25
2011
Citi Field Letting Up More Homers This Season
An article by Craig Lerner
Here is some additional new info from hittracker.com courtesy of metsblog.com that sheds more light on my post from a few days ago.
The Citi Field has averaged 2.27 home runs per game so far this season which ranks third highest in the National League. Ironically, Citizens Bank Park has one of the lowest home run rates at 1.36. This could be just a fluke, and why you should never rely heavily on small sample sizes.
Matt Cerrone agrees that we should make adjustments to the high wall in left field and of course reducing Mo Zone’s right field dimensions to something similar to Shea. He also brings up the lack of foul territory down the lines.
I agree with this. I do think the front office will have serious conversations about lowering the wall in left field, and making right field a bit more traditional. I have no idea if they’ll actually make moves, but I’m pretty sure it will be discussed in detail yet again.
So long as we’re on the subject, I’d love for them to figure out how to add a bit more space to the foul territory in the outfield. I see too many outfielders laying up and altering their routes to avoid crashing in to the wall, and I feel it messes with the true play of the game (for both teams).
Original Post: 4/22 Citi Field – Size Matters
Marty Noble of MLB.com resuscitated what seems to be the the age old debate about whether Citi Field is too big and whether or not it hurts the Mets offense and potential wins in the standings.
He writes,
As a means of distracting their followers and baseball connoisseurs in general from their untidy performance on the field, the Mets ought to make the field smaller, i.e., reduce the acreage of the playing field at Citi Field.
This is not a novel thought. And coming as it has, on the heels of a 9-1 Mets’ victory on Thursday in a game in which they hit three home runs and executed properly, it’s even poorly timed. But the time has come to change the Citi. Call it urban renewal.
Some reconstruction might keep the public eye from perusing the standings.
Noble offers up some sensible suggestions and even wants some of the vastness to stay intact so as to legitimize homeruns much like Shea Stadium did.
His main issue is with the Mo Zone which he says the Mets should either eliminate or adjust to make life easier for their best player and most recognizable face, David Wright, who he said would give him a fighting chance to hit 30 home runs.
Absolutely agreed.
Wright did a nice job hiding his frustration with the enormity of the park in 2009 and 2010, but not so much anymore.
“From what I understand, they wanted a pitcher’s park,” Wright said Thursday. “They’ve got it.”
After Carlos Beltran hit two home runs in one game the previous homestand and people clamored for a third, Wright said, “Hitting two out is an extraordinary feat in this place.”
Wright noted the one ball he hit in the last homestand — it was the final out of the first game of last Thursday’s doubleheader against the Rockies — “could’ve gone out in 29 other parks.” And he made the point that “I hit two others well. We could have had two more wins.”
Of course if those balls hit to the wall had been homeruns instead of outs, he wouldn’t of set a career high 0-20 hitless streak as well. That had to have burned his butt.
Isn’t it time to start listening to the face of the franchise and trying to tweak the park so that we can get the best out of our core players rather than the least?
I’m just saying.
About the Author: Craig Lerner
I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.
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The problem isn’t really the park. It’s the players. We have a bunch of players who think they are sluggers but are not like Wright, Beltran and Bay. We dont have a true slugger like Delgado or Dunn. To compund matters we have a pitchers park but not one top rotation starter. In contrast the Phillies not only have the hitters to match their parks, but they went out and got elite pitchers to ensure that their quality will keep opponents in the park. The park dont suck, the team does.
WELL SAID!
Daniel Murphy likes the Pepsi Porch. His HRs go there.Some areas of Citifield are ok. By the way Murphy will be the 2nd baseman this year Bayonne. You said “he will never play at 2nd base with this team or any other” Proved you wrong.
i said he would never be a starting second baseman for this team or any other team. Let’s see it play out. Again i love these people that claim some type of finality before it’s over.
BTW, do you ever post about any other subjects besides Daniel Murphy? You do realize he’s playing second base for a team that’s currently 6-13, do you? He’s gonna cost this team games defensively before it’s all said and done. I will be the most shocked man in the world if he lasts there. I don’t think he will. But Murphy is valuable to the Mets off the bench and can get hits in big spots.
But u say the fences are okay because Murph hits one out, huh? Never mind the rest of the team.
These fences ARE costing the Mets victories, they’re DEEPER than Shea which was already a pitcher’s park by about 15 across although i’m not 100% sure of the distance. I DO know that the Mo Zone is 44 feet deeper than Shea was in RCF. It’s insane and it’s costing us games, regardless if the other team’s players hit one out or if Nickeas hit one out. I do believe Alderson will move the fences in after this year because NO player who makes a living using his power is gonna come here. I know I wouldn’t.
I do believe Alderson will move the fences in after this year because NO player who makes a living using his power is gonna come here. I know I wouldn’t.
Applause! That’s a big issue amd Alderson knows it.
Do they move the fences in when the Mets are playing the field? If they don’t… how come its not costing other teams the game? That’s so strange how a stadium can manage to cost the HOME team games, but yet never has an impact on the road team. I wonder why that is….
LOGIC ALERT!! No fair…
Craig — I’m kind of tired of hearing the park excuses myself.
David Wright is slugging .528 at home and .378 on the road this year.
Last year his split was very close at home he was .496 to .506 on the road and the year prior he was .434 at home and .458 on the road.
Just because Wright’s talent has leveled off doesn’t mean the park is the problem.
Wright also fails to mention the fact that this terrible park made guys like Pelfrey, Niese, Dickey look at cy young candidates at times.
I don’t hear the players in Oakland, Seattle, Minnesota, San Diego, St. Louis complain?
St. Louis’ HR factor has been lower than Citi Fields on average in the last 2 years and a month. Show me where Albert Pujols is talking about how troubling Busch Stadium is
Actually a number of players in SD and Minnesota have complained,much moreso than any of the Mets have. Twins hitters were openly campaigning to move the fences in this offseason and expressed not being happy that they weren’t. Players in Detroit complained several yrs ago as well until they moved their fences in. I don’t think STL’s dimensions are that crazy. Seattle maybe has a gripe, and I don’t know if they’ve complained, but that team and that lineup is an even bigger joke than the Mets.
Excuse me but if Nickeas, Reyes and Pagan can hit a HR in that park then there is nothing wrong with how deep the fences are!
David Wright was NEVER a HR hitter! He is and always was a line drive hitter who would happen to get a few HRs when he got the pitch to drive and got the whole head of the bat on the ball. But he was never a HR machine!
He need to stop thinking about getting HRs it the key reason why his K numbers have jumped from 115 to 140+ since the move to Citi. He was over swinging trying for the big hit when he should have just concentrated on the hit itself!
While everyone looks at his HR numbers at Citi they forget to look at the K numbers there as well which tell a much better story about Why David’s power numbers dropped.
And you have to admit the Fences have no affect on the K stat UNLESS you have those fences stuck in your head when you are up at bat and try swinging for them resulting in a K instead of the double or triple that with a proper focus might go over the fence and become a HR because you concentrated on hitting the ball hard not far!
I’d like to hear an interview w/ Tulo on this one. Seems he has no problem with knockin’ em out, eh?
David, what happened to the HR derby days?
No way that trend continues, no way. What you saw this weekend was a bunch of homeruns hit off two of the weakest rotations in MLB.
“could’ve gone out in 29 other parks.” And he made the point that “I hit two others well. We could have had two more wins.”
When they start going out in the 29 other parks I’ll consider moving the fences in to help David’s Psyche at home!
Nickeas, Pridie, Reyes and Hairston all have HRs in Citi. If the fences are not a problem for them they should not be a problem for David!
Wright has 4 HRs at home and only 1 on the road! Fences? What was that about 29 other parks?
He also has a higher BA in Citi compared to away. .277 H vs .243 A
It is the dimensions of the park that helps Wrights BA as he gets those extra base hits that would be singles in other smaller parks.
You know what would solve David’s HR issues?
Tell him the fences were moved in but don’t actually do it!
This fence phobia is just that a MENTAL thing! And it is not just affecting him at home it is causing him to go for HRs away which leads to his striking out more away and hitting less.
At Home he doesn’t try for the HR because he thinks the fences are too far away and because he doesn’t swing for those way too far fences hits MORE HRs because his focus is correctly on hitting the ball hard not hitting the ball far!
If he took the same approach away he might actually hit some HRs in those 29 other parks and would not care or ACTUALLY have some numbers to support his excuse making in Citi!
Just look at his numbers since Citi.
2009
HOME 258AB 77H 14D 3T 5HR .298BA
AWAY 277AB 87H 25D 0T 5HR .314BA
29 other parks must have had their fences in the same place this year!
2010
HOME 274AB 79H 15D 3T 12HR .288BA
AWAY 313AB 87H 21D 0T 17HR .278BA
Hmm in 39 more AB and shorter fences it only produced 5 more HRs than at home?
2011 (incomplete)
HOME 47AB 13H 2D 0T 4HR .277
AWAY 37AB 9H 2D 0T 1HR .243
So far if the evidence is any indication we should be asking the rest of the league to move the fences out not trying to move our fences in so that every guy on the opposition can get 3 more HRs against us just so David might hit 3 or 4 more per season!
This is something that is all in David’s head and I think he helped put it into Bay’s head last year!
Ike hits HRs anywhere and the fences would not have affected Piazza or Strawberry.
What David and many fans have to come to grips with is David Wright is not really a HR hitter! Sure he gets close to 30 because he is a GOOD line drive hitter and when the pitcher presents a mistake and David’s swing is solid it will go over the fence but he is not what you would call nor was ever expected to be a Piazza and Strawberry!
He is a line drive gap hitter with power to all fields, but that does not mean he should be hitting a lot of HRS and until such time as he starts hitting way more HRs away as he does at home the only problem with Citi concerning David Wright is a MENTAL problem!
He let the stadium get into his head before he ever even batted in it!
Maybe he should stop worrying about hitting HRs and merely worry about driving the pitch presented to him as hard as he can. If he did that he might just get all those HRs he thinks the fences are denying him and maybe he would hit even MORE of them away because he won’t be swinging for the fences there in order to try and make up for the HRs his brain has convinced him the Citi Fences deny him!
>>>You know what would solve David’s HR issues?
Tell him the fences were moved in but don’t actually do it!<<<
That’s an astute observation and one I agree with. The park is in his head. Rather than just making perfect contact and giving the ball a ride, he too frequently overswings and gets too much air under his deep drives. But none of that will matter until he stops laying off those outside pitches and letting them throw strikes. You would thing after a thousand or so swings and misses at those outside pitches, he’d lay off of them already.
I just realized we need a plugin that lets you highlight a quote and reply to it specifically. It would be a cool feature for the site.
Part of the problem is Joe we practically begged for it!
We all complained about his power numbers in 2009 and he tried to please us as most players try to do when the home fans knock him.
He was never a HR guy like a Piazza he is a high SLG line drive hitter who when gets on the ball properly hits a few over the fence.
It has long been known to be true if you try to hit HRs you won’t you weill strike out and that is why he is going after pitches he would never have gone after before because the low outside pitch is one where you think because you can extend your arms you will hit it out.
Doesn’t work that way!
David needs to get the HR out of his head and focus on good contact on good hittable pitches and the HR issue goes away!