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kliuch t1_j1rbm34 wrote

One of things that has always baffled me about baseball is the lack of uniformity in sizes and shapes of baseball fields.

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onowahoo t1_j1ryqo4 wrote

It also helps with home field advantage. If you have beasts behind the plate you can keep a wider outfield. If you have a slow defensive team you can let the grass grow longer.

Different parks have different personalities, Yankee stadium used to have statues in the outfield until they moved the walls in... And then built a new stadium.

https://i.imgur.com/iAkeomk.jpg

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Frammingatthejimjam t1_j1t071x wrote

In the NHL they can control the speed of the game by the temperature of the ice. Fast team coming to town, slow the whole game down so that your leadfoots can keep up a little better.

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Quirky_Ad_8732 t1_j1tid10 wrote

It’s possible, but can you provide any evidence of this theory? I’ve been watching nhl for 30 years, and yes some rinks have shitty ice and some rinks are known for having good ice. I can’t imagine they do it on purpose to slow down another team, when every team in the league has fast players.

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tlryan92 t1_j1uvc4m wrote

It's negated when I enter the rink, since I'm cool enough to harden the ice.

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bostonhockey_80 t1_j1v1b1z wrote

I think is a big factor there. I've also never heard of a team manipulating ice temp for an advantage.

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N0rTh3Fi5t t1_j1rhkzm wrote

Especially considering what a big deal some of the records seem to be.

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OGraffe t1_j1s2j3g wrote

Was literally talking about this at Christmas with my brother and cousin. I think one of them said Aaron Judge likely wouldn’t have broken whichever record it was had he not played for the Yankees due to the short outfield in Yankee Stadium.

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alwaysmyfault t1_j1sg6kh wrote

That argument goes away when you realize he hit 30 HR at home, and 32 HR on the road this year.

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upvoter222 t1_j1sol9g wrote

Aaron Judge broke the American League record for home runs in a season. The previous record was set by Roger Maris, who also played for the Yankees. And he claimed the record from Babe Ruth, who also played for the Yankees. The dimensions changed a little bit over time, but it just so happens that all of the relevant people for that specific record had played in really similar stadiums with a notoriously short right field fence.

Then again, when it comes to home run records, you can make a case that a dozen different people deserve the title of Home Run King based on whatever you consider to be fair.

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Dry-Gulch-Slim t1_j1rpriz wrote

It's just one of the fun quirks of baseball. Back in the day it was a function of baseball being played on fields meant for other sports (eg. the Polo Grounds) or crammed into the space available (eg. Fenway Park). Then in the mid- to late-20th century, they did build a bunch of cookie cutter ballparks with curved, symmetrical outfields, domes, astroturf, etc. Those were awful, soulless, monstrosities.

Then when Oriole Park at Camden Yards was built in '92 it brought back a "renaissance" of these ballparks that were part of the city. They used existing architecture, borrowed architectural motifs, emphasized skylines, etc. So really it's partially about nostalgia and tradition and partially about emphasizing that each park, city, and club is 'unique".

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finix240 t1_j1rbts9 wrote

That’s the point

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insultant_ t1_j1rf3es wrote

But why?

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finix240 t1_j1rg2qu wrote

Idk it’s just one of the weird quirks of baseball. The infields are exactly the same dimensions, but the outfields are unique to the park

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fakeaccount572 t1_j1ujzrz wrote

Doesn't that change what a home run is then?

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finix240 t1_j1vedvm wrote

Kinda. A home run still scores the same but some parks are tougher to hit home runs in than others. Some park favor left handed hitters or pull hitters. Some parks like Fenway have taller walls in the outfield too which affects how the offenses score. All just part of the game

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0x4A5753 t1_j1rnyg2 wrote

I'm not sure if you follow soccer, but if you do, have you heard the meme "but can they do it on a cold rainy night at Stoke City?"

take that, but make it not a meme. Make it a serious question - can they do it in some irregular unhelpful field

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gormster t1_j1s49f8 wrote

Some aren’t even a fucking convex shape? What is going on here

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TurloIsOK t1_j1u9rv1 wrote

They had to fit into space limited by existing structures.

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fred_fotch t1_j1t82m5 wrote

It's the same for soccer. (Sizes not shapes.)

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kliuch t1_j1tgh0h wrote

Yes, but as you say the shape is standard, dimensions can vary but there’s a recommendation and clear limits.

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holdmymandana t1_j1u9uw2 wrote

No it’s not. There’s clear boundaries. This is just random

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Frogmarsh t1_j1rbrfc wrote

I bet Hundred HS’ team is made up of a preponderance of left-handers.

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insultant_ t1_j1rf9go wrote

Probably in a area where mining has polluted the water so bad that many children have mutated to become predominantly left handed.

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R3m0V3DBiR3ddiT t1_j1rjrsz wrote

I checked google maps, and it doesn't look like they even have an official field.

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modern_drift t1_j1rnihm wrote

there's a field at hornets highway and browns run road. don't look like much of one and doesn't have that odd shape.

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dvd5671 OP t1_j1qzl1l wrote

Hello everyone,

I am currently plotting, measuring, and visualizing every single high school baseball field in the United States. I currently have all of the data for Alaska, Ohio, Utah, Hawaii, and West Virginia (currently working on Maine). This is my second iteration of this type of graphic. Ohio's version is done but needs to be reformatted. Here are the other works of mine showcasing the weirdest fields of the states I listed previously:

And here is the link to the other overlay graphic I made:

Sources: Google Maps, WVSSAC

Tools: Google Maps, Illustrator, Photoshop

I post a lot of high school baseball field stuff on my Twitter as well, so check that out if you want. Hope you all enjoy :)

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Millipede01 t1_j1t4pva wrote

dude idk why but you're commentary on each of the weird fields has me cackling and cracking up. Great work dude, can't wait to see the rest!

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fail_whale_fan_mail t1_j1wlp5q wrote

This is super dope. Might be a naive question, but do you trace all of these by hand or do you have a way to automate it?

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finix240 t1_j1rbswy wrote

This is cool. Made me look up Tygarts Valley HS to see wtf was going on there

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StreetBookRandoNumbr t1_j1risge wrote

Looks like it’s also the football field on google maps

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BaldFraud99 t1_j1rkfrf wrote

Tyler Consolidated is also just 2 fields overlapping at the outfields. So the shell shape is very standard

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ol_dirty_applesauce t1_j1s7m6p wrote

That school’s about 15 miles from me. It’s one of the smaller public schools in the state, but not the smallest in the county in which it resides (Randolph). That goes to Pickens, which typically has an enrollment of around 40-50 students, K-12 and often has a graduating class of 1 or 2.

I’m pretty sure the fb and baseball fields are combined in some way at TVHS, but I can’t say for certain.

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ConcernedCitizen1900 t1_j1v3lhf wrote

Can I get the link

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Hank_N_Lenni t1_j1rxfuf wrote

Tyler consolidated is a softball field in one corner, baseball field in the opposite corner, and a soccer field laid out diagonally between them. Pretty cool use of the rectangular space IMO. Good luck hitting a homer to left field though.

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Thamesx2 t1_j1uw82y wrote

They use temporary fencing to create outfield walls of a reasonable distance; you can see this in Google maps.

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Hank_N_Lenni t1_j1w7i8b wrote

I saw that for the softball field but not the baseball field. Maybe they shift them back and forth depending on which team is playing that day.

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marimba79 t1_j1s2plp wrote

After looking at the Google Maps images, the four biggest (Meadow Bridge, Moorefield, Tyler, and Tygarts) are all combination fields with a softball field and/or football field. Meadow Bridge and Tyler have moveable fences to act as the outfield fence, so it wouldn’t be nearly that far for a home run. It looks to be the same at the other two, but those fields were lined for football, so the fences were most likely put away for the season.

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artb0red t1_j1rf917 wrote

Nice! I hardly know Baseball but like to see those fields compared!

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tostuo t1_j1sah8k wrote

I always liked that baseball fields aren't uniform, it adds variety to the gameplay.

Although as usual, some of these fields make me question reality.

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mtnbkrt22 t1_j1sprcf wrote

TIL how hilly West Virginia is because of a baseball field

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Brookmon t1_j1stb77 wrote

Lefty pull hitters are having a field day at hundred

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154bmag t1_j1s9pwv wrote

Someone call Five Point Vids

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dvd5671 OP t1_j1sait5 wrote

I’ve actually collaborated with him on two videos before funnily emough

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rug1998 t1_j1te8jo wrote

Lefties hate Tyler consolidated

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underbite420 t1_j1tlbiz wrote

I had above average Oppo power…but I’d be learning to hit left handed immediately if I had to attend Tyler Consolidated lol

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deutschdachs t1_j1ughdk wrote

Must be fun for the first baseman at Hundred HS to have a shot at robbing some home runs

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twv6 t1_j1unv7x wrote

This one is sweet but I really loved the one of the hs baseball fields in Hawai’i

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Avadya t1_j1uo6j0 wrote

I’m willing to bet tygarts puts up a temporary fence across the 5 yard line for game day

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Beatleboy62 t1_j1x83tr wrote

This is completely and utterly fascinating, thank you so much for collecting this data and sharing it with us!

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Oni_K t1_j1rma3i wrote

The American fascination with High School sports is... strange at best.

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blubblu t1_j1rnl43 wrote

It’s the developmental areas. Most countries have developmental programs for popular sports in their country, including gaming.

The obsession is the same. Baseball and football are huge in the states. Think La Messina for Barca, youth structures for soccer worldwide.

Also, fwiw, it’s also very fascinating to me that Americans have so much free headspace. Like what does it matter that another culture is different than yours?

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SpudsMacKenzie21 t1_j1rqfzz wrote

The country is huge. West Virginia has no professional sports and really just WVU in terms of national relevance at the college level.

High school sports are the next best thing that bring communities together.

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blubblu t1_j1rsv7v wrote

Yup. Plus! In other countries, there is a huge youth baseball or cricket following.

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