How smaller fields have encouraged station to station baserunning

[Frobby]

I just noticed this today, in the course of researching some players mentioned in the Travis Snider thread on the Orioles board. Back in the 1960's and 70's, baserunners took an extra base (2 on a single, 3 on a double) about 59-60% of the time on a ball to RF. Today, it's only about 53% of the time. I guess part of it is that it's harder to advance in the smaller ballparks of today, and the other part is, it makes sense to avoid outs on the bases and hope someone knocks one over the fence.

[Hallas]

I want to see a (comparatively) wacky park that's about 295-305 down the lines and 385-400 in the alleys, and 415-430 to dead center. Basically a park where you can pull the ball down the line and get a lucky home run, while a gapper can end up as a triple or an ITP homer if you can't chase one down.

Then I'd try and get 3 center fielders in the outfield.

[DrungoHazewood]

Do they have advancement percentages going further back in time? Because you have to think there were parks in the past where the outfielders played so shallow and walls so short that it was unthinkable to advance on a ball in the gap. If I recall correctly League Park in Cleveland was maybe 250 down the RF line and barely 300 in the gap with a huge corrugated metal wall looming over the infield. Baker Bowl was tiny. Of course the Polo Grounds was well under 300' down the lines but centerfield went on forever. The few years the Dodgers played at the LA Coliseum it was so short to left that I think some balls over the screen were just ruled doubles. And in 1884 the Chicago White Sox played at Lakefront Park, which apparently had no dimension over 300' to any field. Those Sox had something like half of all the 20-homer seasons prior to Babe Ruth.

[DrungoHazewood]

Part of this advancement thing is probably better fielders. I think it used to be much more common to have a guy like Delmon Young regularly playing the field. Now not so much.

[Redskins Rick]

Part of this advancement thing is probably better fielders. I think it used to be much more common to have a guy like Delmon Young regularly playing the field. Now not so much.

You mean big slow guys like Frank Howard playing the OF?

[DrungoHazewood]

You mean big slow guys like Frank Howard playing the OF?

Yes. Part of the reason for the decline and fall of triples is that teams are less willing to put up with Delmon Young, Greg Luzinski, Frank Howard, Pete Incaviglia, Ken Singleton, John Kruk, and similar regularly and slowly chasing balls up the gap.

[Frobby]

Do they have advancement percentages going further back in time? Because you have to think there were parks in the past where the outfielders played so shallow and walls so short that it was unthinkable to advance on a ball in the gap. If I recall correctly League Park in Cleveland was maybe 250 down the RF line and barely 300 in the gap with a huge corrugated metal wall looming over the infield. Baker Bowl was tiny. Of course the Polo Grounds was well under 300' down the lines but centerfield went on forever. The few years the Dodgers played at the LA Coliseum it was so short to left that I think some balls over the screen were just ruled doubles. And in 1884 the Chicago White Sox played at Lakefront Park, which apparently had no dimension over 300' to any field. Those Sox had something like half of all the 20-homer seasons prior to Babe Ruth.

BB-ref's stats on outfielders holding runners currently go back to 1940. Out of curiosity, I had a look at how Duke Snider fared when he moved from Ebbetts Field to Dodger Stadium. The answer is what you'd expect. He held 43.8% of runners his last year in Brooklyn, 36.1% his first year in LA.

[DrungoHazewood]

BB-ref's stats on outfielders holding runners currently go back to 1940. Out of curiosity, I had a look at how Duke Snider fared when he moved from Ebbetts Field to Dodger Stadium. The answer is what you'd expect. He held 43.8% of runners his last year in Brooklyn, 36.1% his first year in LA.

The Dodgers played at the LA Coliseum from 1958-61, which you probably already know. But for the young 'uns here, the Coliseum was/is a wildly exaggerated mirror image of Ebbetts Field. At Ebbetts it was 296 to right (as there was a street at about 300'). At the Coliseum it was literally about 250' to left with a giant screen, but right field kind of went on forever as this was really a football/track stadium. So... as you mention you'd expect RFers like Snider to have very different numbers in the two parks.

[DrungoHazewood]

In looking up the details of the Coliseum I was reminded that the Red Sox and Dodgers played an exhibition there in 2008, and in the hasty reconfiguration from football to baseball mode it was just over 200' to left. That may be the shortest fence distance in a game involving major league teams since the 1880s.

[Chavez Ravine]

BB-ref's stats on outfielders holding runners currently go back to 1940. Out of curiosity, I had a look at how Duke Snider fared when he moved from Ebbetts Field to Dodger Stadium. The answer is what you'd expect. He held 43.8% of runners his last year in Brooklyn, 36.1% his first year in LA.

A similar comparison in the other direction:

Willie Mays held 48.7% and 48.8% of runners the last two years at the Polo Grounds; his percentage bumped up a smidgeon to 50.6% and 54.4% the two years at the more cozy (at least in center field) Seals Stadium.

[Hallas]

The Dodgers played at the LA Coliseum from 1958-61, which you probably already know. But for the young 'uns here, the Coliseum was/is a wildly exaggerated mirror image of Ebbetts Field. At Ebbetts it was 296 to right (as there was a street at about 300'). At the Coliseum it was literally about 250' to left with a giant screen, but right field kind of went on forever as this was really a football/track stadium. So... as you mention you'd expect RFers like Snider to have very different numbers in the two parks.

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/LAColiseum.htm

This park is hilarious. A middle schooler could probably it one out to LF.

251 down the LF line, 300 down the RF line, 420 to dead center, what looks like at least 460 to the RF power alley.