(03-19-2012 01:33 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  

(03-19-2012 01:17 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(03-19-2012 10:56 AM)bigquinton Wrote:  

(03-18-2012 09:15 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  You silly teams and you're band boxes. Try hitting a homerun at ASU with the wind blowing in at about 15 mph, which it seems to do every week.

1 of the four home runs that were hit this weekend at middle would of been out at western. i hate playing at middle.

A few years ago when we were playing MTSU back when Bryce Brentz and co were bashing the ball around the yard, a couple of our fans went and counted the number of balls they hit at ASU that might have been out at Middle.

The total was 7. They hit 1 homerun that weekend. UALR had the nations homerun leader this weekend and they didnt hit a single one. We play in the SBC's version of Petco Park.

Funny thing is, Brentz and Will Skinner and company are still bashing the ball out of the park on their rise to the Big Leagues. Brentz is the top minor league non-pitcher prospect in Red Sox organization.

I saw some folks bitching about Skinner making the All-SBC team, and he continues to bash the ball for the Braves organization. Guess the pundits were wrong.

As far as WKU goes, when you get your arses beat 9-1, hard to complain. Score more than a run and you may have a chance.

actually it was 5 home runs hit. even the one we hit wouldn't of been out at wku. as i recall we did score more than 1 run. we scored 9 of them on friday night. wku is down this year. i was just pointing out that the ball flies out at middle compared to wku. also in 6 years i've never seen anybody put it out over center at wku. even with the old bats.

I've been to all of the parks multiple times. There are many factors which contribute to a park being hitter or pitcher friendly. Here's my take on it all.

It's interesting in this game that the dimensions and wind conditions of two ball parks can be identical, yet one yields many more long balls than the other. You've heard the term "the ball carries well" or, more often "the ball just doesn't carry in that park." Those statements have merit.

Reese Smith, Jr. Field is one of the most hitter friendly parks in the league. As someone pointed out, the football stadium in left field can cut down wind currents and as a result, the ball carries well in that park. And, you can get a lift at times to right field with the wind, but unless it's really strong, it doesn't affect balls hit to left that much.

Other hitter friendly parks in the league are Stanky Field in Mobile, especially for right handed hitters. Wind is almost always blowing out to left field. Ditto for the FIU Baseball Stadium in Miami. The wind usually blows out at Warhawk Field in Monroe as well and the alleys are a little shorter there. I find the ball carries pretty well at Troy as well, and, of course, you have the short porch with the monster in right-center.

UALR is a really small park. The signs they have there concerning the dimensions are bogus, which is why they built a 16-foot fence. My guess is the dimensions are 315, 350, 375.

I think Nick Denes is one of the fairer parks in the league for both pitchers and hitters. There's nothing there to give the hitter a real advantage. If you hit it, it will go.

Tomlinson Stadium is downright brutal for hitters. The park is located in open space and there's nothing to break the wind as it comes in. It's usually 15 mph, sometimes more, and it blows in all the time except for February. If you hit one out of that park, either you crushed it or you had a day where the wind was blowing out, or there may have been a lull in the wind.

And "Tigue " Moore field in Lafayette is tough on hitters as well. The wind isn't often a factor, but when it blows, it's in from center field (once again, except early in the season.) And, the humidity factors in as well. The ball carries better during the day than it does at night, but either way, this is definitely a pitcher's park. There are lots of times I've seen hitters get a hold of one and go into their home run trot, only to have the ball caught on the track. The players just laugh and say "Welcome to the Tigue."

That happened to Skinner at least three times last year in Lafayette.

Now, you'll never find a crazier park than New Mexico State. As someone pointed out, the wind is always blowing out and sometimes the wind is really blowing....plus it's at about 3000 feet, which makes the ball travel farther. Despite a bigger park (340-385-410) the ball just flies out of there.

True story. UALR was playing out there back when Brian Rhees was coaching the Trojans. The wind was really whipping that day. An Aggie hit a popup and the UALR shortstop called for it. It went over the left-center field wall. The final that day was something like 33-26.

Now, there are hitters like Brentz that could hit freaking anywhere. He hit a couple at the Tigue in his career that were really belted. He might be the best opposing hitter I've seen in this league. Dude could rake...and obviously still can.

(03-20-2012 10:57 AM)BirdofParadise Wrote:  I've been to all of the parks multiple times. There are many factors which contribute to a park being hitter or pitcher friendly. Here's my take on it all.

It's interesting in this game that the dimensions and wind conditions of two ball parks can be identical, yet one yields many more long balls than the other. You've heard the term "the ball carries well" or, more often "the ball just doesn't carry in that park." Those statements have merit.

Reese Smith, Jr. Field is one of the most hitter friendly parks in the league. As someone pointed out, the football stadium in left field can cut down wind currents and as a result, the ball carries well in that park. And, you can get a lift at times to right field with the wind, but unless it's really strong, it doesn't affect balls hit to left that much.

Other hitter friendly parks in the league are Stanky Field in Mobile, especially for right handed hitters. Wind is almost always blowing out to left field. Ditto for the FIU Baseball Stadium in Miami. The wind usually blows out at Warhawk Field in Monroe as well and the alleys are a little shorter there. I find the ball carries pretty well at Troy as well, and, of course, you have the short porch with the monster in right-center.

UALR is a really small park. The signs they have there concerning the dimensions are bogus, which is why they built a 16-foot fence. My guess is the dimensions are 315, 350, 375.

I think Nick Denes is one of the fairer parks in the league for both pitchers and hitters. There's nothing there to give the hitter a real advantage. If you hit it, it will go.

Tomlinson Stadium is downright brutal for hitters. The park is located in open space and there's nothing to break the wind as it comes in. It's usually 15 mph, sometimes more, and it blows in all the time except for February. If you hit one out of that park, either you crushed it or you had a day where the wind was blowing out, or there may have been a lull in the wind.

And "Tigue " Moore field in Lafayette is tough on hitters as well. The wind isn't often a factor, but when it blows, it's in from center field (once again, except early in the season.) And, the humidity factors in as well. The ball carries better during the day than it does at night, but either way, this is definitely a pitcher's park. There are lots of times I've seen hitters get a hold of one and go into their home run trot, only to have the ball caught on the track. The players just laugh and say "Welcome to the Tigue."

That happened to Skinner at least three times last year in Lafayette.

Now, you'll never find a crazier park than New Mexico State. As someone pointed out, the wind is always blowing out and sometimes the wind is really blowing....plus it's at about 3000 feet, which makes the ball travel farther. Despite a bigger park (340-385-410) the ball just flies out of there.

True story. UALR was playing out there back when Brian Rhees was coaching the Trojans. The wind was really whipping that day. An Aggie hit a popup and the UALR shortstop called for it. It went over the left-center field wall. The final that day was something like 33-26.

Now, there are hitters like Brentz that could hit freaking anywhere. He hit a couple at the Tigue in his career that were really belted. He might be the best opposing hitter I've seen in this league. Dude could rake...and obviously still can.

center field at the nick is called the graveyard.

Great recap. Well said. I've seen NMSU both ways blowing in and out. If it's blowing out the score are insane - like you said and fielders are constantly having to deal with sand in the face. If it's blowing in it's tough to hit not only because of effect on the ball but the sand in the hitters face.

Those sand storms are rediculous and last for days.

And people want to bring New Mexico State back into the league? Do they care about their pitchers ERA's?

As for ASU, we did change to a chain link fence in right field for a small section of the park. While that doesnt stop the wind, it will cause the ball to lift a little more. As such, the only place to hit a homerun in Tomlinson on a windy day is down the right field line.

UALR had 3 or 4 balls this weekend that they absolutely crushed. Of those, 3 of them were held up by the wind and were caught short of the wall, the last one was misplayed into a triple by our right fielder. One of the biggest changes ASU made to its team recently was to begin recruiting a line drive hitting team. You have to almost flat out ignore the homerun in order to win consistantly at Tomlinson. Try for the line drive into the gap. If you try and swing for the fences, you are fighting a losing proposition. That is unless you are named Murray Watts or Bryce Brentz.