I was thinking about this last night and I was curious what other baseball enthusiasts thought: should MLB make all their baseball fields the same dimensions? I was thinking last night about the Yankees lack of power recently - even back to last October when they got bounced in the playoffs by the Tigers. I was thinking how that's exactly what the Yankees need right now and they traded their best hitting prospect last year. True, Jesus Montero isn't lighting it up just yet. But then I also thought that he's playing in Safeco Field, which is a hitters park. Then that began a web of thoughts within itself.
Why do we have the terms "hitters parks" or "pitchers parks"? Is it fair that one man's stats are better than another's based on his home ballpark? I understand that 81 games out of the year are played on the road. However, for those other 81 games that are played at home, they could have an affect on a hitter's stats. Let's say Montero's numbers aren't huge at the end of the year (never mind the fact that this is the kid's first full season in the majors). Take him out of Seattle and put him in a ballpark like Yankee Stadium and I bet you his stats go up. Some homeruns in Yankee Stadium are just loud outs at Safeco Field and other parks.
This led me to another example recently which was Adrian Gonzalez. His numbers weren't bad for Petco Park (since it's notoriously been referred to during it's time as a pitcher's park). Out of all the major offensive stats we judge players by, the only one that went down were his homeruns from 31 in 2010 to 27 in 2011. Everything else went up: hits, doubles, triples, RBIs, SB, AVG, OBP, SLG and OPS. Also, keep in mind this is a player coming to a new league with pitchers whom he's never seen before. This was an example of a hitter going from one park to another and increasing his batting average alone by 40 points from .298 in San Diego to .338 in Boston.
So, again this led me further to question, is it really fair that one players numbers should be better than another's based on his home ball park? I felt the answer was no. Baseball, in my opinion, is really the only sport where there are other elements in play besides the game itself that can negatively affect the player. In basketball, the goal is still 10 feet tall for everyone, always has been. Sure there's been rules added like the addition of the shot clock or 3-point line but the goal has always remained the same. In football the same thing. Sure there have been technological advances in regards to the football itself (as baseball has seen to the baseball itself) but the field is still 100 yards. Baseball is the only one where the field is another element within itself.
So, in all of this, my question to you is: do you believe that MLB should require all stadiums to have the same dimensions? The stadium can be set up any way the team wants, but the left, right and centerfield fences all need to be equal across the board. For the baseball purists out there, what is your opinion? Is it too late to change? Should we leave the game the way it's been for over 100 years? Vote and share your thoughts!
