Why does Fenway park have a big wall in left field?

[pavyracer]

Is it to make fly balls turn into doubles? This one I don't understand.

[Chi_archie]

I think that was all the more room they had on their property..... big road behind it

[Brock Landers]

park is a total dump and that is the novelty part of it, no more rhyme or reason than that.

[bobbyfk]

[GiveMeaBJ]

They just went over this Pavy. It is because of the road behind it and that is the exact angle the street runs. They had to make the wall humungous otherwise the o/u would be set at 16.5.

[pavyracer]

I think that was all the more room they had on their property..... big road behind it

Thanks Archie. I didn't know the history of the ballpark.

[GiveMeaBJ]

Thanks for clearing up which wall he was talking about Bob.

[Chi_archie]

also back in the day they made alot of high walls to prevent people in apartment buildings (like wrigley) from getting a free view.....

[Boner_18]

Yeah, when they bought the property Landsdown St. was there and couldn't be moved. This park is a joke. Don't get me wrong I grew up going to Sox games more than Yankees games but the place is hole. The Sox are a world class baseball team should move into the modern era.

[stealthyburrito]

the wall has become so synonymous with the sox they'll never get rid of it

i do agree fenway is strange park

[big joe 1212]

Why do baseball parks get to have their own dimensions when every other sport is universal for every team?

They should require all new stadiums that are built to have specific dimensions. (except Colorado of course)

[Brock Landers]

Why do baseball parks get to have their own dimensions when every other sport is universal for every team? They should require all new stadiums that are built to have specific dimensions. (except Colorado of course)

it makes baseball unique, but this is a very good question as to why there are no standards. I believe there is a rule on how short the distance can be, but not how long.

[whatsgood5]

I think that was all the more room they had on their property..... big road behind it

Went to a game there quite a while ago, remember that road, never struck me 'til now that that was why they have the Green Monster though, can't believe I didn't put 2 and 2 together on that one...

[Extra Innings]

park is a total dump and that is the novelty part of it, no more rhyme or reason than that.

Shame on you.

[Boner_18]

Only place where they sell tickets for seats directly behind a friggin steel I-bar. Fvckin dump.

[thebestthereis]

Landsdowne street is full of drunk idiots, how the hell else do keep them out?

[IrishTim]

Is it to make fly balls turn into doubles? This one I don't understand.

It took away a HR from A-Rod the other night. I'm sure it had more to do with the stadium being in the middle of the city of Boston.

[superjeff24]

part of what makes baseball awesome is different parks. it's home field advantage. not like hockey where all they can do is make soft spots so that they can take advantage of cheezy bounces.

[tltaylor89]

Pujols will get a few balls over that wall this year.

[AMBlai01]

I thought the other original reason was not just because of the street but because of winds....there is a huge wind that come sin from that angle, or did I believe. I could be wrong on that though...

[adlai]

It's big to compensate for the short left field. No other reason than that, this is common New England knowledge, ask any Sox fan up here.

[yisman]

Pujols will get a few balls over that wall this year.

I don't think Pujols is likely to play too many games in Fenway.


As for the different ballparks, I like it. It's part of homefield advantage to have unique dimensions, walls, grass, etc.

[yisman]

It's big to compensate for the short left field. No other reason than that, this is common New England knowledge, ask any Sox fan up here.

Of course it's big to compensate for the wall being too far in, but that really has very little to do with this thread.

The real answer here is what was stated by several posters; that left field had to be short due to the area they were allocated. That led to them building a "monster" of a wall.

[cala56]

I think fenway park i horrible and to old, is time for a new one

[Cookie Monster]

the wall has become so synonymous with the sox they'll never get rid of it

Detroit also had a classical park, and it got dumped. It depends on the owner, Detroit team said that the Tiger stadium was bad, while Boston and Chicago highlight the "baseball shrine" side of theirs.

[fsugolf]

do they rebuild a new green monster if they build a new stadium?

[podunk]

queer as shit

[Andy117]

do they rebuild a new green monster if they build a new stadium?

Probably wouldn't be allowed to by MLB. There are minimum distances that would be enforced now.

[ZetaPsi808]

I think that was all the more room they had on their property..... big road behind it

CHI, i dont get this explanation. someone care to elaborate?

[yisman]

CHI, i dont get this explanation. someone care to elaborate?

they only had a certain amount of land to work with when they built it.

[Chi_archie]

Imagine if we still had some of the other stadiums around that are as old as this one..... look up the dimensions at the polo grounds where the NY Giants played and where Willie Mays made the incredible over the shoulder catch...it may have been one of the worst places to play baseball in ever.... it was really for other sports...


or Forbes Field where the Pirates played and Maz hit the walk off game 7 homer...it had some crazy dimensions too...


It would really suck to try to "standardize" ballparks.... that is basically what you had in the 80's with places like Riverfront, three rivers, vetern stadium, ect. ugly turf shells with no charm... blah

[Andy117]

CHI, i dont get this explanation. someone care to elaborate?

Landsdowne St is directly behind the wall. They'd have had to extend the park into the street to have a normal distance/wall. When the park was built that wasn't an option available to them.

[Brock Landers]

Imagine if we still had some of the other stadiums around that are as old as this one..... look up the dimensions at the polo grounds where the NY Giants played and where Willie Mays made the incredible over the shoulder catch...it may have been one of the worst places to play baseball in ever.... it was really for other sports...


or Forbes Field where the Pirates played and Maz hit the walk off game 7 homer...it had some crazy dimensions too...


It would really suck to try to "standardize" ballparks.... that is basically what you had in the 80's with places like Riverfront, three rivers, vetern stadium, ect. ugly turf shells with no charm... blah

how about the LA Coliseum when the dodgers first moved to LA

As originally configured in 1958, the Coliseum was only 250 feet to the left-field "screen" … which was 40 feet high. Deepest right-center field was 440 from the plate. Straightaway right field was a long ways away, too. It was barely 300 feet to the foul pole down the right-field line, but the fence extended out so quickly that it didn't do the hitters any good. According to Dodgers statistician Allan Roth's records, in 1958 only nine homers were hit in 77 games at the Coliseum.

[Andy117]

Imagine if we still had some of the other stadiums around that are as old as this one..... look up the dimensions at the polo grounds where the NY Giants played and where Willie Mays made the incredible over the shoulder catch...it may have been one of the worst places to play baseball in ever.... it was really for other sports...


or Forbes Field where the Pirates played and Maz hit the walk off game 7 homer...it had some crazy dimensions too...


It would really suck to try to "standardize" ballparks.... that is basically what you had in the 80's with places like Riverfront, three rivers, vetern stadium, ect. ugly turf shells with no charm... blah

Look at the dimensions of the LA Coliseum

[Andy117]

how about the LA Coliseum when the dodgers first moved to LA

As originally configured in 1958, the Coliseum was only 250 feet to the left-field "screen" … which was 40 feet high. Deepest right-center field was 440 from the plate. Straightaway right field was a long ways away, too. It was barely 300 feet to the foul pole down the right-field line, but the fence extended out so quickly that it didn't do the hitters any good. According to Dodgers statistician Allan Roth's records, in 1958 only nine homers were hit in 77 games at the Coliseum.