Watchdog

little league parks use a circular outfield fence (at least for the part of the circle between the foul poles). are you suggesting putting dead center at 400 feet and making the outfield wall parallel to the line between 1B and 3B (like a real isosceles-right triangle)? that just looks weird. how'd you like foul poll seats at that ballpark?

The Dodgers' dome in Brooklyn was going to have a uniform distance of 380 feet:
http://www.stadiumpage.com/stpages/bkln.html (scroll down to the drawing in color)
Of course, that never happened and the Mets were born a few years later leading to Omir Santos' home run at Fenway.

dyhrmet: In that scenario, I am not suggesting CF be 400 feet.

Dead CF would be more like 325, again, to reward hitting it straight.

Then, yes, you'd go straight from pole to pole, like the line from first to third.

Of course it would look really weird, and of course the foul pole seats would stink.

But the Mohegan Sun terrace would be a really cool seat!

I'm trying to think outside the box here!

I'm going to guess here and think that back in the old days, the first baseball fields were simply square lots. If you put home plate in one of the corners and first and third along the edges, you get something that looks like a modern ballpark shape but just with the edges rounded. It probably just became traditional to use those rough dimensions.

I can't think of any sports other than baseball and cricket that doesn't specify dimensions for their playing surfaces.

Personally, I'm a fan of the 1/4 circle field with matching dimensions of about 375 feet all around.

I'll guess it has to do with fan seating. If the outfield were bowed in at the center as you suggest, fans in the outfield would be facing the first- and third- base men, and not the plate.

Saw some of your fellow Cornellians at Foxboro today, Neil. They asked for you.

dmbishop: I like that. I believe you are on to something.

dmbishop: I like that. I believe you are on to something.

I think the stadiums were built according to the streets they were located on and built to fit into that area in the old days. They built the stands, placed in the field, and the rest of it was outfield no matter how short the distance or long. Look at the Polo Grounds deep, deep center field and the short left and right fields.

Fascinating discussion which begs the question: which ball is truly the best hit? One that's pulled or one that's hit to dead center. Growing up, power hitters traditionally pulled well-hit balls. With steroids then becoming fashionable, there also began an oddity to me-- balls launched to the opposite field. I never got how that happened. To me, when a player hits a ball deep to the opposite field, it never looks quite right. It always looks to me off the bat as if they just got under (and behind) it. The best "looking" HRs to me, were the ones that were pulled. So that would make dead-center (or left or right center) 2nd best, and then opposite field shots. But Neil's point is a good one... "pulling" is not hitting it straight, so maybe he is on to something. Maybe we should reward dead-center shots. By Golly, Neil, I DO always feel bad for players who launch shots to dead center only to be caught at 410 or so at the wall.

What do y'all think is the best hit HRs? Pulled, Center or the other way?

Neil, one disadvantage with switching CF around... guys like Willie Mays would get awful headaches.

Did Mrs. Watchdog slip a little oregano in the Memorial Day Brownies again, Neil?

"Then, yes, you'd go straight from pole to pole, like the line from first to third."
What "line" from 1st to 3rd? (that's akin to a cop tellin someone to walk a straight "line"? What LINE? I don't see no line....Is this a trick question?)
There is no "line" from 1st to 3rd.
There's an object called 2nd base outside of your imaginary line that is part of the whole symmetry of baseball.
A symmetry called "The Diamond".
The infield is shaped like a diamond, indeed, it is a diamond inside of a bigger diamond.
Hence, centerfield walls being deeper than the LF and RF walls.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend.
HIt it outta the park at the furthest point on the diamond and you get the girl, Neil.

"This way you reward people for hitting the ball straight,"
See golf, they own that copyright.

Now, wash down that next brownie with a little bong water.
Maybe football would be better served if it was played on a circular field in lieu of a linear field. Segment the field like a pizza pie and have the teams rotate around in a circular direction.
"The Giants have the ball, First and Pi from the 73 degree line".

Wouldn't hockey be more interesting on a rollerday derby oval?

"rollerday" should read roller derby.
Trying to type while inhaling.
Bad combination.

Jeff..

"What do y'all think is the best hit HRs? Pulled, Center or the other way?"

The one's where the outfielder doesn't move or even turn around to see where it lands.

My guess is that these fields are designed to accommodate other sports and events. Using Yankee Stadium as an example (the old one, at least), a football field had to be laid out diagonally for it to fit in the stadium. For this to work, the centerfield wall has to be deeper than the left field wall and the outfield fence could definitely not be a straight line from foul pole to foul pole. To help visualize it, I found a great website that actually diagrams many stadium layouts:

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/Football_use.html

Neil, you're lost. I love how all the ball parks have different outfield scenarios. It's part of the beauty of the game. In recent years it's gotten a bit out of hand with quirks and odd shifts in the outfield wall. But this idear that you're going to have a straight wall from pole to pole is ridiculous. Utter nonsense. Not to mention it would be very ugly.

Cornell giving up the tying goal with 4.5 seconds and losing it in sudden victory as Syracuse takes its first lead? Are you kidding me?? Joe Beningo must be a fan of the boys from Lake Cayuga as they choked like one of his teams. Condolences to all Cornell alumni out therte and congrats to the Orangemen.

That was brutal. The failed clear was the Big Red's worst play in an outstanding season. Savings the worst for last, not typical for Tambroni's squad. Shocking.

Huge link from today's Uni Watch post. A watershed moment for Neil Best!

Here is why stadiums are designed with centerfield furthest from homeplate: A perfectly hit ball will ALWAYS travel furthest to centerfield, rather than the lines. The further you pull a ball toward a line, the shorter it will go. When hit to center field, a player uses the ball's own energy to repel it back up the middle. If the batter pulls a ball, the ball loses energy because it has to change direction. If you created a ballpark with a concentric outfield (375 all around), you would have MANY more homeruns hit to centerfield. When I mean many, I mean more than steroid era. Many easy flyball to center carry 375 feet currently.

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