Safeco Field - Flickr photo by matt garber[/caption]We need to do a whole blog on what goes into a baseball fence one of these days, but in the meantime, here's an interesting one from the News Tribune.
The Seattle Mariners announced today that they are moving some of the fences in at Safeco Field for the 2013 season.
“Our goal was to create an environment that is fair for both hitters and pitchers,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement. “Considering the current field dimensions, as well as the climate in and around Safeco Field, we feel this will be accomplished with this new layout.”
The specific changes, as written about by Greg Johns on MLB.com:
• In the left-field corner, the distance down the left-field foul line remains the same, at 331 feet.
• Instead of jutting out quickly to 341 feet, the corner of the left-field wall will jut out to 337 feet.
• The hand-operated scoreboard will be moved, and as a result, the height of the outfield wall will be eight feet from foul pole to foul pole.
• From the left-field corner to the power alley in left-center, the wall will be moved in four feet.
• The distance at the left-center-field power alley will decrease from 390 feet to 378 feet.
• From left-center to straightaway center field, the distance the wall will be moved in will vary from four feet to a maximum of 17 feet. At straightaway center field, the distance will decrease from 405 feet to 401 feet.
• From straightaway center to the right-center power alley, the wall will move in four feet. The distance at the power alley will decrease from 385 feet to 381 feet.
• From the right-center-field power alley to the right-field line, the dimensions will remain the same.
The Mariners are last in the American League in scoring (3.0 runs per game), home runs (0.68 per game) and batting average (.218) at home this season through 79 games. On the road, they are sixth in scoring (4.5), tied for sixth in home runs (1.15) and ninth in batting average (.247).
The team has hired Populous, a Kansas City design firm, to figure out how to move in the fences and make the other changes to left field.
The Mariners solicited bids from contractors to do the work but have not awarded a contract.
The cost is expected to be over a million dollars. They should be using Academy Fence installers, of course, even in Seattle.
Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners/2012/10/02/mariners-announce-safeco-field-fences-coming-in-for-2013/#storylink=cpy
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