By Carnac
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on April 5, 2001.
Season home run data for major league ballparks are generally reported as a total number of home runs hit, or alternatively on a home runs per game basis. Frequently, these data are also split between the homers hit by the home club and those hit by the road club.
With the introduction of Enron Field and two additional stadiums to the major league scene in 2000, ballpark comparisons ran rampant in the early months of last season. The Turbaned One suspected that breaking down the 2000 home run data by the region of the ballpark to which the homers were hit would more accurately reflect the true Yackball character of each haunt, and Enron Field in particular. To simplify the process, each major league ballpark was effectively split into left and right halves, and the home runs hit at each stadium were sorted out on a bomb-by-bomb basis using various web sources. A leftfield homerun was defined as any outside-the-park home run hit to the left of dead centerfield, while a rightfield home run was defined as any outside-the-park home run hit to the right of dead center. For the record, neither ballpark rating factors nor the Theorem of Pythagoras were employed here.
On a per stadium basis, the number of home runs per game hit to all fields (HR), hit to the left of dead center (LFHR), and hit to the right of dead center (RFHR) were as follows in 2000:
Stadium HR(MLB Rank) LFHR(Rank) RFHR(Rank)
———————————————
Enron 3.3(1) 2.2(1) 1.1(10)
Coors 3.0(2) 1.7(T4) 1.4(4)
Anaheim 3.0(3) 1.7(2) 1.3(6)
Busch 2.8(4) 1.7(T4) 1.2(T8)
Skydome 2.8(5) 1.5(T8) 1.3(5)
Comiskey 2.8(6) 1.6(6) 1.2(T8)
Yankee 2.6(7) 1.1(26) 1.6(2)
Arlington 2.6(
1.1(23) 1.5(3)
Jacobs 2.6(9) 0.9(28) 1.6(1)
Riverfront 2.5(10) 1.5(7) 1.0(14)
Kauffman 2.5(11) 1.5(11) 1.0(13)
Camden 2.4(12) 1.5(T8) 0.9(T18)
Oakland 2.4(13) 1.2(20) 1.2(7)
Dodger 2.4(14) 1.4(12) 1.0(15)
Olympic 2.3(15) 1.4(13) 1.0(T16)
Wrigley 2.3(16) 1.7(3) 0.6(T27)
Tropicana 2.3(17) 1.5(10) 0.8(23)
3Rivers 2.2(18) 1.3(T18) 0.9(22)
BankOne 2.1(19) 1.2(21) 1.0(T16)
PacBell 2.1(20) 1.4(14) 0.7(25)
Safeco 2.0(T21) 1.0(27) 1.1(11)
Turner 2.0(T21) 1.3(17) 0.7(24)
Shea 2.0(23) 1.4(15) 0.6(T27)
Murph 2.0(24) 1.1(25) 0.9(20)
Metrodome 2.0(25) 1.1(24) 0.9(21)
Veterans 1.9(26) 1.3(T18) 0.7(26)
ProPlayer 1.9(27) 1.3(16) 0.6(30)
County 1.9(28) 0.9(29) 0.9(T18)
Fenway 1.8(29) 1.2(22) 0.6(29)
Comerica 1.7(30) 0.7(30) 1.0(12)
Not surprisingly, there were two homers hit per game to the left of dead center at Enron for every one homer hit to the right of dead center. Somewhat surprisingly, more home runs were hit left of dead center at Enron than were hit to all fields at 12 major league parks (8NL, 4AL). No MLB stadium came within half-a-homer of Enron Field in terms of home runs hit to the left of dead center. Enron Field ranked tenth in MLB stadiums in terms of home runs hit per game to the right of dead center.
So how did the batters of the Astros and their opponents fare at Enron?
Hometeam HR per game (MLB Rank): Enron- 1.7HR(1), 1.1LFHR(1), 0.6RFHR(11)
Roadteam HR per game (MLB Rank): Enron- 1.6HR(2), 1.0LFHR(1), 0.6RFHR(10T)
These numbers should put to bed any notion that Enron’s leftfield home run numbers were simply a matter of the Astros hitting a steady dose of homers to leftfield, as Enron Field surrendered more leftfield home runs (LFHRs) to the road team than any other MLB park. In fact, the per game averages and distribution of the Astro home runs were virtually identical to those of the homers hit by the opposition batters.
So how did the batters of the Astros and their opponents fare on the road?
HR hit per game on road (MLB Rank): Astros- 1.4HR(T1), 0.9LFHR(1), 0.5RFHR(T12)
HR allowed per game on road (MLB Rank): Astros- 1.3HR(T7), 0.7LFHR(T9), 0.6RFHR(7)
These numbers clearly indicate that the Astros both hit and allowed a trainload of home runs on the road in 2000. In fact, the Astros and Giants led the majors in homers hit per game on the road, with the Astros hitting the most road homers left of dead centerfield. The deeper question is whether these homer-heavy road numbers are a product of the composition of the Astros’ roster, a product of the effect Enron Field had on the Astro batters and hurlers, or a combination of both factors.
The Envelope
Clearly, if there is a problem with Enron Field, then it is the leftfield dimensions, and it is unlikely to eradicated by simply eradicating the Crawford Boxes. From that standpoint, it certainly is an overstatement to arbitrarily label the whole of Enron Field as a joke. The silver lining to the cloud of uncertainty surrounding Enron Field is that if there truly is a problem, the problem is solvable. That’s a luxury the folks in Denver do not have at their disposal.
If anything, these home run numbers may provide a useful ballyardstick for the 2001 season. You can be sure of one thing, though. The true extent of the “problem” with Enron Field will be directly proportional to the number of times in the 2001 season you hear an Astro player, coach, or management-type declare: “It’s not the stadium!.”