everything looked the same in these new parks and people longed for the days of different dimensions and nooks and crannies. Like when the monuments at Yankee Stadium were in play or the huge variances in dimensions like at "Forbes Field" in Pittsburg. This is why places like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are reverred, because they never changed.

That's why when the next wave of new parks came in they went back to the old days like "Camden Yard" in Baltimore and "Minute Maid" in Houston with the flagpole in play in deep center.

 

[Arbfarkle]

Thanks, all of you for the information.

 

[84 Horn]

Overall I like what has happened with field size and the balls and the bats. The gorilla ball days were ridiculous with the 10-15 runs by each team.

Putting the ball in play with the solid base hit or the bunt and smart base running is better for the game.

A swing for the fence now just gets you a long out.

 

[n64ra]

In reply to:

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[Brad Austin]

It's one thing to have a big park, which all 3 were/are. It's another to have the wind rarely blowing out and often the opposite in addition.

The percentage of games at the Disch with the wind aiding ball distance is very small. No way it's 25% over a season. Maybe some side-to side neutral action, but rarely wind blowing out with enough strength to even slightly help distance.

Same as TD Ameritrade. Yet to see any game with the wind aiding distance. On the other hand I've seen most where the outfielders seem about 15 yards behind the infield bases as the wind is knocking almost every fly ball down.

So yeah, big parks are extra tough to park one in. CWS has been ridiculously difficult. 1 HR in all 6 games combined. And these hitting lineups aren't chumps with the bats. Our game with Irvine had a 35mph wind blowing in. When they design these parks they have to be aware the frequency of wind direction.

It's ridiculous to be down 3 runs in the 8th and realize only a substantial rally involving several batters will allow a comeback, as HR's are pipe dreams. That's not baseball. Gorilla ball killed the pitching and small ball aspect. Huge parks and dead bats kill the power and quick score aspect of a game. Neither is all that wonderful without the other. Balance is the key. This CWS definitely has lost a key element of excitement and drama without the deep blast now and then.

 

[Arbfarkle]

So they can play inside, right? Does anyone else here remember the Astrodome? I don't know if it was a joke or not, but I remember that a team (s?) complained that the direction of the air handlers was reversed for a home team advantage.