Baltimore Sun: Orioles lost more than they won because of LF wall

[Going Underground]

So a 5 year credit.

State knocks $600,000 off Orioles’ annual Camden Yards rent for team’s reconstruction of left field wall – Baltimore Sun
https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-rent-discount-20221202-qbryvjvplvgvlegod5op44i344-story.html

 

Camden Yards' left field wall, by the numbers:

$593,413discount the Orioles received in rent for the 2022 fiscal year for building new left field wall

$4.7 millionOrioles' total rent owed to the state for the 2022 fiscal year

5years the Orioles could receive such a discount for building the $3 million wall

57home runs lost to the wall in 2022

No. 1Camden Yards’ rank among MLB ballparks in total home runs allowed from 2000 to 2021

No. 23Camden Yards’ rank among MLB ballparks in total home runs allowed in 2022

[Going Underground]

The wall — which the team built this spring 30 feet farther back than its predecessor — cost the Orioles more home runs than it did their opponents. And without it, the Orioles might have won one more game, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.

[Tony-OH]

4 hours ago, Going Underground said:

The wall — which the team built this spring 30 feet farther back than its predecessor — cost the Orioles more home runs than it did their opponents. And without it, the Orioles might have won one more game, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.

Interesting. We had a thread and tried to keep up with home runs lost but never quite got there. I think in the future, the Orioles will be a left-handed/switch-hitter heavy lineup. 

This is why I think guys like Westburg, Norby and maybe even Mayo could be trade bait because their right-handed power is their biggest attributes. 

Hudson Haskins-type will struggle badly in Camden Yards for power. 

Joey Ortiz brings plus defensive value, but I do think his power numbers will not be as good in Camden Yards though he could become more of a Brian Roberts "high doubles kind of guy."

BTW, I now like them pushing the wall back a bit, but I'm not sure 30 feet was the right distance and should have angled it in left center instead of creating that jutting out point.

I hate that they lost the ability for outfielders to go into the stands to rob a homer as well. 

But, I think they now made Camden Yards more friendly to free agent pitchers and that should help them land a top FA pitcher (hopefully Bassitt).

[interloper]

4 hours ago, Going Underground said:

The wall — which the team built this spring 30 feet farther back than its predecessor — cost the Orioles more home runs than it did their opponents. And without it, the Orioles might have won one more game, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.

No reason whatsoever to think that will be the case moving forward. 

[Frobby]

I think I read previously that our offense lost 31 homers to the Wall, while our opponents lost 26.  

Well, maybe so, but somehow our pitchers allowed 81 fewer homers and 182 fewer runs at OPACY than they did in 2021.   And only 6 fewer homers and 86 fewer runs on the road compared to 2021.  So that tells me that even if the Wall only directly took away 26 homers by our opponents, it had a much bigger impact on our pitchers than that.  
 

[Orioles4Life21]

Still believe it was an overcorrection, and on top of that it’s just not appeasing to the eye. 

[baltfan]

Hard to calculate the increase in confidence it gave the Orioles young starters.  Confidence goes a long way and I don’t think it’s a coincidence we had so many young guys perform as starters when they hadn’t in the past. 

[Can_of_corn]

5 hours ago, baltfan said:

Hard to calculate the increase in confidence it gave the Orioles young starters.  Confidence goes a long way and I don’t think it’s a coincidence we had so many young guys perform as starters when they hadn’t in the past. 

I think it was exactly equivalent to the frustration felt by the young hitters.

 

It's a wash as expected.

[owknows]

46 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think it was exactly equivalent to the frustration felt by the young hitters.

 

It's a wash as expected.

Gotta think it had a net positive impact on their record.

Put a decent defensive team out there... encourage your pitcher to throw strikes... whether the direct impact to HR's was measurable or not... kinda hard to argue with the W/L result... and with the general improvement of pitchers that has been attributed to the genius of the pitching coach

[Roll Tide]

13 hours ago, Orioles4Life21 said:

Still believe it was an overcorrection, and on top of that it’s just not appeasing to the eye. 

Gotta agree …..a change was probably needed but it was poorly done and ugly

[owknows]

5 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

Gotta agree …..a change was probably needed but it was poorly done and ugly

I think they were trying to keep in quaint and quirky to fit the general vibe of Camden Yards.

I don't hate it.... That's the best I can say for it.

[Roll Tide]

20 minutes ago, owknows said:

I think they were trying to keep in quaint and quirky to fit the general vibe of Camden Yards.

I don't hate it.... That's the best I can say for it.

They could’ve move the lower pen to the area in front of the wall and made the shape make sense

[Can_of_corn]

41 minutes ago, owknows said:

Gotta think it had a net positive impact on their record.

Put a decent defensive team out there... encourage your pitcher to throw strikes... whether the direct impact to HR's was measurable or not... kinda hard to argue with the W/L result... and with the general improvement of pitchers that has been attributed to the genius of the pitching coach

Except the Sun just provided evidence it didn't.

[owknows]

16 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Except the Sun just provided evidence it didn't.

No... actually they didn't

They provided evidence that speaks directly to the impact as measured in Home Runs

They said nothing about the general performance of Orioles pitching which potentially resulted from more aggressive approaches, as a result of a focus on defense, and a deeper LF wall.

The conjecture I placed on the table, was that although there may not have been a net benefit in home runs... there was clearly a marked improvement in team W/L record... and a noticeable improvement in many if not most of the pitchers on staff. And that while most have attributed this net benefit to our genius of a pitching coach... it may more realistically be attributable to more aggressive pitching in general, because the pitchers knew they were backed up by a generally good defense, and by an enormous canyon in left field.

The Orioles chose defense over offense last year, which had some impact on Oriole home runs. Other teams by comparison didn't. So Home Runs tell an incomplete picture of the impact of the wall. but there may be more to the story that the careful observer can infer from the team's W/L record, and the noticeable uptick in pitching staff performance.

[MarCakes21]

Elias has said he's not done.  But probably a few years away.

I think personally it should come to a level that home runs can be taken away, so lower the wall.  And maybe 10 feet in.