Wrecked By Reality

Friday, August 10, 2007

Swinging For The Fences

First, a few observations:

NFL: goal line to goal line is 100 yards, end zones are 10 yards each, uprights are 18'6" wide, the field is 160' wide, and the end zone pylons are 18" tall.

NBA: baseline to baseline is 94', the court is 50' wide, the paint is 12' wide, foul line to backboard is 15', and the 3 point line is 23'9".

NHL: the ice surface is 200' long and 85' wide, goal line to blue line is 60', blue line to red line is 27', and the goal posts are 4' high and 6' wide.

MLB: 60'6" from the pitching rubber to home plate, 90' between bases, the infield/outfield grass line is a 95' radius from the front of the pitching rubber, and the backstop or grandstand area is a minimum 60' from home plate to foul lines.

All of that looks pretty good right? Well, here is the kicker for Major League Baseball: the outfield wall varies in height and distance from home plate in almost every ballpark.

Go ahead and read that last line again. I'll wait.

Some of the outfield walls are padded, some are metal, some are brick, and at one ballpark, the center field area close to the fence actually increases in height. Here is a random sampling of ballpark depths:

Philadelphia Phillies: 330' to the foul poles and 401' to straight center.
Milwaukee Brewers: 345' to the foul poles and 400' to straight center.
Minnesota Twins: 343' to 327' to the foul poles and 408' to straight center.
New York Yankees: 318' to the foul poles and 408' to straight center.
Colorado Rockies: 350' to the foul poles and 415' to straight center.
Detroit Tigers: 345' to 330' to the foul poles and 420' to straight center.
Boston Red Sox: 310' to the foul poles and 420' to straight center.
San Francisco Giants: 339' to 309' to the foul poles and 399' to straight center.
Chicago Cubs: 355' to the foul poles and 400' to straight center.

If you haven't caught my point yet, it is this: the MLB home run record really isn't a credible record no matter who holds it. Here's why:

No other sport has more random field/court dimensions than baseball. A ball that is hit over the left field fence in Atlanta will probably bounce off the Big Green Monster in Boston. And speaking of the BGM, it is between 35 and 40 feet high in left field. In right field of the same ballpark, the fence is 3 feet high. Amazingly, the one thing that really has no rules in the sport of baseball creates one of the most consistently exciting events in baseball.

I truly think that it takes tons of talent, practice and perseverance to try and hit a ball hurtling through the air at speeds of 70 to 100 mph. Just getting a piece of the ball at those speeds when it is curving, cutting, sliding, breaking in, out, and down should be celebrated. Getting enough of a ball traveling at those speeds to put it out into space 300 to 400 plus feet amazes me. Watching players hit home runs is as exciting now as it was 100 years ago.

This isn't about steroids. Sure, they make you bigger, make workout recovery time decrease, make your back break out with acne, and they apparently make you stronger. However, they will never improve anyone's God given eye-hand coordination. You can either successfully hit the ball or you can't. You can either consistently hit the ball or you can't. This also isn't about defending Bonds. Before Barry hit 73HR's in 2001, he had 4 seasons of 40+ home runs (and 3 after), along with 6 seasons of 30+ home runs.

Think about this - Rickey Henderson is the all time stolen base leader at 1406 while Lou Brock sits at 938. Each time they stole a base, they ran 90'. Pitcher Nolan Ryan threw a record 7 no-hitters, and every time he was throwing the ball 60'6". These records were acquired in different stadiums and fields with the exact same dimensions across those fields.

--TANGENT ALERT--
Nobody in baseball was complaining in the late 1990's when Mark McGwire hit 58, 70, and 65 home runs in three years. There also weren't any complaints during the same time when Sammy Sosa hit 66, 63, 50, 64, and 49 home runs between 1998 and 2002. Everybody INCLUDING Major League Baseball was very happy that things were hopping for their sport both in popularity and at the cash register.
--END TANGENT--

Every time a kicker in football puts a ball through the uprights, those uprights are the same in every stadium. Every time a hockey player puts the biscuit in the basket, the goal is the same size in every rink. The same goes for soccer (um, when they actually score, that is). Every time a golfer holes out, the cup is the same size, worldwide.

In other words, if you are going to set a record, set one that matters.