Ample Acreage in Citi Field Outfield
METS NARROWLY MISS BEING NO HIT ON WEDNESDAY.
THEY DIDN’T NARROWLY MISS A LOSS….
THEY ACTUALLY LOST. AGAIN. AGAIN. AGAIN.
Sediment Mullins is 1-14, 3 BBs since Mets got him.
While…
Drew Gilbert is 7 for 14 with 6 walks in AAA since Mets dealt him.
But Mullins is a veteran, which is ALL THAT FRANKLY MATTERS!
Enough of that, huh?
Anyway, I am (as Mack knows all too well) a multidimensional writer.
Let me just say that up front. Full disclosure.
In that regard:
I looked at the hitting of the Kansas City Royals thru August 6:
They hit far, far more HRs on the road than at home, as it turns out.
Just 32 HRs at home this year, compared to the LA Dodgers’ 104 HRs at home.
How drastic a difference is that?LAD has hit 3.3 times more HRs at home!
But On The Road? KC has mashed a drastically higher 67 HRs on the road (Dodgers meanwhile on the road have hit just 65).
Wow. What if KC played their home games in the Dodgers’ park??
Last year, KC hit 94 HRs on the road, and just 76 at home, so there was still a marked road HR advantage, but not as severe as in 2025.
The Dodgers in 2024 had another huge HR advantage at home vs. road, with 27 more at home. (In case you are wondering, the Mets hit 5% more HRs at home than on the road in 2024 and 2025.)
The Dodgers in 2024 and 2025 so far have jacked 226 HRs at home vs. just 161 on the road, or 40% more on their “home court”. 40%. Incredible.
Why does KC hit far fewer homers at home?
It’s apparently the park dimensions.
An article writer in May elaborated on my speculation about KC home blues:
Kansas City Royals Park Article
“(The article’s author, Matthew Lamar:) I was chatting with the Royals CF about Kauffman Stadium, the one with the cavernous outfield and propensity for limiting home runs.
I talked to Isbel as well as Drew Waters, Lucas Erceg, and Bobby Witt Jr. about the stadium and how they approach playing in Kauffman Stadium as opposed to other stadiums.
Why this question? Kauffman Stadium is just a fascinating place. The stadium’s famous outfield is by some measures the biggest or second-biggest outfield by total acreage.
In fact, the Royals moved the outfield dimensions in 10 feet for the 1995 season to counteract this, a decision that the Royals reversed for the 2004 season. Yet it is the second-best park to hit in in Major League Baseball. (Brennan note: not really true. KC is 20th in road scoring, but dead last (30th) in road scoring in 2025.
Of course, it is really, really hard to hit a home run in Kauffman Stadium—it’s the fourth-hardest park to hit a homer in, actually. Kauffman is all about the doubles and triples. So, the question: do hitters modify their approach for the roomy Kauffman outfield versus, say, the short Yankee Stadium porch?
The answer was a pretty consistent “no.”
Witt Jr. and Waters mentioned the same core reason, which is that hitting home runs are a byproduct of trying to put good swings on the ball—which has nothing to do with the ballpark. “I think we have little control of where the ball actually goes when you’re trying to hit 98 MPH,” Waters told me. “I think you’re just trying to make hard contact and wherever it goes, it goes. Obviously with a bigger field, some balls that may be caught here may not be somewhere else, but I wouldn’t necessarily say you’re trying to change what you’re trying to do in the box.”
“I feel like Kaufman, when it’s hot, it almost flies better than it does yesterday,” Witt said. “So it’s something that you can’t really try to do. Homers are almost by accident. You miss it, [trying to hit] a line drive, it’s homer. So it’s one of those things where you just have an approach and go up there and take a hack and see what happens.”
Isbel also brought up that both teams have the same advantage, and that hitting in different parks is just how it goes. “I don’t really have a preference,” Isbel said. “It’s the same for both teams who’s playing the same game at the same time.”
Lucas Erceg agreed that thinking about where you pitch is not the way to go. “I tend not to really think about different stadiums having different dimensions, with the walls being different and all that stuff,” Erceg told me. “I’m primarily a sinker ball pitcher, so I like to keep a ball on the ground. So that kind of stuff doesn’t really affect me. I try not to let it affect my mindset, my process and all that stuff.”
As Witt and Waters said, it’s hard to care about where you are when you’re trying to hit near-triple digit fastballs (and then, you know, those pesky sliders).”
Back to me…Kaufman Park sucks.
The article’s author also noted that Camden Yards has changed its outfield dimensions THREE times since the park was built.
Citi Field? Just twice.
I, Tom Brennan, am hoping for a 3rd Citi Field fences move, too, this one inwards by, oh, 5-7 feet, and 8 feet in center. This way, when Mets hitters “go up there and take a hack and see what happens”, like Bobby Witt said above, they will hit a lot more HRs.
Imagine Soto, Lindor, and Alonso with a lot more HRs? It’s easy if you try.
Lastly, does all that Dodger HR hitting help? Well since the start of 2024, they’ve won 15 more games at home than on the road. So, it seems yes.
They also sure do draw incredibly well at home…the hometown fans love the show that the Dodgers put on. BOOMs sell tix.
The Giants didn’t get the memo.
In their recent series in the park whose ancestor is Candlestick, one of their lefty hitters (Lee) faced Edwin Diaz in a 1 run game. Cue in John Sterling: “It Is High! It Is Far! It…Is…2 Feet From The Top Of The 24 Foot High Wall In Right.” The Giants lost, after not scoring on Lee’s 107 MPH shot which would easily have gone out of every other MLB park.
Giants lost. Their fans there lose, too, every “single” home game.
THE METS?
Through Tuesday, 18 games after the ASB, our Metsies are hitting a paltry .213, with many outs at the wall.
Part of .213 is David’s compilation of sub-par hitters.
Part of it is the Mets’ 4 core guys are hitting below expectations. I don’t think on August 5 that many people would have thought Nimmo, Soto, Alonso, and Lindor-o would be hitting just .253.
Or that Soto would be below .250 and miss the ASG.
But I firmly believe part of it is the Citi-Chitty-No-Bang-Bang dimensions.
You hit balls in April, May, June, July, and now August at home that get caught deep rather than being HRs or doubles, and you press. Maybe not a lot, but you press somewhat…try to do too much…and it depresses your numbers - and your machismo.
And the team? It hits less and wins less. Just 18-28 after their hot start.
So…Cohen and Stearns…at least seriously analyze the dimensions.
If you are smart, those fences are coming in, to make Citi a hitter-neutral park. By 5-7 feet, 8 feet in center.
Why?
Pitcher-friendly parks suck, that’s why.
The pitchers? The Mets have hit 73 HRs at Citi, while their pitchers have allowed 55.
Me? I’d much rather see 90 HRs at home so far, and 70 allowed by their pitchers.
Fans LOVE Mets HRs, think of when Pete, Juan or Frankie L hit them.
Fans love runs a plenty, and stars putting up star-quality hitting stats.
The next move, executive and owner gentlemen, is yours.
MY PAL JOEY!!
It is remarkable how many ex-Mets are doing well this year.
Orze, Vasil, Houser, Mangum, 9-4, 3.57 Quintana….
I wondered last year about Joey Lucchesi, as to why he wasn’t added as a Mets reliever. They kept using everyone else, but kept him in an isolated cell.
He had just two so-so Mets starts in 2024, spending the rest of his days in exile in dungeons in Syracuse.
Apparently, the Giants fervently and assiduously read my stuff, so they liked the idea of Joey, and signed him.
But, maybe David and Steve skip reading my stuff because - I dunno - I make too much sense?
Anyway, Joey started out 2025 in Giants’ AAA in relief, did well, got called up, and since the latter half of June, he has relieved in 18 Giants games, with a nifty 2.41 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 19 IP.
Sorry, David and Steve, if I just keep making too much sense.
I’ll try not to do that as much. I know, it can be embarrassing.
The Mets used an astonishing 40 pitchers already this year, not including 2 position players.
Of the 40, only 2 who have as many or more innings than Joey have a lower ERA and lower WHIP.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, MY PAL JOEY!
HIGH DRAFT PICKS CAN BE A GAME-CHANGER
As we hope 22 year old minor league slugger Ryan (Rye Toast) Clifford can accelerate in AA, where he is sitting at .248/.362/.487, and has played in 378 minor league games, 22 year old Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz, a 4th overall pick in 2024(!) is raking at .311/.385/.655.
Not in AA, or AAA, but in the major leagues!
Kurtz played just 33 minor league games, and is now an absolute MLB blow torch. Hitting much better than even mighty Juan Soto.
Do not for a minute think that 10 slot draft penalties are no big deal.
They can literally shift franchises.
GAME AFTER GAME…
Tong, McLean, Sproat, and Benge are simply outstanding.
Tong and McLean TOTALLY CRUSHED IT on Tuesday. Sproat 2 ER in 33 IP?
Bodes VERY well for the future. But…
The future could start now in Queens.
ELIAN PEÑA, THEN AND NOW
He started his DSL career 3 for 45.
Then the teenager ignited.
Through Monday, he is up to.290. Walks a ton, and 19 for 21 in steals.
Future superstar. Queens in mid 2028?
Hey, why not right now?
RAFAEL ORTEGA WATCH
1. The Mets have him on rehab.
2. He is hitting well in rehab.
3. He plays center field.
4. He can replace Tyrone Taylor, who hits a-bitty-in-Citi, and on the road.
5. Ortega carries the golden ticket….HE IS A VETERAN!
The Titanic Mets
The crew of the Titanic attempted to maintain calm; the ship sank anyway.
The S.S. Mets ocean liner has hit multiple icebergs, and is sinking fast.
“EVERYBODY STAY CALM!”
“Screw that - where’s the life raft??”
15 comments:
I had the pleasure of visiting Kauffman Park this year. It was on the top of my bucket list for stadiums to visit. I was not disappointed. The epic fountains and waterfalls in the outfield with theme lighting were quite a sight. Fewer balls make it into the water because it is far away, but that is part of the charm. To me, a cavernous outfield means more opportunities for doubles and triples and chances for runners to stretch another base out of a ball hit out there. It adds a dimension of excitement instead of another Ho-hum Run.
You should get together with that meet him a site half way to both of you
In a park
With a fence
Nurse told I shrunk two inches yesterday
Don't go there..
Spanning 11 weeks, Tyrone is 7 for his last 71 with 4 RBIs. His OBP is a horrific .255 this year, and well under .300 from 2022-25. Is he THE BEST Thr Mets can do? Really, what about Ortega, or Acuna?
CF is an offensive position. Crow is on pace to score and drive in well over 100 runs. Tyrone is AAA. PENNANT CHASERS DONT DO THAT.
Paul, spoken like a true purist. Whati see, almost every year, is a miserable stretch of team offense. Part of it may be Mets player quality. I think a bigger negative is the park’s dimensions. “Charm” is nice. But Wins are far preferable.
I think the Mets would be a hitting juggernaut with reasonable shortened dimensions. Juggernauts win more.
Forbes Field was great for doubles and triples…horrible for HRs…thankfully, the wrecking ball arrived.
I watch Gilbert regularly also. I am not a fan of rentals, especially when the price is high. At the time of the Wilson trade, I asked how much better than Butto is Wilson, knowing Butto has years of control. And then you throw in more? Everyone has a bad year sometimes, Nimmo, Soto, Stearns… but Gilbert had just started getting healthy…. what can you do?
Isn’t Dodger Stadium known to be a pitcher’s park? You are comparing the Dodgers, with their three MVP’s and their stacked lineup, to the Royals? LOLLL, that’s cold Tom.
Mack, you will be the height of a hobbit in 10 years. But Stearns loves short guys, so you should call him for a try out.
Forget Crow
Drew Gilbert could double that
Forbes Field wad good for the prostitutes waiting by the bridge when the game got out
Had a dream last night
Steve decided to do what he has done so many times with the stocks he has placed in funds
He cut his losses
He didn't sell his company.
INo, he ate the losses on dead and overbought stocks and invested in young stuff like crypto
Then I woke up and calmed it down
Down to 6-0
I'm a 🍭 man
Gus, like you, I am not a fan of rentals. How bad is Stearns going to look if we miss the playoff. He will have traded 11 prospects, and the team will have gotten worse.
I know you can point to Cespedes, but like 90% of the time the trade doesn't work out. It takes a few weeks for the team to gel with the new additions, by that time it's too late.
For the Mullins trade alone, will be Stearns downfall. Add to that Soto being forced on him. They hired him for a reason; they should have let him do it his way.
I have Soto questions that I will present for your consideration on Tuesday.
JoeP, a couple of years ago, when the Angels released all those veterans in late August to save themselves the luxury tax ans the Guardians picked them all up and their answer was “we want to try”, I applauded that. They missed the playoffs, but they wanted to try. As a fan, I would be proud. But, they didn’t lose any prospects.
Of the four deals, the Wilson deal bothered me the most. You give up a MLB reliever with years control that throws high 90’s. You add a MLB ready player that was hurt and finally started to show health and rid of his rust. And a third pitcher. I couldn’t understand that.
I don’t think Cohen has the patience to let kids learn. It’s too bad too, because Mauricio is the goods and should be in the lineup everyday, stop this rotating crap. Vientos can be. Baty never was but seems acceptable. I would have left McNeil in CF; he was doing fine.
Doug Flynn anyone?
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