Which had to be posted separately because I actually broke the Box software with this one!
I am so proud.
Let's begin with a simple reference chart - which parks are involved, who played there and when, and which little code I'm using for that park in the Big Honking Data Tables below. You see, in my desperate quest to provide you, faithful Bauxites, with all the numbers I came up with and actually fit them onto the page - I sort of had to squeeze or omit some rather important information. Like the actual name of the park, who played there, and when. Stuff like that. I am confident that many of them you will recognize the park in question with no difficulty at all. Most of the time, anyway. But alas, sometimes the park identifier, in the very first column, is necessarily a little cryptic.
I feel like I'm using DOS again, and file names can only have eight characters. I realize that something like "Polo Gr 4b" is somewhat obscure, although I figure most of you will make the intuitive leap and realize I'm referring to the Polo Grounds. I can't ask much more than that. (The 4 is because it was the fourth version of the Polo Grounds, and the b is for the second team that called it home - in this case, the Yankees from 1913 through 1922).
So here is our preliminary:
Many parks have been used by multiple teams, occasionally at the same time. Always, I provide multiple entries. The fourth incarnation of the Polo Grounds was used by the Giants, Yankees, and Mets - each is recorded separately. This also applies to Fenway Park, Shibe Park, Sportsmans Park II, Griffith Stadium, County Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Shea Stadium, and Municipal Stadium (KC).
Finally, many, if not all, major league stadiums have undergone considerable renovations over the years. In the early days, of course, ball parks burned down quite regularly - sometimes they'd toss up a new one on the same spot in a few weeks and give it the same name. These are generally regarded as distinct and separate parks, even if we just end up calling it Polo Grounds IV. As for renovations, I have simply ignored them for the most part, with one exception - Yankee Stadium was rebuilt so extensively in the mid-1970s (the Bombers played at Shea Stadium for two years while the work was underway) that I have decided to consider it two different parks. It was tempting to do the same thing with Fenway Park, but while there have been many changes made to Fenway over the years, none of them required that the team actually get out of the house for two years. But be aware, that Fenway Park was a pitcher's park for most of its first 20 years.
And so on to our first table. You see what the Rockies did in their home games at Coors Field, wins, losses, runs scored and allowed - and what they did in road games during the same period. Lastly, the HFA simply subtracts the road winning percentage from the home winning percentage. I used 800 games as a minimum for this first table, so there'd be at least ten years of data in the mix and thereby weeding out one-year flukes, like I'm sure Busch III will turn out to be.
I'm going to toss one last Table at you, just because I have the numbers handy. It's simply a table of how many runs were scored in this park contrasted with how many runs these teams were scoring in their road games. Comparing the two figures suggests what impact this particular ball park had on offense.
There are some extremely small sample sizes here, of course. But it's clear, for example, that Fulton County Stadium's nickname of "The Launching Pad" was richly, richly deserved. It was one of the greatest hitter's parks in history. And the Trop in Tampa Bay is the most neutral park ever? It looks that way.
What's especially interesting to me about this particular table are those instances when we have two teams sharing the same ball park. Sometimes I simply don't know what's going on. County Stadium in Milwaukee was pretty much a neutral park during the 30 years that the Brewers played there, but while the Braves called it home in the 1950s and 60s, it was one of the toughest places to hit ever. Munipal Stadium in Kansas City was a very good place to hit when the A's played there, but played pretty much as a neutral park for the Royals during their four years there.
But sometimes the symmetry is extremely pleasing. Down at the bottom you see Dodger Stadium's two entries in as close proximity as is possible - despite the fact that the place the Angels played in from 1962 through 1965 has changed a little since then. Most notably, in the 1970s, home plate was moved out, effectively bringing the fences in closer. While this made it easier to hit home runs, the resulting large increase in foul territory clearly helped it remain what it has always been, one of the greatest pitcher's parks ever. The two entries for Shea Stadium come one after the other, even though the fact that the Yankees were only there for two seasons made the sample size small enough to make Weirdness possible.
Of course this is way, way more complicated than I'm even beginning to hint at - this is actually a somewhat cursory look at ballpark effects. Because the context is an ever-changing thing. One of the reasons Fenway Park is not as great a hitter's park as it used to be really has nothing to do with Fenway - every other park in the American League has been replaced (or at least extensively modified) which has had an effect on the way the Red Sox score and allow runs in their road games. Which is what we use as a point of comparison for what they did in their home games. In just the last twenty years, the Red Sox have stopped playing games at Memorial Stadium, Exhibition Stadium, County Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Municipal Stadium, old Comiskey Park, the Kingdome, Arlington Stadium. Kaufman Stadium underwent an extremely signiificant change. The Sox played in new parks in Baltimore, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and Texas, and a new team - in Tampa - joined the league. That is one shifting context to place Fenway Park against.
*******************************************************************************************************************************************
Think of this section as equivalent to footnotes!
TEAMS CHANGING THEIR HOME PARK IN MID-SEASON
1910 - The White Sox began the season at South Side Park, and moved into Comiskey Park on July 1.
1911 - The Senators began the season at National Park and moved into Griffith Stadium on July 24.
1914 - The Braves began the season at South End Grounds and moved into Fenway Park on August 14.
1915 - The Braves began the season at Fenway Park and moved into Braves Field on August 18.
1920 - The Cardinals began the season at Robison Field and moved into Sportsman's Park on July 1.
1931 - The Indians began the season at League Park II and moved into Municipal Stadium on July 31.
1938 - The Phillies began the season at the Baker Bowl and moved into Shibe Park (Connie Mack Stadium) on July 1.
1966 - The Cardinals began the season at Sportsman's Park II (Busch Stadium I) and moved into Busch Stadium II on May 12.
1970 - The Reds began the season at Crosley Field and moved into Riverfront Stadium on June 30.
1970 - The Pirates began the season at Forbes Field and moved into Three Rivers Stadium on July 16.
1989 - The Blue Jays began the season at Exhibition Stadium and moved into SkyDome on June 5.
1999 - The Mariners began the season at the Kingdom and moved into Safeco Field on July 15.
TEAMS DIVIDING THEIR SCHEDULES BETWEEN TWO PARKS
1934 through1946 - The Indians played Sundays and holidays at Municipal Stadium; the rest of the games were played at League Park.
2003 and 2004 - The Expos played 22 home games both seasons at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, P.R.; the rest of the games were played at Olympic Stadium.
I am so proud.
Let's begin with a simple reference chart - which parks are involved, who played there and when, and which little code I'm using for that park in the Big Honking Data Tables below. You see, in my desperate quest to provide you, faithful Bauxites, with all the numbers I came up with and actually fit them onto the page - I sort of had to squeeze or omit some rather important information. Like the actual name of the park, who played there, and when. Stuff like that. I am confident that many of them you will recognize the park in question with no difficulty at all. Most of the time, anyway. But alas, sometimes the park identifier, in the very first column, is necessarily a little cryptic.
I feel like I'm using DOS again, and file names can only have eight characters. I realize that something like "Polo Gr 4b" is somewhat obscure, although I figure most of you will make the intuitive leap and realize I'm referring to the Polo Grounds. I can't ask much more than that. (The 4 is because it was the fourth version of the Polo Grounds, and the b is for the second team that called it home - in this case, the Yankees from 1913 through 1922).
So here is our preliminary:
REFERENCE CHARTNow, we can look at the Big Numbers. Before we get to the Big Data Tables, some other notes regarding the Method to this Madness.
CODE PARK TEAM League From To
Ameriquest Ameriquest, The Ballpark Texas AL 1994 2006
Angels Angels Stadium, Edison Field Los Angeles AL 1966 2006
Arlington Arlington Stadium Texas AL 1972 1993
Astrodome Astrodome Houston NL 1965 1999
AT&T Park AT&T Park, Pac Bell San Francisco NL 2000 2006
Baker II Baker Bowl II Philadelphia NL 1904 1938
Bennett Bennett Park Detroit AL 1901 1911
Braves Braves Field Boston NL 1916 1952
Busch II Busch Stadium II St. Louis NL 1967 2005
Busch III Busch Stadium III St. Louis NL 2006 2006
Camden Yds Orioles Park at Camden Yards Baltimore AL 1992 2006
Candlestick Candlestick Park San Francisco NL 1960 1999
Chase Chase Field, Bank One Ballpark Arizona NL 1998 2006
Citizens Citizens Bank Park Philadelphia NL 2004 2006
Cle Mun Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland AL 1932 1933
Cle Mun b Cleveland Municipal Stadium (b) Cleveland AL 1947 1993
Colt Stad Colt Stadium Houston NL 1962 1964
Columbia Columbia Park Philadelphia AL 1901 1908
Comerica Comerica Park Detroit AL 2000 2006
Coors Coors Field Colorado NL 1995 2006
County a County Stadium (a) Milwaukee NL 1953 1965
County b County Stadium (b) Milwaukee AL-NL 1970 2000
Crosley Crosley Field Cincinnati NL 1912 1970
Dodger Dodger Stadium Los Angeles NL 1962 2006
Dodger b Dodger Stadium (b) Los Angeles AL 1962 1965
Dolphins Dolphins Stadium, Joe Robbie Stadium Florida NL 1993 2006
Ebbets Ebbets Field Brooklyn NL 1913 1957
Exhibition Exhibition Stadium Toronto AL 1977 1989
Exposition Exposition Park Pittsburgh NL 1882 1909
Fans Palace Palace of the Fans Cincinnati NL 1902 1911
Fenway Fenway Park Boston AL 1912 2006
Fenway b Fenway Park (b) Boston NL 1915 1916
Forbes Forbes Field Pittsburgh NL 1910 1970
Fulton Fulton County Stadium Atlanta NL 1966 1996
Great Amer Great American Ballpark Cincinnati NL 2003 2006
Griffith Griffith Stadium Washington AL 1912 1960
Griffith b Griffith Stadium (b) Washington AL 1961 1961
Hilltop Hilltop Park New York AL 1903 1912
Huntington Huntington Avenue Grounds Boston AL 1901 1911
Jacobs Jacobs Field Cleveland AL 1994 2006
Jarry Jarry Park Montreal NL 1969 1976
Kaufman Kaufman Stadium, Royals Stadium Kansas City AL 1973 2006
KC Mun a KC Municipal Stadium (a) Kansas City AL 1955 1967
KC Mun b KC Municipal Stadium (b) Kansas City AL 1969 1972
Kingdome Kingdome Seattle AL 1977 1999
LA Coliseum Los Angeles Coliseum Los Angeles NL 1958 1961
League League Park Cleveland AL 1901 1909
League II League Park II Cleveland AL 1910 1931
League/Mun League Park II/Municpal Stadium (split) Cleveland AL 1934 1946
McAfee McAfee Associates, Oakland-Alameda Oakland AL 1968 2006
Memorial Memorial Stadium Baltimore AL 1954 1991
Metrodome Metrodome Minnesota AL 1982 2006
Metropol Metropolitan Stadium Minnesota AL 1961 1981
Mile High Mile High Stadium Colorado NL 1993 1994
Miller Miller Park Milwaukee NL 2001 2006
Minute Maid Minute Maid Park, Enron Field Houston NL 2000 2006
National National Park Washington AL 1903 1911
Olympic Olympic Stadium Montreal NL 1976 2004
Petco Petco Park San Diego NL 2004 2006
PNC PNC Park Pittsburgh NL 2001 2006
Polo Grd 3 Polo Grounds III New York NL 1891 1911
Polo Grd 4 Polo Ground IV New York NL 1912 1957
Polo Grd 4b Polo Grounds IV (b) New York AL 1913 1922
Polo Grd 4c Polo Grounds IV (c) New York NL 1962 1963
Qualcomm Qualcomm (Jack Murphy Stadium) San Diego NL 1969 2003
RFK RFK Stadium (DC Stadium) Washington AL 1962 1971
RFK b RFK Stadium (DC Stadium) (b) Washington NL 2005 2006
Riverfront Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati NL 1971 2002
Robison Robison Field St. Louis NL 1893 1920
Rogers Cen Rogers Centre (SkyDome) Toronto AL 1990 2006
Safeco Safeco Field Seattle AL 2000 2006
Seals Seals Stadium San Francisco NL 1958 1959
Shea Shea Stadium New York NL 1964 2006
Shea b Shea Stadium (b) New York AL 1974 1975
Shibe Shibe Park (Connie Mack Stadium) Philadelphia AL 1909 1954
Shibe b Shibe Park (Connie Mack Stadium) (b) Philadelphia NL 1939 1970
South End South End Grounds III Boston NL 1895 1914
South Side South Side Park Chicago AL 1901 1910
Sportsman2 Sportsmans Park II St. Louis AL 1902 1953
Sportsman2b Sportsmans Park II (Busch Stadium I) (b) St. Louis NL 1921 1966
Three Riv Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh NL 1971 2000
Tiger Tiger Stadium (Navin Field, Briggs Stadium) Detroit AL 1912 1999
Tropicana Tropicana Field Tampa Bay AL 1998 2006
Turner Turner Field Atlanta NL 1997 2006
US Cellular US Cellular (Comiskey II) Chicago AL 1991 2006
Veterans Veterans Stadium Philadelphia NL 1971 2003
Washington3 Washington Park III Brooklyn NL 1989 1912
Wrigley Wrigley Field Chicago NL 1916 2006
Yankee I Yankee Stadium I New York AL 1923 1973
Yankee II Yankee Stadium II New York AL 1976 2006
Many parks have been used by multiple teams, occasionally at the same time. Always, I provide multiple entries. The fourth incarnation of the Polo Grounds was used by the Giants, Yankees, and Mets - each is recorded separately. This also applies to Fenway Park, Shibe Park, Sportsmans Park II, Griffith Stadium, County Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Shea Stadium, and Municipal Stadium (KC).
Finally, many, if not all, major league stadiums have undergone considerable renovations over the years. In the early days, of course, ball parks burned down quite regularly - sometimes they'd toss up a new one on the same spot in a few weeks and give it the same name. These are generally regarded as distinct and separate parks, even if we just end up calling it Polo Grounds IV. As for renovations, I have simply ignored them for the most part, with one exception - Yankee Stadium was rebuilt so extensively in the mid-1970s (the Bombers played at Shea Stadium for two years while the work was underway) that I have decided to consider it two different parks. It was tempting to do the same thing with Fenway Park, but while there have been many changes made to Fenway over the years, none of them required that the team actually get out of the house for two years. But be aware, that Fenway Park was a pitcher's park for most of its first 20 years.
And so on to our first table. You see what the Rockies did in their home games at Coors Field, wins, losses, runs scored and allowed - and what they did in road games during the same period. Lastly, the HFA simply subtracts the road winning percentage from the home winning percentage. I used 800 games as a minimum for this first table, so there'd be at least ten years of data in the mix and thereby weeding out one-year flukes, like I'm sure Busch III will turn out to be.
TABLE A - 800 game minimumI was using an 800 game minimum for that first chart. However, this eliminates a fair number of other contemporary ballparks, as well as a number of interesting venues from Times Past, so here is a second table, with the SMALL SAMPLE SIZE warning attached in large print.
HOME GAMES ROAD GAMES
PARK G W L PCT RS RA G W L PCT RS RA HFA
Coors 963 534 429 .555 6391 6076 963 371 592 .385 3918 4652 .169
Bennett 809 482 327 .596 3720 3286 814 376 438 .462 3205 3365 .134
SouthEnd 3 1462 763 699 .522 7179 6939 1458 571 887 .392 5838 7011 .130
Astrodome 2774 1564 1210 .564 11155 10206 2770 1220 1550 .440 11652 12351 .123
Polo Gr3 1514 925 589 .611 8054 6607 1501 736 765 .490 7434 7447 .121
Dolphin 1099 584 515 .531 4785 4803 1102 457 645 .415 4839 5517 .117
Fenway 7388 4198 3190 .568 37093 33927 7385 3396 3989 .460 32250 33610 .108
League/Mun 1009 579 430 .574 4672 4197 980 458 522 .467 4614 4821 .106
Ameriquest 1027 562 465 .547 5876 5687 1013 449 564 .443 5015 5311 .104
Crosley 4564 2497 2067 .547 19751 19042 4527 2007 2520 .443 18795 20110 .104
Washington3 1110 554 556 .499 4458 4637 1098 436 662 .397 4314 5092 .102
Robison 2024 923 1101 .456 8561 9851 2037 728 1309 .357 8061 10640 .099
Veterans 2614 1415 1199 .541 11811 11295 2603 1156 1447 .444 10745 11638 .097
Exposition 1393 869 524 .624 7419 5962 1319 695 624 .527 6741 6423 .097
Metrodome 1998 1071 927 .536 9694 9719 1982 871 1111 .439 8681 9475 .097
Yankee1 3963 2553 1410 .644 19607 14741 3958 2168 1790 .548 20696 17497 .096
Sportsman2a 3929 1889 2040 .481 17796 19486 3950 1525 2425 .386 15751 19260 .095
Candelstick 3173 1775 1398 .559 13627 12705 3169 1484 1685 .468 13788 14008 .091
Forbes 4712 2586 2126 .549 21368 20172 4674 2148 2526 .460 20050 20439 .089
Sportsman2b 3567 2140 1427 .600 18010 15503 3543 1811 1732 .511 16339 15173 .089
Huntington 821 464 357 .565 3498 3074 810 386 424 .477 3235 3202 .089
Braves 2765 1362 1403 .493 10716 11561 2851 1154 1697 .405 11908 13816 .088
McAfee 3096 1759 1337 .568 13683 12644 3092 1489 1603 .482 14576 14489 .087
Shibe 3466 1762 1704 .508 16104 16881 3519 1485 2034 .422 15423 17221 .086
Ebbets 3428 1974 1454 .576 16260 14852 3431 1683 1748 .491 15469 15112 .085
AL TOTAL 83661 45367 38294 .542 384771 370576 83661 38318 45343 .458 370475 384316 .084
Wrigley 7120 3783 3337 .531 32480 31905 7059 3157 3902 .447 29516 31139 .084
Baker II 2625 1256 1369 .478 12477 13995 2662 1054 1612 .395 10415 12336 .083
Arlington 1750 906 844 .518 7528 7641 1743 759 984 .435 7439 7954 .082
Kaufman 2683 1427 1256 .532 12717 12656 2695 1212 1483 .450 11697 12472 .082
Three Riv 2365 1300 1065 .550 10544 9804 2359 1102 1254 .468 10031 10176 .082
Yankee II 2439 1481 958 .607 12097 10352 2450 1289 1161 .526 12344 11348 .081
NL TOTAL 82499 44574 37925 .540 363042 350767 82499 37901 44598 .459 350868 363497 .081
Olympic 2188 1181 1007 .540 9342 9077 2222 1020 1202 .459 9142 9556 .081
Polo Gr 4a 3497 2057 1440 .588 16553 14163 3503 1783 1720 .509 16554 15258 .079
Griffith 3750 1961 1789 .523 16465 16635 3719 1652 2067 .444 16764 18072 .079
Tiger 6854 3764 3090 .549 33196 31594 6818 3213 3610 .471 31055 31339 .078
Comiskey 6185 3305 2880 .534 26535 26175 6212 2844 3368 .458 26695 27543 .077
Qualcomm 2774 1369 1405 .494 10685 11386 2769 1155 1614 .417 11390 13044 .076
US Cellular 1259 716 543 .569 6489 5926 1264 623 641 .493 6383 6210 .076
League II 1670 907 763 .543 8167 7768 1662 780 882 .469 7361 7566 .074
KC Mun a 1027 452 575 .440 4285 5087 1026 377 649 .367 3819 4897 .073
Kingdome 1797 875 922 .487 8382 8812 1804 749 1055 .415 7805 8859 .072
CLE Mun b 3711 1975 1736 .532 15906 15850 3709 1711 1998 .461 15948 16332 .071
Dodger 3581 2044 1537 .571 14188 12574 3583 1796 1787 .501 15689 14865 .070
Exhibition 1023 526 497 .514 4573 4627 1024 457 567 .446 4291 4490 .068
County b 2440 1258 1182 .516 10824 10992 2450 1099 1351 .449 11002 11284 .067
Shea 3411 1770 1641 .519 13515 13441 3417 1547 1870 .453 14212 14620 .066
Fulton 2431 1265 1166 .520 10802 10928 2450 1123 1327 .458 9548 10012 .062
Busch II 3098 1720 1378 .555 13639 12601 3083 1523 1560 .494 13366 13065 .061
Memorial 2997 1687 1310 .563 12243 11287 3017 1515 1502 .502 13034 12653 .061
Shibe b 2487 1186 1301 .477 9715 10746 2502 1042 1460 .416 9832 11427 .060
County a 1016 602 414 .593 4410 3692 1020 544 476 .533 4975 4426 .059
Rogers Cen 1347 722 625 .536 6694 6518 1341 640 701 .477 6349 6275 .059
Metropol 1669 910 759 .545 7691 7018 1662 809 853 .487 6936 6688 .058
Angels 3269 1706 1563 .522 13782 13899 3245 1507 1738 .464 14289 14663 .057
Turner 809 502 307 .621 3972 3195 809 458 351 .566 4060 3437 .054
Jacobs 1012 577 435 .570 5461 4891 1025 534 491 .521 5540 5034 .049
Riverfront 2527 1383 1144 .547 11477 10883 2526 1287 1239 .510 11137 10625 .038
Camden Yd 1178 589 589 .500 5595 5673 1183 559 624 .473 5848 5913 .027
TABLE B - less than 800 games
HOME GAMES ROAD GAMES
FIELD G W L PCT RS RA G W L PCT RS RA HFA
Columbia 572 384 188 .671 2758 2121 577 255 322 .442 2232 2397 .229
Fenway b 76 49 27 .645 280 263 76 34 42 .447 302 282 .197
Busch III 80 49 31 .613 399 348 81 34 47 .420 382 414 .193
South Side 747 474 273 .635 3046 2188 725 338 387 .466 2817 2938 .168
Colt Stad 242 117 125 .483 750 898 242 79 163 .326 801 1087 .157
National Pk 667 291 376 .436 2306 2756 682 197 485 .289 2136 3170 .147
Polo Gr 4c 161 56 105 .348 611 891 161 35 126 .217 507 831 .130
League Pk 665 385 280 .579 2842 2380 664 312 352 .470 2616 2763 .109
Tropicana 727 327 400 .450 3219 3844 728 252 476 .346 3119 3953 .104
PNC Park 484 231 253 .477 2097 2305 486 184 302 .379 2005 2394 .099
Fans Palace 765 410 355 .536 3436 3108 738 326 412 .442 2849 2994 .094
Hilltop 744 399 345 .536 3296 3273 749 335 414 .447 2701 3079 .089
AT&T Park 568 338 230 .595 2692 2392 563 286 277 .508 2815 2662 .087
Dodger b 323 170 153 .526 1116 1154 324 143 181 .441 1270 1332 .085
Miller 486 228 258 .469 2125 2369 485 187 298 .386 2046 2418 .084
Minute Maid 567 323 244 .570 2912 2581 567 276 291 .487 2658 2530 .083
Cle Mun 153 88 65 .575 813 742 150 74 76 .493 686 674 .082
KC Mun b 318 159 159 .500 1211 1227 321 136 185 .424 1169 1277 .076
Griffith b 79 33 46 .418 288 366 82 28 54 .341 330 410 .076
RFK b 162 82 80 .506 662 732 162 70 92 .432 723 813 .074
Safeco 568 323 245 .569 2640 2377 566 280 286 .495 2956 2732 .074
Polo Gr 4b 751 416 335 .554 3311 2916 736 358 378 .486 3055 2945 .068
Mile High 138 64 74 .464 806 907 141 56 85 .397 525 698 .067
Comerica 566 259 307 .458 2454 2794 567 222 345 .392 2631 3007 .066
Shea b 159 90 69 .566 646 578 163 82 81 .503 706 633 .063
Great Amer. 324 159 165 .491 1531 1756 324 139 185 .429 1482 1727 .062
RFK 804 363 441 .451 2906 3356 807 316 491 .392 2928 3580 .060
Seals 154 86 68 .558 701 623 154 77 77 .500 731 688 .058
Chase 729 385 344 .528 3546 3544 729 343 386 .471 3257 3277 .058
Sicks 81 34 47 .420 329 399 81 30 51 .370 310 400 .049
LA Coliseum 309 172 137 .557 1474 1430 309 158 151 .511 1296 1291 .045
Jarry 641 285 356 .445 2519 2927 647 269 378 .416 2347 2792 .029
Petco 243 131 112 .539 952 997 243 126 117 .519 1231 1113 .021
Citizens 243 129 114 .531 1295 1211 243 130 113 .535 1217 1108 -.004
I'm going to toss one last Table at you, just because I have the numbers handy. It's simply a table of how many runs were scored in this park contrasted with how many runs these teams were scoring in their road games. Comparing the two figures suggests what impact this particular ball park had on offense.
TABLE C - Offensive ImpactFurther evidence, if any was needed, that Coors Field has been the greatest hitting environment in the history of the game.
Home Games Road Games
G Runs G Runs Off. Impact
Coors Field 963 12467 963 8570 1.4547
Mile High Stadium 138 1713 141 1223 1.4311
Baker Bowl II 2625 26472 2662 22751 1.1800
Hilltop Park 744 6569 749 5780 1.1441
Polo Grounds IV (Mets) 161 1502 161 1338 1.1226
LA Coliseum 309 2904 309 2587 1.1225
Cleveland Municipal 1932-33 153 1555 150 1360 1.1210
Fulton County Stadium 2431 21730 2450 19560 1.1196
Ameriquest, The Ballpark 1027 11563 1013 10326 1.1045
South End Grounds III 1462 14118 1458 12849 1.0958
Chase Field, Bank One 729 7090 729 6534 1.0851
Palace of the Fans 765 6544 738 5843 1.0804
Fenway Park 7388 71020 7385 65860 1.0779
Citizens Bank Park 243 2506 243 2325 1.0778
Metropolitan Stadium 1669 14709 1662 13624 1.0751
KC Municipal Stadium (A's) 1027 9372 1026 8716 1.0742
Bennett Park 809 7006 814 6570 1.0730
Sportsmans Park II (Browns) 3929 37282 3950 35011 1.0697
Jarry Park 641 5446 647 5139 1.0697
Columbia Park 572 4879 577 4629 1.0632
League Park II 1670 15935 1662 14927 1.0624
Metrodome 1998 19413 1982 18156 1.0607
Minute Maid Park, Enron Field 567 5493 567 5188 1.0588
Sportsmans Park II, Busch I (Cards) 3567 33513 3543 31512 1.0563
Kaufman Stadium, Royals Stadium 2683 25373 2695 24169 1.0545
Wrigley Field 7120 64385 7059 60655 1.0524
Exhibition Stadium 1023 9200 1024 8781 1.0487
Rogers Centre, SkyDome 1347 13212 1341 12624 1.0419
Kingdome 1797 17194 1804 16664 1.0358
Tiger Stadium, Navin Field, Briggs Park 6854 64790 6818 62394 1.0329
Veterans Stadium 2614 23106 2603 22383 1.0280
Riverfront Stadium 2527 22360 2526 21762 1.0271
Shibe Park, Connie Mack Stadium (A's) 3466 32985 3519 32644 1.0259
Sicks Stadium 81 728 81 710 1.0254
Great American Ballpark 324 3287 324 3209 1.0243
Ebbets Field 3428 31112 3431 30581 1.0183
Forbes Field 4712 41540 4674 40489 1.0177
Polo Grounds IV (Yankees) 751 6227 736 6000 1.0171
Huntington Avenue Grounds 821 6572 810 6437 1.0073
KC Municipal Stadium (Royals) 318 2438 321 2446 1.0061
PNC Park 484 4402 486 4399 1.0048
Miller Park 486 4494 485 4464 1.0046
Three Rivers Stadium 2365 20348 2359 20207 1.0044
Olympic Stadium 2188 18419 2222 18698 1.0004
Tropicana Field 727 7063 728 7072 1.0001
Jacobs Field 1012 10352 1025 10574 0.9916
Robison Field 2024 18412 2037 18701 0.9909
US Cellular, Comiskey II 1259 12415 1264 12593 0.9898
Crosley Field 4564 38793 4527 38905 0.9890
Busch II 3098 26240 3083 26431 0.9880
Cleveland Municipal 1947-93 3711 31756 3709 32280 0.9832
County Stadium (Brewers) 2440 21816 2450 22286 0.9829
Arlington Stadium 1750 15169 1743 15393 0.9815
Polo Grounds III 1514 14661 1501 14881 0.9768
Comiskey Park 6185 52710 6212 54238 0.9761
National Park 667 5062 682 5306 0.9755
League Park 665 5222 664 5379 0.9694
Shibe Park, Connie Mack Stadium (Phils) 2487 20461 2502 21259 0.9683
Polo Grounds IV (Giants) 3497 30716 3503 31812 0.9672
RFK Stadium 804 6262 807 6508 0.9658
Exposition Park 1393 13381 1319 13164 0.9625
Oriole Park at Camden Yards 1178 11268 1183 11761 0.9621
Washington Park III 1110 9095 1098 9406 0.9565
Turner Field 809 7167 809 7497 0.9560
Yankee Stadium II 2439 22449 2450 23692 0.9518
Busch III 80 747 81 796 0.9502
Angel Stadium 3269 27681 3245 28952 0.9491
Candlestick Park 3173 26332 3169 27796 0.9461
Griffith Stadium (Sens-Twins) 3750 33100 3719 34836 0.9423
Shea Stadium (Yankees) 159 1224 163 1339 0.9371
Shea Stadium (Mets) 3411 26956 3417 28832 0.9366
Seals Stadium 154 1324 154 1419 0.9331
Comerica Park 566 5248 567 5638 0.9325
Fenway Park (Braves) 76 543 76 584 0.9298
Dolphin Stadium 1099 9588 1102 10356 0.9284
Memorial Stadium 2997 23530 3017 25687 0.9221
AT&T Park, Pac Bell 568 5084 563 5477 0.9201
Griffith Stadium (Sens-Rangers) 79 654 82 740 0.9173
League Park II 1009 8869 980 9435 0.9130
RFK Stadium (Nationals) 162 1394 162 1536 0.9076
McAfee Stadium, Oakland Alameda 3096 26327 3092 29065 0.9046
Qualcomm, Jack Murphy Stadium 2774 22071 2769 24434 0.9017
Yankee Stadium I 3963 34348 3958 38193 0.8982
Braves Field 2765 22277 2851 25724 0.8929
Astrodome 2774 21361 2770 24003 0.8886
South Side Park 747 5234 725 5755 0.8827
Safeco Field 568 5017 566 5688 0.8789
Dodger Stadium (Dodgers) 3581 26762 3583 30554 0.8764
Dodger Stadium (Angels) 323 2270 324 2602 0.8751
Colt Stadium 242 1648 242 1888 0.8729
County Stadium (Braves) 1016 8102 1020 9401 0.8652
Petco Park 243 1949 243 2344 0.8315
There are some extremely small sample sizes here, of course. But it's clear, for example, that Fulton County Stadium's nickname of "The Launching Pad" was richly, richly deserved. It was one of the greatest hitter's parks in history. And the Trop in Tampa Bay is the most neutral park ever? It looks that way.
What's especially interesting to me about this particular table are those instances when we have two teams sharing the same ball park. Sometimes I simply don't know what's going on. County Stadium in Milwaukee was pretty much a neutral park during the 30 years that the Brewers played there, but while the Braves called it home in the 1950s and 60s, it was one of the toughest places to hit ever. Munipal Stadium in Kansas City was a very good place to hit when the A's played there, but played pretty much as a neutral park for the Royals during their four years there.
But sometimes the symmetry is extremely pleasing. Down at the bottom you see Dodger Stadium's two entries in as close proximity as is possible - despite the fact that the place the Angels played in from 1962 through 1965 has changed a little since then. Most notably, in the 1970s, home plate was moved out, effectively bringing the fences in closer. While this made it easier to hit home runs, the resulting large increase in foul territory clearly helped it remain what it has always been, one of the greatest pitcher's parks ever. The two entries for Shea Stadium come one after the other, even though the fact that the Yankees were only there for two seasons made the sample size small enough to make Weirdness possible.
Of course this is way, way more complicated than I'm even beginning to hint at - this is actually a somewhat cursory look at ballpark effects. Because the context is an ever-changing thing. One of the reasons Fenway Park is not as great a hitter's park as it used to be really has nothing to do with Fenway - every other park in the American League has been replaced (or at least extensively modified) which has had an effect on the way the Red Sox score and allow runs in their road games. Which is what we use as a point of comparison for what they did in their home games. In just the last twenty years, the Red Sox have stopped playing games at Memorial Stadium, Exhibition Stadium, County Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Municipal Stadium, old Comiskey Park, the Kingdome, Arlington Stadium. Kaufman Stadium underwent an extremely signiificant change. The Sox played in new parks in Baltimore, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and Texas, and a new team - in Tampa - joined the league. That is one shifting context to place Fenway Park against.
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Think of this section as equivalent to footnotes!
TEAMS CHANGING THEIR HOME PARK IN MID-SEASON
1910 - The White Sox began the season at South Side Park, and moved into Comiskey Park on July 1.
1911 - The Senators began the season at National Park and moved into Griffith Stadium on July 24.
1914 - The Braves began the season at South End Grounds and moved into Fenway Park on August 14.
1915 - The Braves began the season at Fenway Park and moved into Braves Field on August 18.
1920 - The Cardinals began the season at Robison Field and moved into Sportsman's Park on July 1.
1931 - The Indians began the season at League Park II and moved into Municipal Stadium on July 31.
1938 - The Phillies began the season at the Baker Bowl and moved into Shibe Park (Connie Mack Stadium) on July 1.
1966 - The Cardinals began the season at Sportsman's Park II (Busch Stadium I) and moved into Busch Stadium II on May 12.
1970 - The Reds began the season at Crosley Field and moved into Riverfront Stadium on June 30.
1970 - The Pirates began the season at Forbes Field and moved into Three Rivers Stadium on July 16.
1989 - The Blue Jays began the season at Exhibition Stadium and moved into SkyDome on June 5.
1999 - The Mariners began the season at the Kingdom and moved into Safeco Field on July 15.
TEAMS DIVIDING THEIR SCHEDULES BETWEEN TWO PARKS
1934 through1946 - The Indians played Sundays and holidays at Municipal Stadium; the rest of the games were played at League Park.
2003 and 2004 - The Expos played 22 home games both seasons at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, P.R.; the rest of the games were played at Olympic Stadium.
