After analyzing the 29 games played and the 105 home runs hit at the NewYankee Stadium, AccuWeather.com has determined that the home run derby that hastaken place on a nightly basis is not weather related. As it turns out, walls,not weather, are the real homer helpers.The difference is in the dimensions. For someone attending a game at the NewYankee Stadium, or watching on TV, the size of the playing field appears to bethe same. The dimensions at select corners of the field are identical - and theposted numbers on the walls reflect that. However, detailed satellite images ofthe park reveal some nuances that have significant implications.
In right field, the newfound homer haven, the wall structure is slightlydifferent than the old park. The main difference involves curvature. The gentlecurve from right field to center field seen in original Yankee Stadium haslargely been eliminated at the new stadium. This is due in large part to thepresence of a manual scoreboard embedded within the wall. Losing this curvaturehas resulted in a right field that is shorter by 4-5 feet on average, but up to9 feet in spots.
Not only is the famed short porch even shorter in the new stadium, but thewalls themselves are not as tall. In the old ballpark, the walls in right fieldstood at a height of approximately 10 feet. At this height, it was difficultfor outfielders to scale the wall and attempt to rob a home run over the fence.
Fast forward to 2009, and the outfielders have been scaling the wall withoutany trouble. The result? The new outfield fences only rise to a height of 8feet, adding to the ease hitting a home run to right.
Taking into account the dimensions of the field and wall height,AccuWeather.com has calculated that 19 percent (20 out of 105) home runs wouldnot have flown out of the old stadium. If the first 29 games are anyindication, 293 home runs will be hit by the end of the year at the New YankeeStadium, just short of the record of 303 home runs hit at Denver's Coors Fieldin 1999. If this is the case, as many as 56 home runs could be attributed tothe size of the new playing field.
As far as the weather is concerned, there has been no consistent patternobserved in the wind speed and direction that could be attributable to anincrease in home runs so far this year. In fact, it is more likely that theeffect of temperature and humidity has a far greater effect on baseball flightthan does wind speed and direction. Warm, moist air is far less dense thancool, dry air, making it easier for a baseball to fly high in the sky. As aresult, it could be expected that balls will begin to fly further and furtheras the mercury begins to rise.
While part of the increase in home runs seen in the Bronx can be pinned onthe dimensions of the field and the height of the walls, two large factors willalways remain: the quality of the hitter and the performance of the pitcher.
Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Tim Buckley.
