You are correct. They built a new football field in the last 10 years at a separate location and re-aligned the baseball fencing (it used to be even shorter to RF, if you believe that) so it was slightly better.
Weird Baseball Fields
- Thread starter throwittoblythe
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You are correct. They built a new football field in the last 10 years at a separate location and re-aligned the baseball fencing (it used to be even shorter to RF, if you believe that) so it was slightly better.
I guess the logic is everyone is playing on the same field so it's fair. But there are definitely some advantages to familiarity to the oddities. I think it was the old Rangers park that had a weird hill in dead center or even Wrigley's ivy.
East is a weird one and has been in most of the discussions (see tweet below). I don't remember the distance to the building in Right but it isn't long.
Growing up I played little league on the varsity softball field. At the time there was a giant oak tree and a utility pole in left center. As a center fielder that was interesting. When I was in high school they ended up putting in a fence that put those outside of the field of play. I think the tree is gone now too.
My home field in high school was like that. the infield was limestone screenings (gravel chips). Pants would only last about 3 weeks tops before they had to be replaced so we just wore the generic white pants. Stains didn't matter when you only got 4 or 5 games out of them tops.
I played on this field a few times. The hill is bigger than it looks in the photo. Also played at East once, but nothing happened with the bleacher wall that game.
Field in Collins was like that. Shared w/ softball. Only had lights in the infield so we'd play varsity games at 6 then softball would follow.
I swear I still have gravel floating under my skin from some of those types of fields.
Kaufman Stadium’s outfield is massive and the Royals build their team around it by going for flyball pitchers and 80 grade speed in center, and often moving CFers to the corners. If they play all of the games in thin-air AZ this year they may be angling for that #1 pick again.
My oldest sons USSSA team played on one last year and those boys complained for weeks afterwards and I couldn’t help but laugh.
I played many games at East (having graduated from there).
Right field is what gets all the attention, but the oddities of that field don’t end there.
The fence in left all the way to dead center is perfectly parallel to University Avenue, which is straight as a string there. As a result, it is something like 360 down the left field line, 335 to the left center power alley and 400 to straight away center.
Moving to right, it continue to move away from home plate in right center. It’s about 410-415 in right center, then cuts drastically in as the baseball field interacts with Williams Stadium. If I’m not mistaken, it’s only something like 260 or so down the right field line, but a homer had to me hit over the Williams Stadium bleachers. The real screwing thing, back when I played, was the right field fence was only about 10-12 feet high, and Williams stadium open underneath, so there was an opening between the field fence and the top of the bleachers, where a ball would clear that fence, but not be a home run. Ground rule double.
Back to right center for a second...if a ball was hit to right center, beyond the short porch in right, that was a triple haven. You get one in that gap, and you could run for daaaaaaaays.
Ahhhh...memories.
Bancroft had nasty foul stuff also. Partial fences, a shed IIRC, and kinda open bull pens on the 3rd base line. Left fielders hated it there. Their bleachers were a sweet box also. Old wooden ones that are covered and get no air flow. HS doesn't play in the rain hardly so it made little sense. It would bake a person out.
My HS field had a limestone in field (made for lots of hot grounders), no lights, orange snow fence in the outfield, cows about 10 feet from said snow fence and a big oak tree with branches that extended into CF. I wish I could find a pic .They've since added lights and chain link for fencing.
Our HS field was very nice, but I can think of so many fields we played at growing up in Babe Ruth league, especially, that were horrendous. Two that come to mind are the BR fields in Mt. Vernon and the complex in Key West area of Dubuque. Playing games at dusk or at night on those fields was so awful from the mosquitoes. We all (including parents in the stands) got eaten alive.
Yep, it's short to left but not too crazy. With that said, I played SS and in a normal defensive position I bet I was closer to the left field wall (a building) than I was the catcher. Pretty tame compared to lots of the other fields shown here though.
I played during MSTM's crazy long win streak... plenty of dents put in the roof of that building during those days.
