On-Deck

Ballpark Analysis: Doubles Yielded In the past two weeks, we've looked at two of the bigger factors that led to how a ballpark played... home runs yielded and batting average yielded. Today, we'll change things up a bit and go with one of the factors that gets a little less publicity, but is nearly as important. While not all parks are built for power hitting teams, there are ways that players can work around that. For instance, the number one hitter's park in baseball last season in terms of runs scored played as a neutral pitcher's park in terms of home runs. However, loading up with gap hitters who rack up the doubles can still lead to a ton of runs being put on the board.

Traditionally, the top doubles park in baseball has been Fenway, which is largely due to that 37 foot monster out in left field. While the fence is incredibly short in distance, its height will keep any line drive from even coming close to leaving the yard, bouncing it back into play. This leads to a ton of runners ending up on second base out of the batter's box. It's no surprise that Fenway, which played negatively in home runs for the Red Sox in each of the past three seasons, led our survey in all three of those years.

Other parks consistently playing near the top of our rankings

PNC Park (Pittsburgh) - Like Fenway, PNC played negatively for home runs in each of the past three seasons, though it finished 2nd (2006), 5th (2005), and 9th (2004) in terms of doubles yielded in Pirate games as compared to their road games. The fences aren't particularly long down the lines or in centerfield, though they are a little longer in the power alleys than most stadiums (389 to left center and 375 to right center).

Kaufmann Stadium (Kansas City) - While Kaufmann actually played poorly for doubles in 2004, that was its first season since moving the fences back. Hitters (both Royals' hitters and their opponents) seem to have figured out that it's better not to swing for the fences so often there in the past two years. Kaufmann has held steady as the number three park in terms of doubles yielded the past two seasons, making it a fantastic plus play for the Magglio Ordonez' and Joe Mauer's of the world when they come to town.

Chase Field (Arizona) - While Chase differs from each of the three parks above because it also plays well for home runs, it's easy to figure out why it plays well for doubles. It's a pull-hitter's dream down the lines, with fairly short (both distance and height) fences in those areas. However, it's canyonous in the gaps. The power alleys run out at 413 feet, while dead center is actually a tad shorter at 407. Toss in a huge fence out in center field, and you're talking about a lot of doubles being hit in the gap. The Diamondbacks are building their team very well for the future, as Chad Tracy, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, and Carlos Quentin all figure as young players that love to drive the ball into the gap.

Parks that have consistently played poorly

Comerica Park (Detroit) - It's kind of baffling that Comerica hasn't played better to doubles in recent years. The dimensions (particularly in left and center field) would imply that it would play considerably better for doubles than home runs. However, it hasn't played well for much of anything in the past three seasons, as it's played 24th (2006), 21st (2005), and 27th (2004) in doubles.

Petco Park (San Diego) - Yet another park that hasn't played well in any area, Petco really isn't that deep with its dimensions. It's very shallow (322) down the right field line and fairly shallow in left (334) and left center (367). Center and right center field are actually pretty much right at the league average. This doesn't leave as much room in the gaps as you might think, and Petco has played horribly for doubles in each of its three seasons. It ranked dead last in 2006, 28th in 2005, and 22nd in 2004. On the positive side, it did start playing considerably better for home runs last season, ranking at just a -3 as compared to Padres' road games.

Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay) - Throw in 315 (left) and 322 (right) foot fences and people are gunning for the lines consistently. Toss in that the 370 in the gaps aren't remarkably long, and the Trop has played in the bottom ten in each of the past three seasons.

Yankee Stadium (New York) - People aren't lying when they talk about the short (314) right field porch, but they're completely missing that the left field porch is just 318 down the line in its own right. Hit it down the lines and you probably don't have to worry much about the fences in Yankee Stadium. The gaps play fairly deep, which would imply that it should play at least neutral for doubles, but it hasn't played better than 20th in the league in doubles in the past three seasons.

2006:



2005:



2004:



* The Washington Nationals moved into RFK Stadium prior to the 2005 season
** The St. Louis Cardinals moved into the new Busch Stadium prior to the 2006 season

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