| 28 January 2009
Aaron Gleeman of Rotoworld.com recently ranked the most hitter friendly ballparks in baseball. Aaron used Baseball-Reference's three year park factors to show that any park with a score over 100 is considered hitter friendly, while a park below 100 is deemed pitcher friendly.
Here's a look at the Top 5:
Boston Red Sox - 108
Colorado Rockies - 107
Arizona Diamondbacks - 107
Chicago Cubs - 106
Chicago White Sox - 105
It was interesting to see Fenway Park ranked above Coors Field, but as Aaron mentions, the Green Monster may be a home run deterrent, but it creates a lot of doubles...
I'm not shocked to see Fenway Park at the top of this list, simply because it's common knowledge that the Red Sox play very well at home. In 2008, only the Rays were better at home with a 57-24 record, just a hair better than the Red Sox at 56-25. But I wanted to look a little deeper at this "Park Factor." Here's what I found:
The first thing I noticed is some statistical proof regarding the Green Monster comment above. The Red Sox were third in the majors with 461 runs scored at home in 2008, but they only hit 79 homers... making them stick out like a sore thumb among the Top 5:
But a quick look at the doubles, proves that the Green Monster does indeed turn potential homers into doubles. The Red Sox lead the league with 211 doubles... 22 more than the second place Rangers.
This would explain how the Red Sox managed to score so many runs despite hitting just 79 homers... but doubles don't equal runs unless you have runners on base, right?
Well, the Red Sox lead the league in OBP both overall (.358) and at home (.372) in 2008... so that answers that question. But it presents a few other points of interest...
It's no coincidence that the Red Sox lead the league in OBP in 2008 and among the best for yeas now... Good plate discipline is preached throughout all levels of the organization and is a key factor when looking at draft picks, free agents and trade possibilities. Simply put: Fenway turns homers into doubles, so the Sox have built a team that turns doubles into runs.
Example: Manny and Ortiz were the "home run hitters" on the 2008 roster. Manny was replaced with Jason Bay at the break and Ortiz only played 109 games...but the Red Sox still posted 845 runs (3rd, MLB). How? They lead the league in OBP and hit 353 doubles (2nd). Dustin Pedroia doubled his home run total from 2007, but he still only hit 17... it was the 54 doubles that earned him 83 RBI... just like Youk's 43 earned him 115 RBI and Jed Lowrie's 25 earned him 46 RBI in just 81 games.
So the Sox are built for Fenway... that doesn't prove or disprove that Fenway is "hitter friendly" right? Let's take a look at the Yankees stats at Fenway versus their overall stats:
Three years isn't a big sample, but the Yankees typically score more runs per game at Fenway than they do at Yankee Stadium.
As I read through Aaron's article, he noted that some parks have switched from being hitter friendly to pitcher friendly (or vice versa) over the years. This seemed to prove that as a team's roster had more effect on how many runs they will score than the park that they play... but seeing that other teams also hit better at Fenway gives credibility to the idea that Fenway is a hitter-friendly park.
I guess that makes the 3.78 team ERA the Red Sox posted in 2008 all the more impressive. The same could be said for Jon Lester's 2.49 ERA and 11-1 record at Fenway last year. But what does it mean for the offense?
It means that as long as the Red Sox keep building the roster with OBP in mind and home run power as a bonus, they will continue to have success at Fenway Park. Kevin Youkilis (.390, 6th) and Dustin Pedroia (.376, 10th) were among the best in the league in OPS and Jacoby Ellsbury, in his first full year as the leadoff man, posted a .336 OBP - good for 46th overall. Doubles will also remain a key part of the offense. Pedroia, Youkilis, Ortiz, Bay, Lowell and even Lugo have hit 40+ doubles in a season at leats once... and Drew, Lowrie and Ellsbury are all capable of hitting 30 or more in a season.
Bottom Line: The Red Sox pitchers have proven that they can counter Fenway's hitter friendly attributes and signing strong defensive players like Pedroia, Youk, Lowell, Drew and Ellsbury helps the cause... Couple that with an offense that is designed to take advantage of a park they play 81 games in and you have yourself a winner, year after year.
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