GaryMrMets
05-28-2004, 04:26 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/8778755.htm
Posted on Fri, May. 28, 2004
Business Is Booming
By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer
Walk into a major-league clubhouse these days. Identify yourself as being from Philadelphia. This is what you'll hear:
"Wow, the ball is really jumping up there."
Those were the words of Atlanta Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone recently. Many others have echoed his remarks.
It will take several years to accurately determine if Citizens Bank Park is the Coors Field of the East.
But based on early returns, it certainly is a place that has the look of a home-run haven.
"A guy on a radio show in Los Angeles asked me if it was easier to hit home runs here than at my high school park," Mike Lieberthal said with a laugh. "The hitters like it a lot."
In the first 20 games at the Phillies' new park (last night was the 21st), 60 home runs were hit, an average of three per game, the second-highest in baseball over that small slice of season. The Phillies had hit 38, while opponents had hit 22. In their first 20 games at Veterans Stadium last year, the Phils hit 19 homers.
The Phillies ranked fourth overall in the National League with 58 homers entering last night.
Entering last night, Jim Thome had 11 homers, eight at home. Pat Burrell had nine, all but one at home.
The only major-league park in which more homers were hit in the first 20 games this season was that mile-high hitters' paradise in Denver. Sixty-one homers were hit in the first 20 games at Coors Field - 3.05 per game.
When the Phillies planned their new home, they wanted it to be fair, favoring neither hitters nor pitchers. The average run total for the first 20 games at the park was 9.8. Thirteen parks had higher run totals, putting the Phillies' park about in the middle. The combined ERA over the first 20 games in the Phils' new park was a respectable 4.29 - and the Phils' home ERA was 3.59 - so that would indicate there's some pitching going on in the place.
Still, a lot of home runs have been hit in the new yard, and there are many reasons why.
First, the Phillies' offense is built around power. Thome, Burrell, Bobby Abreu and Lieberthal all have had 30-homer seasons in their careers.
Second, baseballs are more lively in warmer weather. April and May have both been warmer than usual. In fact, this month's average high has been 79 degrees. This month's average temperature (69.7 degrees) has been 7 degrees above normal.
When the Phillies and Dodgers combined for nine homers on May 18, the temperature was 82 degrees, and it was humid. Those typically were the days that the ball flew at the Vet.
"There were nights at the Vet where there were nine home runs hit," said John Stranix, who headed the stadium project for the Phillies. "I'd say what we've seen is a combination of a power-hitting team plus warm weather."
As far as wind, the Phillies studied years of data that were recorded at nearby Philadelphia International Airport. (Because the park is so close, the data were easily transferable, Stranix said.) The predominant wind blows from the southwest. In theory that would favor balls to right field.
Wind will affect balls more at the new park than the Vet because of the new facility's open concourses. The most homers ever hit by a Phillies team at the Vet was 101 in 1977. The 2004 Phils are on a pace to hit more than 150 at home.
"At the Vet, the structure blocked most of the wind," Stranix said. "But the wind accelerated through the [exits]. Wind picked up speed, swirled and did funny things.
"In the new park, there is no acceleration effect on the wind. The wind is applied more evenly to the ball."
The dimensions of the new park have been questioned by some managers, most notably the Dodgers' Jim Tracy and the Phillies' own Larry Bowa. Told that the 369-foot power alley in left was only two feet shorter than at the Vet, Bowa scoffed.
"That's what it says, huh?" Bowa said. "I'm not going to measure it because I don't want to know what I'm going to see. I'm just telling you that it looks small. But both teams have to play at it."
While the power alleys sit at 369 feet, the distances to straightaway left and right are much shorter. The distances are not marked, but mathematics show that it is roughly 346 feet to the D in the Bud Light sign in left and roughly 347 feet to the Majestic ad in straightaway right.
As Lieberthal said, the hitters like the park.
And the pitchers?
"I don't think any of them like it," Lieberthal said.
Pitcher Randy Wolf said: "We all know it's small. Hopefully our guys will hit more homers than the other teams. Maybe it'll be a home-field advantage because it will be on visiting pitchers' minds and we'll be used to it."
General manager Ed Wade said the dimensions all around the new park are within a couple of feet of what they were at the Vet.
"It's not the dimensions," Wade said. "It's been warm, the wind has had an effect, and, bottom line, this club is hitting home runs like it's capable of.
"Our plan was to build a park where the athletes would determine the outcome of the game, not the facility. Sure, the early indications are the ball will jump here, but it's too early to portray Citizens Bank Park as resting at the foot of the Rocky Mountains."
http://www.philly.com/images/philly/inquirer/8777/77044426007.jpg
A Ricky Ledee home run reaches the stands at Citizens Bank Park last month. The Phils’ powerful lineup and the warm weather are credited with the early surge in homers.
Posted on Fri, May. 28, 2004
Business Is Booming
By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Staff Writer
Walk into a major-league clubhouse these days. Identify yourself as being from Philadelphia. This is what you'll hear:
"Wow, the ball is really jumping up there."
Those were the words of Atlanta Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone recently. Many others have echoed his remarks.
It will take several years to accurately determine if Citizens Bank Park is the Coors Field of the East.
But based on early returns, it certainly is a place that has the look of a home-run haven.
"A guy on a radio show in Los Angeles asked me if it was easier to hit home runs here than at my high school park," Mike Lieberthal said with a laugh. "The hitters like it a lot."
In the first 20 games at the Phillies' new park (last night was the 21st), 60 home runs were hit, an average of three per game, the second-highest in baseball over that small slice of season. The Phillies had hit 38, while opponents had hit 22. In their first 20 games at Veterans Stadium last year, the Phils hit 19 homers.
The Phillies ranked fourth overall in the National League with 58 homers entering last night.
Entering last night, Jim Thome had 11 homers, eight at home. Pat Burrell had nine, all but one at home.
The only major-league park in which more homers were hit in the first 20 games this season was that mile-high hitters' paradise in Denver. Sixty-one homers were hit in the first 20 games at Coors Field - 3.05 per game.
When the Phillies planned their new home, they wanted it to be fair, favoring neither hitters nor pitchers. The average run total for the first 20 games at the park was 9.8. Thirteen parks had higher run totals, putting the Phillies' park about in the middle. The combined ERA over the first 20 games in the Phils' new park was a respectable 4.29 - and the Phils' home ERA was 3.59 - so that would indicate there's some pitching going on in the place.
Still, a lot of home runs have been hit in the new yard, and there are many reasons why.
First, the Phillies' offense is built around power. Thome, Burrell, Bobby Abreu and Lieberthal all have had 30-homer seasons in their careers.
Second, baseballs are more lively in warmer weather. April and May have both been warmer than usual. In fact, this month's average high has been 79 degrees. This month's average temperature (69.7 degrees) has been 7 degrees above normal.
When the Phillies and Dodgers combined for nine homers on May 18, the temperature was 82 degrees, and it was humid. Those typically were the days that the ball flew at the Vet.
"There were nights at the Vet where there were nine home runs hit," said John Stranix, who headed the stadium project for the Phillies. "I'd say what we've seen is a combination of a power-hitting team plus warm weather."
As far as wind, the Phillies studied years of data that were recorded at nearby Philadelphia International Airport. (Because the park is so close, the data were easily transferable, Stranix said.) The predominant wind blows from the southwest. In theory that would favor balls to right field.
Wind will affect balls more at the new park than the Vet because of the new facility's open concourses. The most homers ever hit by a Phillies team at the Vet was 101 in 1977. The 2004 Phils are on a pace to hit more than 150 at home.
"At the Vet, the structure blocked most of the wind," Stranix said. "But the wind accelerated through the [exits]. Wind picked up speed, swirled and did funny things.
"In the new park, there is no acceleration effect on the wind. The wind is applied more evenly to the ball."
The dimensions of the new park have been questioned by some managers, most notably the Dodgers' Jim Tracy and the Phillies' own Larry Bowa. Told that the 369-foot power alley in left was only two feet shorter than at the Vet, Bowa scoffed.
"That's what it says, huh?" Bowa said. "I'm not going to measure it because I don't want to know what I'm going to see. I'm just telling you that it looks small. But both teams have to play at it."
While the power alleys sit at 369 feet, the distances to straightaway left and right are much shorter. The distances are not marked, but mathematics show that it is roughly 346 feet to the D in the Bud Light sign in left and roughly 347 feet to the Majestic ad in straightaway right.
As Lieberthal said, the hitters like the park.
And the pitchers?
"I don't think any of them like it," Lieberthal said.
Pitcher Randy Wolf said: "We all know it's small. Hopefully our guys will hit more homers than the other teams. Maybe it'll be a home-field advantage because it will be on visiting pitchers' minds and we'll be used to it."
General manager Ed Wade said the dimensions all around the new park are within a couple of feet of what they were at the Vet.
"It's not the dimensions," Wade said. "It's been warm, the wind has had an effect, and, bottom line, this club is hitting home runs like it's capable of.
"Our plan was to build a park where the athletes would determine the outcome of the game, not the facility. Sure, the early indications are the ball will jump here, but it's too early to portray Citizens Bank Park as resting at the foot of the Rocky Mountains."
http://www.philly.com/images/philly/inquirer/8777/77044426007.jpg
A Ricky Ledee home run reaches the stands at Citizens Bank Park last month. The Phils’ powerful lineup and the warm weather are credited with the early surge in homers.