geezer
06-22-2012, 08:26 AM
Inspired by Dave's post on a radical way to use pitchers (and by the fact that I'm a golfer), I wonder if the following has ever been considered?
Why not reward the home run swings that are perfectly timed, and which hit the ball down the middle - like a good drive, in golf? To do that, move the fences in, in center field. Conversely, punish imperfectly timed swings - make it harder to hit it out down the foul lines. So perhaps dead center is 360 or 370; the power alleys are 380 or 390, and the lines are 400 or 405. The opposite of every park I've ever seen.
I just drew it. One thing for sure: it looks more like a diamond, set on a ring. Interesting.
If you built a park like that it would, certainly, cause a radical change in outfield defense on your home field. The outfield corners would be cavernous. You would need big time speed there. There would be new, strange gaps between the outfielders. You would need to re-learn outfield positioning. The throw from the right field corner to third would be monstrous.
As I muse on it, I realize you would probably - certainly? - end up rewarding pull hitters more. But not pull home run hitters - you would reward guys who could hit it down the line. That might change the way you pitch, as well. Slap hitters like Ichiro would perhaps get fed balls down the middle. If pitching on the corners led to more doubles and triples - would you tend to throw more strikes? Would we have a game with fewer walks and perhaps fewer home runs, but more hits? That would be interesting.
I'm not sure it would be a cure-all for the Mariners hitters, but it might make for a lot more exciting baseball. From my very rough drawing, it appears that it would add more area to the field, in total - more room for balls to land, and run. It would also give you more room for a beer garden in center field, too, which is worth something.
Your thoughts?
Why not reward the home run swings that are perfectly timed, and which hit the ball down the middle - like a good drive, in golf? To do that, move the fences in, in center field. Conversely, punish imperfectly timed swings - make it harder to hit it out down the foul lines. So perhaps dead center is 360 or 370; the power alleys are 380 or 390, and the lines are 400 or 405. The opposite of every park I've ever seen.
I just drew it. One thing for sure: it looks more like a diamond, set on a ring. Interesting.
If you built a park like that it would, certainly, cause a radical change in outfield defense on your home field. The outfield corners would be cavernous. You would need big time speed there. There would be new, strange gaps between the outfielders. You would need to re-learn outfield positioning. The throw from the right field corner to third would be monstrous.
As I muse on it, I realize you would probably - certainly? - end up rewarding pull hitters more. But not pull home run hitters - you would reward guys who could hit it down the line. That might change the way you pitch, as well. Slap hitters like Ichiro would perhaps get fed balls down the middle. If pitching on the corners led to more doubles and triples - would you tend to throw more strikes? Would we have a game with fewer walks and perhaps fewer home runs, but more hits? That would be interesting.
I'm not sure it would be a cure-all for the Mariners hitters, but it might make for a lot more exciting baseball. From my very rough drawing, it appears that it would add more area to the field, in total - more room for balls to land, and run. It would also give you more room for a beer garden in center field, too, which is worth something.
Your thoughts?