Hit Tracker

I've been doing my part to refute the notion that the new Yankee Stadium is a bandbox, an argument that is proving more and more difficult to make with each passing day. To wit: in 24 road games this season, the Yankees have hit 32 home runs. In one less home game, they have 45, or 13 more. More telling, however, as Peter Abraham points out, is the fact that the new Stadium yields approximately 3.78 total home runs per game, while Citizens Bank Park and Rangers Ballpark--two notoriously hitter-friendly parks-- only give up three per game. Case Closed. 

Abraham compiled his stats via Hit Tracker , one of the coolest websites I've come across in a very long time. It's full of interesting information, like which player's hit the longest home run in the Majors this year: As of this morning, Raul Ibanez, May 22, off Chien-Ming Wang at Yankee Stadium. 

And the shortest, Howie Kendrick's limp-wristed bloop off Gil Meche on May 8, at Angel Stadium. (Ed. Note: I'm not counting Brett Gardner's inside-the-park home run, for obvious reasons).

The site also posits which home runs would have gone out of other parks around the league. Ibanez's shot, for instance, would have cleared the walls of all 30; Kendrick's, on the other hand, wouldn't have been a home run in any other park. Not surprisingly, Yankee Stadium has a lot of low numbers in this particular category. The site also suggests that David Ortiz's sole home run this season, a 381-foot drive off of Brett Cecil, would have remained in the field of play in every other park besides Fenway.  

Such a great website. 

The Reviews Are In

The Yankees just finished their first homestand at the new stadium. Like a lot of people, I've yet to make the trip up to the Bronx, although, from what I've seen on television, the stadium looks pretty good, if a bit excessive. Like a third arm. I'm not too concerned about the "alarming" number of home runs, but if it keeps up through June, I might start to grow nostalgic for the old digs. 

In the meantime, here's a quick summary of what the blogroll thinks of the new Yankee Stadium. The early reviews are decidedly mixed. 

The Good.

 

ASWOBA: 

I was impressed. (A full post of my photos can be found here.) At first, I have to admit that the whole thing seemed like too much. The comfortably cushioned seats are straight out of a new megaplex. The size and clarity of the video screen beyond the center-field wall is impossible to describe in words or even photos. You have to sit in the stadium to grasp how it dominates the field of vision, like a high-def spaceship hovering above the field, the aliens whistling and trying to look inconspicuous. That screen represents the general principle that the stadium is terrific but a lot. The concourses are very open-air, and reminded me of similar spaces in the new(ish) parks in Philadelphia and Houston, among other places. The areas surrounding the game are an enormous improvement from the old Y.S., where leaving your seat for food felt like traveling several miles from the stadium to a claustrophobic warehouse in need of industrial cleaning.

Mike A.:

Other than the PA system, the place was amazing. Monument Park seems a little too hidden, it would be nice to have it on full display as it was at the Old Stadium. The upper deck isn’t nearly as steep as it was across the street, and I like the look of the dark blue seats. I’m sure some people will bitch and moan about tiny little things, but overall the place is phenomenal. I look forward to watching baseball there for the rest of my life.

The bad. 

YFSF:

The Yanks went 4-2 in their first homestand at the new ballpark, but the headlines are almost all negative. CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang are struggling, homers are flying at an alarming pace, and—most urgently—attendance has been pathetic, especially in the highly visible premium seats and the luxury suites that were the very reason for building the place. Our grade on the first week: D-

Ben K.:

New Yankee Stadium is all about exclusion. Throughout the stadium, intermingled with the broad concourses and seating sections, are exclusive areas. There are restaurants that cater only to people who are ticketed for those sections. Get to close and an overanxious security guard will eye you suspiciously while awaiting a ticket stub to confirm that, yes, you actually do belong here.

And the ugly.

Fack Youk:

They say the New Stadium is quieter than the Old one. The "asshole" chants in the bleachers for Sox & Mets fans are pretty loud.

Everything Is Illuminated

Via RAB, a shot of the Bronx Boondoggle. 

Even though I still don’t think the Yankees need a new stadium, I have to admit: it does look pretty good, particularly with CC and A.J. in it. 

I’m always amazed about how quickly I get behind the Yankees’ personnel decisions, at least after they're consecrated. I wasn’t particularly crazy about signing CC or A.J., but both are Yankees now. I’m looking forward to them anchoring a rotation that includes Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain and, most likely, Andy Pettitte, with Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Al Aceves waiting in the wings.

Even today, with rumors of Manny’s homecoming still swirling around 161 st Street, I’m less than thrilled about the possibility of watching a very special Bronx episode of “Manny Being Manny.”

If he signs before Christmas, though, you know I’ll honestly consider buying his No. 24 Yankees jersey.

And Yankees fans aren’t the only one guilty of such hypocrisy. Don’t think for a second half of Boston isn’t ready to tell Mark Teixeira to get bent. Until, of course, they sign him this weekend.

We all just root for the laundry now.