Home Field Advantage II: the Data Tables

Monday, April 23 2007 @ 06:59 AM EDT

Contributed by: Magpie

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:

REFERENCE CHART  

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

Now, we can look at the Big Numbers. Before we get to the Big Data Tables, some other notes regarding the Method to this Madness.

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 minimum
 
            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

I 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.

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 Impact
                                         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

Further evidence, if any was needed, that Coors Field has been the greatest hitting environment in the history of the game.

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.

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