It’s the offseason in Massachusetts, which means Fenway Park is set to undergo its annual renovations. New, high-definition video screens will be installed. Additional seats will be placed in front of some things, and on top of some other things. And, pursuant to the long-standing wishes of cramped and uncomfortable relief pitchers, the bullpens in right field will be expanded to a more accommodating width.
Fenway Park Declares War On Innocent Pitchers
The [Red Sox are] hoping to increase the width of the bullpens at Fenway Park by approximately 8 feet, a shift that would make it safer for pitchers warming up and cut down on the dimensions in right field.
Because Fenway is a world-renowned and nationally-recognized landmahhhk, the team must first receive permission to make such a change from a couple area commissions. That permission, however, should be easy to come by, meaning it’s likely only a matter of time before home and visiting relievers have a little more space to stretch out and fight with ballpark groundskeepers.
But what does this actually mean?
If you listen to Red Sox officials, they don’t think an 8-10 foot reduction in the distance to right field would matter very much. Fenway currently measures 380 feet to right-center field, compared to, say, 373 feet to right-center in Baltimore, and 375 feet to right-center in Toronto. Fenway has a big right field area, and the executives believe that that space could withstand a little shrinkage.
However, one must consider the rest of the data. It's 385 feet to right-center in New York's Yankee Stadium. It's also 385 feet in Seattle. It's 387 feet in Kansas City. Fenway does not currently have an unusually deep right-center power alley, and it also has a fence low enough for J.D. Drew to trip over.
Fenway presently limits home runs by left-handed batters by a fairly considerable margin, but it’s still friendly to lefties overall, thanks to an elevated doubles rate and a mystifying but nevertheless real reduction in strikeouts. And it follows that bringing the right field fences in by another 8-10 feet will only make it that much more lefty-friendly. Suddenly, some doubles turn into homers, and some fly outs turn into homers as well.
How many? I’m not going to sit here and try to calculate the precise magnitude of increased lefty-hitter-friendliness given this particular renovation, but I’m guessing it would not be insignificant. Already something of a bandbox, this change would only serve to boost Fenway’s run environment even further.
But then, fans do love their dingers!
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