I wanted to update this thread with something Joel Sherman of the New York Post mentioned tonight regarding the changes to Citi Field.
Sherman said that none of the Mets officials wanted to speak publicly about what the new dimensions will be when everything is completed.
The reason for the secrecy is because the Mets are planning to have an event to unfurl the new look sometime in late November.
I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of an event for altering the dimensions of a ballpark before, so I imagine there’s more to this.
It got me wondering if maybe they are planning to unveil a Kiner’s Korner which would be totally cool. However I quickly dismissed that because KK was originally in left field in old Forbes Stadium, not right field.
I also tossed around a few different Mets money grab scenarios, intended to offset the cost of this new construction or to help pay for the airfare to San Diego where the Winter Meetings will be held this year. Okay I’m just kidding…
Joe D.
October 26
That is a current photo of the progress at Citi Field that was posted only hours ago by The 7 Line on Instagram. It appears that parts of that right field corner is coming in as much as 25 feet from what some other observers are saying.
Sandy Alderson acknowledged that these new changes will help Curtis Granderson, and that according to team data, he would have hit seven more home runs this year with these revised dimensions. However, he also pointed out it’s not just about Granderson.
“It’s not about tailoring the ballpark to a particular player or a particular composition of team, it’s about making Citi Field as fan-friendly and as exciting as we can make it. I think they’ll be good for the game, good for the fans. I’m sure that one or two of our players will benefit as well.”
It will be the second time the Mets have moved the walls in since Citi Field debuted in 2009. After the 2011 season, the Mets brought in the left-field wall from 371 feet to 358 feet, right-center from 415 feet to 390 feet, and right field from 378 feet to 375 feet.
Manager Terry Collins is a big proponent of the new dimensions, believing it will give his hitters an added confidence.
“It’ll help us, because we’ve got guys who hit the ball in that area,” Collins said. “I think it’s going to help us a little bit, confidence-wise. I think it would be great for us.”
The changes should help many other players including right-handed hitters David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud who both have a propensity for opposite field power.
In a recent article for MMO, Robert Patterson endorsed the changes:
“The park is still in their heads and many players openly admit to how difficult Citi Field is for hitters. And don’t think for one second that those notions wouldn’t play into a free agent’s decision making process in the future. So while it may not be this Winter, should the Mets ever re-enter the big-ticket free agent market again, it would be beneficial if their ballpark wasn’t working against them.”
Our executive editor Joe D. also pointed out that the last time the Mets altered their dimensions for the 2012 season, the results were not what the team expected:
“The last time the Mets brought in the fences after the 2011 season the opposition went from 58 home runs to 88 home runs – a difference of 30 more homers. As for the Mets, they went from 50 home runs to 67 home runs – a difference of 17 more homers. What the Mets fail to realize is that the problem may not be the fences, but the fact we need better hitters.”
MMO’s Destry Swaim used road splits to make a convincing case for the changes:
“Our current crop of hitters aren’t nearly as bad as the overall numbers suggest. It stands to reason that if the Mets were at or near the top of almost every offensive category on the road when compared to teams that played similar schedules and under similar conditions, that Citi Field is doing more damage to our offense than the opposing pitchers they are facing.”
I think we can all agree the Mets should see a nice boost offensively. Let’s just hope it’s not at the expense of our pitching.
