Discussion Topic: Up Against the Wall

The Brewers cow is part of a Wisconsin public arts project from 2006 called CowParade Wisconsin. I believe they were auctioned off for charity. Lots of cities have had similar projects, including my home town of Buffalo NY

The movie theater and supermarket in the proposed Dodgerdome are hilarious (as is distinction between stores and shops) – O’Malley could have had a mall with a ballpark long before the Steinbrenners.

Except for the name, I do not like the link* idea because it destroys the harmony between the shape of the basepath and the shape of the outfield. Quarter-circle Field (home of the Branding Irons?) makes much more sense in that regard.

*I’ve been to spring training games in Peoria AZ, they don’t have the fence depicted in the linked diagram.

Boston had cows as well.

[quote comment=”332148″]The Brewers cow is part of a Wisconsin public arts project from 2006 called CowParade Wisconsin. I believe they were auctioned off for charity. Lots of cities have had similar projects, including my home town of Buffalo NY[/quote]

Some New England towns have done similar public art projects with moose, though cows do seem to be the most popular. The Baseball Hall of Fame also has a cow in similar get up.

Give me the Polo Grounds. Cheap home runs to left and right, for those who are into that kind of thing, and a massive centerfield, for some real inside-the-park home run excitement. I would prefer triples and inside-the-parkers to boring old over-the-fence home runs any day of the week.

link

OOps….make that the 6 teams (Bears, Cubs, Hawks, White Sox, Fire, and Bulls)

So, for the Islander’s “Draft Party”…is that to sucker in a few more fans and to be witness to the final nail in the coffin for the franchise?

Has any other team this?

I love today’s entry!

I have to somewhat disagree with Paul’s statement concerning a lack of outfield guidelines.

At least where HS baseball is concerned, I SEEM to remember finding a section on outfiled dimensions in the opening section of the NFHS rulebook.

I don’t have mine at the moment, but if someone could substantiate…

[quote comment=”332162″]I love today’s entry!

I have to somewhat disagree with Paul’s statement concerning a lack of outfield guidelines.

At least where HS baseball is concerned, I SEEM to remember finding a section on outfiled dimensions in the opening section of the NFHS rulebook.

I don’t have mine at the moment, but if someone could substantiate…[/quote]

Not exactly what I was looking for, but cool nonetheless:

link

And a few Uni-revisions for 2009:

link

Forgive my digression though, plkease return to dimension speak.

[quote comment=”332162″]I love today’s entry!

I have to somewhat disagree with Paul’s statement concerning a lack of outfield guidelines.

At least where HS baseball is concerned, I SEEM to remember finding a section on outfiled dimensions in the opening section of the NFHS rulebook.

I don’t have mine at the moment, but if someone could substantiate…[/quote]

you probably read the rules of baseball (which obviously apply to MLB, but im pretty sure they’re applicable to all levels)

here’s the deal:

[quote]The distance from home base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on fair territory shall be 250 feet or more. A distance of 320 feet or more along the foul lines, and 400 feet or more to center field is preferable.[/quote]

you SHOULD keep that book in your back pocket (actually, you should have it memorized, or so they told me when i ump’ed for 5 years way back 100 years ago)…

i know the rules state minimum distances of 250′ away down the lines, but i thought i had heard (or read) somewhere that MLB didn’t want any new parks to be less than something like 325′ (although some new parks — SBC/Pac Bell for example are shorter)…

BTW…

The grey/carolina caps in the XYZ pic are available at Eastbay:

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Here are Boston’s sports related CowParade cows…

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link

link

link

link

link

link

link

link

[quote comment=”332166″][quote comment=”332162″]I love today’s entry!

I have to somewhat disagree with Paul’s statement concerning a lack of outfield guidelines.

At least where HS baseball is concerned, I SEEM to remember finding a section on outfiled dimensions in the opening section of the NFHS rulebook.

I don’t have mine at the moment, but if someone could substantiate…[/quote]

you probably read link (which obviously apply to MLB, but im pretty sure they’re applicable to all levels)

here’s the deal:

[quote]The distance from home base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on fair territory shall be 250 feet or more. A distance of 320 feet or more along the foul lines, and 400 feet or more to center field is preferable.[/quote]

you SHOULD keep that book in your back pocket (actually, you should have it memorized, or so they told me when i ump’ed for 5 years way back 100 years ago)…
[/quote]

That I should, but at the moment it is in my gear ortganizer in the hatch of my Forester.

Now that all of my friends and colleagues know that I am a HS umpire, they pepper me with questions and situations constantly…I love it!

Add pigs for cincinnati

timmy b here.

I am thinking of doing an NOB (name on back) database for all the “Big 4” teams. I can do the NHL and the NFL without too much trouble, but I will need help for MLB and the NBA.

If I can gather enough info, I will submit to Paul to go along with the “NFL White at Home” and the Pro Football Uni Database 1933-1958″ that I did previously.

It would look something like this:

MLB:

Cardinals: 1963 to date.

Pirates: 1979 to 1994. 1995 road jersesy only. 1996 to date.

I will also note for the Reds and Sac Kings if the NOB was positioned below the numbers.

All help and contributions will be noted and greatly appreciated!!

This ACTUALLY resembles a duck:

link

I dig the new pants for Washington State.

anyone else notice that the dude with his fly down in the XYZ link has a different hat than the rest of his teammates? No blue on the brim..

When these apparal manufacturers ‘design’ new unis, do they sit in a dark room, blind-folded and throw darts at a color wheel? Crikies, who thinks up these hideous colors and designs? Do the ADs have any input, or are they so beholden to N*** and R** that anything goes?

anyone want a scoreboard?

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[quote comment=”332157″]Chicago had the Cows in 1999. Here is one with the jerseys of the 4 major sports teams here

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Chicago has 5 major sports teams. 2 mlb, 1 nfl, 1 nba, 1 nhl.

[quote comment=”332166″]i know the rules state minimum distances of 250′ away down the lines, but i thought i had heard (or read) somewhere that MLB didn’t want any new parks to be less than something like 325′ (although some new parks — SBC/Pac Bell for example are shorter)…[/quote]

You need to read further down:

“NOTE (a) Any Playing Field constructed by a professional club after June 1, 1958, shall provide a minimum distance of 325 feet from home base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on the right and left field foul lines, and a minimum distance of 400 feet to the center field fence. (b) No existing playing field shall be remodeled after June 1, 1958, in such manner as to reduce the distance from home base to the foul poles and to the center field fence below the minimum specified in paragraph (a) above.”

I don’t understand why that rule is still in the rulebook, since many of the newer parks have blatantly broken it, seemingly without repercussions.

In terms of baseball, one of my biggest pet peeves in the world are the screwy outfield walls that appear in the new stadiums for no apparent reason, with the varying distances from home plate, the varying heights of the walls, and bullpens and seats that are in places that they shouldn’t be.

I hate the faux retro feel to no end. That’s something you can’t create. The teams who say they designed the stadium for that reason are copping out like the teams that say they want to get a new uniform set for team identity. We all know that it’s designing baseball to it’s lowest denominator– let’s make the stadium as stupid and quirky as possible (and let’s get some new unis) for the casual fan to come to the games and admire the stadium for the first 3 to 5 years and buy some shirts, let’s not care too much about how the team is performing. That would be too much to ask.

Camden Yards did it right– 4 different sections of outfield wall
link

A field like Petco (and I know there’s the original building out in left, but besides that even)– is obnoxious
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I live in Washington so I have to deal with a horrible baseball team that has no character that has a uniform set that doesn’t help and just built a brand new stadium that looks more like an office building from the outside. (Paint something red or blue, or put up some non-white brick, please!)
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As far as why the outfield walls are shorter to the poles, farthest to center, I buy the argument that center field needs to be bigger to keep more balls in play. More could be hit out easily. Perfect dimensions to me are something like 320 to the poles, 400 to center. I’d rather see left or right field moved out before center field being moved in.

[quote comment=”332190″][quote comment=”332158″]OOps….make that the 6 teams (Bears, Cubs, Hawks, White Sox, Fire, and Bulls)[/quote]

I hardly consider the Chicago Fire MLS soccer team a “major” sports team.[/quote]
At the time those cows were on display, the Fire were probably more “major” than the Blackhawks were.

As far as the Bengals prototype gumball helmets: does the guy who made them have any evidence that two of them were gold? Gold seems like a really odd choice for a team whose mascot is a tiger, since all tigers are orange (except white tigers). Gold is even odder since these helmets are mimicking a tiger’s striped body. Granted the photo used as reference is black and white, so the tiger-striped helmets could be any color for all we know, but I seriously doubt they were gold; they HAD to be orange, I mean, it’s the obvious, logical choice, right?

I like outfields with quirky dimensions. The game isn’t played in a vacuum. Unusual designs are way more interesting, and can even provide an added layer of home-field advantage.

link

Im sure its a mistake, but if you look at the image of all the new Wazzu Uni combos ( link )if you look at the top row, 3rd set in, it looks like not only do they hav a different red and silver helmet but a 2nd red helmet.

[quote comment=”332183″]anyone else notice that the dude with his fly down in the XYZ link has a different hat than the rest of his teammates? No blue on the brim..[/quote]

I think he has a blue brim…it’s just covered with dirt.

[quote comment=”332156″]Give me the Polo Grounds. Cheap home runs to left and right, for those who are into that kind of thing, and a massive centerfield, for some real inside-the-park home run excitement. I would prefer triples and inside-the-parkers to boring old over-the-fence home runs any day of the week.

link
Definitely have to agree for all those reasons you just mentioned!

I don’t know how many of you followers have played around with uniforms in various sports games like I have. I know it started with Quaterback Club 1998 and all you could do was select a color combination from the 17 pre-determined combinations and a team name. Then I got Madden 2004 and spent a lot of time with that game’s create a team program, but it still left something to be desired. Than I played NCAA Football(forgot the year) and they had pratically the perfect setup! I was waiting for a time when they were going to link together the Internet and the console to do something for the customization portion of that game, because I know there were tons of gamers begging for all sorts of features that weren’t possible with the Playstation 2.
A few months ago I read all about what was planned for the site linked too up above and I have been in fantasyland just thinking up all I could do, because I’ve spent a ton of time playing with the uniform creator. I just discovered that it was up last night and spent four hours going through and seeing everything that it can do and let me say that it is just about everything I had ever hoped for.
For all you uni fans who have no idea about antyhing I have just talked about, let me say that it is worth going on and checking out all the uniform options they have available. While on the PS2 game you had about 7 jersey option, this game has over 50(can’t get on to be exact here at work)!!! I mean, I was looking as some of these designs and I was thinking to myself, “What team had these on their uniforms, because I can’t place it! And I’m a uniform junkie!”
Seriously folks, take a half hour and play with it. I know I have to upgrade and get an xbox360 just so I can actually play with the team I made.

[quote comment=”332196″][quote comment=”332194″]Let’s recap.
King James lacks the class to offer a post-game handshake and people give him a pass, saying it shows he’s a great competitior. And Magic and Michael weren’t?
—Ricko[/quote]

Seeing LeBron walk off so unprofessionally reminded me of Isiah, Rodman and Laimbeer leaving seconds early to not congratulate the Bulls in 91. Unclassy then – still unclassy now.[/quote]

I would rather us all call them unclassy than have to deal with hearing about another huge sports brawl for the next four months. The whole handshake thing works in hockey because everyone is disgusting obsessed with tradition in hockey, but that is not the way it is in the NBA.

And as if this isn’t a long enough comment already, I have to say that I like those new unis for WSU and New Mexico. Seriously though, I don’t know why WSU even plays around with that Cougars script on their helmet when that WSU Cougar head logo is one of the best in sports. I mean, it looks like their nickname and incorporates the school name! I mean, sure the U for Miami has reached this level since so many NFLers call it the U that it has stuck, but it’s just a U and doesn’t represent the nickname at all. Alright I’m done.

Is this WNBA sponsorship deal more of a move toward destroying uniforms in America? Or, is it more of a move towards disbanding the WNBA?

Was Isaiah Thomas involved with this in any way?

Do the dimensions of most ballparks have to do with the fact that they were built inside the traditional “city block” and therefore maximized the space they had available. That would naturally create a deeper center field. Maybe it was just a necessity that developed into a tradition that developed into a practice that developed into a rule. Wrigley Field comes to mind:

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[quote comment=”332202″][quote comment=”332199″]I like outfields with quirky dimensions. The game isn’t played in a vacuum. Unusual designs are way more interesting, and can even provide an added layer of home-field advantage.[/quote]
Ask Craig Biggio how he feels about the home-field advantage that Tal’s Hill provided him.[/quote]

I said “can”. I was thinking more in term’s of an outfielder’s knowledge of how a ball will come off a particular wall. If an outfield was littered with potholes, that would be quirky too, but obviously not much of an advantage.

[quote comment=”332210″][quote comment=”332154″][quote comment=”332148″]The Brewers cow is part of a Wisconsin public arts project from 2006 called CowParade Wisconsin. I believe they were auctioned off for charity. Lots of cities have had similar projects, including my home town of Buffalo NY[/quote]

Some New England towns have done similar public art projects with moose, though cows do seem to be the most popular. The Baseball Hall of Fame also has a cow in similar get up.[/quote]
Cincinnati did this with pigs (it is Porkopolis after all), while Louisville did horses.[/quote]

In DC they had, of course, elephants and donkeys. I remember in Auburn they used tigers. It’s used for local artists to show off their stuff. I’ve seen them covered in braille, covered in a subway map, etc. It’s mostly for tourists to have their picture taken in front of, right? :)

All football fields, basketball courts, hockey rinks, and soccer pitches have the same playing field no matter where you are. Making the outfield walls uniform would take away from one of the great aspects of baseball, not every park is the same. It adds a variety to baseball that the other sports cannot match. Making the outfield walls uniform is one of the WORST ideas I have ever heard.

Frederick, Maryland did a public arts project of keys:
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Frederick was home to/the final resting place of Francis Scott Key.

does anyone know when the 76ers will announce their new uniforms?

Minor League Cows where here in Harrisburg

Harrisburg Senators
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Hershey Bears
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[quote comment=”332212″]the old ballparks were quirky because they needed to be link and link and stuff

these link, with their link, link, seemingly link wall heights, and/or link dimensions may be cute and trendy, but they lack the long term qualities and feel the old ballparks had, and, as i said before, feel very forced…

are they better than round, cookie-cutter, astro-turf-laden multi-purpose stadia of the 70’s? sure…but they could have been even better

camden got it right…the jury is still out on a lot of the post-92 parks[/quote]
I’m not disagreeing with you that the contrived “character” of some of the newer parks is a bit of a joke, but why does Baltimore get a pass? By link into the park as a design element, aren’t they just as guilty of forced quirkiness as all of the “bad” examples you cited?

[quote comment=”332217″]All football fields, basketball courts, hockey rinks, and soccer pitches have the same playing field no matter where you are. Making the outfield walls uniform would take away from one of the great aspects of baseball, not every park is the same. It adds a variety to baseball that the other sports cannot match. Making the outfield walls uniform is one of the WORST ideas I have ever heard.[/quote]

I agree. If you want to make a more uniform game, you might as well add a clock, too. I’m not sure about the hagiography applied to the older parks–they were just as problematic(see those earlier Yankee field left field pics) but we were used to the problems.

I love the new Phillies park, with its problems(remember Aaron Rowand’s nose) and am glad to never see the Vet again.

[quote comment=”332225″][quote comment=”332212″]the old ballparks were quirky because they needed to be link and link and stuff

these link, with their link, link, seemingly link wall heights, and/or link dimensions may be cute and trendy, but they lack the long term qualities and feel the old ballparks had, and, as i said before, feel very forced…

are they better than round, cookie-cutter, astro-turf-laden multi-purpose stadia of the 70’s? sure…but they could have been even better

camden got it right…the jury is still out on a lot of the post-92 parks[/quote]
I’m not disagreeing with you that the contrived “character” of some of the newer parks is a bit of a joke, but why does Baltimore get a pass? By link into the park as a design element, aren’t they just as guilty of forced quirkiness as all of the “bad” examples you cited?[/quote]

I can’t explain why, but it doesn’t feel like “forced quirkiness” at Camden. It just doesn’t. At Nats Park, it feels forced. It’s still a great place to see a game, but the surrounding neighborhood is a war zone of construction and empty lots. In Baltimore, it’s just “supposed” to be there. That (and Uncle Teddy’s) make Camden a great place to see a game.

[quote comment=”332159″]New College Uniforms

Wazzu – like, but do you need two different maroon helmets to choose from?

Washington – like, except for the purple pants option (please don’t go monochrome)

New Mexico – away set looks good with the silver pants, the monochrome red home look with the silver helmet, bad, very bad.

Boise State – ugh, at least they aren’t getting Nike hand-me-down templates anymore, they have their own ugly-ass look now. Orange pants would help that look a little bit.[/quote]

Washington St – Pretty nice, but WAYYYYYYYY too many combos. Why even 2 helmets? Just pick on or the other. Personally, I would choose the red logo (not script Cougars) helmet, use the red jerseys and grey pants at home, and the white jerseys with red pants on the road. They grey or silver helmets look pretty good too when paired with the grey/silver pants.

Washington – Simple and very nice. Should wear the gold pants home and away and tehy would be great.

New Mexico – Like the roads pretty well, but the monochrome homes suck.

Boise St. – Wow, super duper bad. Sufficiently ugly to match that hideous field. Some of the worst unis in college football, and that’s saying alot.

Where is the “Isosceles Field” you speak of?

Probably somewhere like Ithaca, NY.
Nah, more likely Athens, GA.

“I’m Isosceles!” “No, I’M Isosceles!” “I’m Isosceles”
Gee, I loved that movie where all the persecuted mathematicians protected him.

No, wait, that was an episode of the Big Bang Theory.

[quote comment=”332227″][quote comment=”332217″]All football fields, basketball courts, hockey rinks, and soccer pitches have the same playing field no matter where you are. Making the outfield walls uniform would take away from one of the great aspects of baseball, not every park is the same. It adds a variety to baseball that the other sports cannot match. Making the outfield walls uniform is one of the WORST ideas I have ever heard.[/quote]

I agree. If you want to make a more uniform game, you might as well add a clock, too. I’m not sure about the hagiography applied to the older parks–they were just as problematic(see those earlier Yankee field left field pics) but we were used to the problems.

I love the new Phillies park, with its problems(remember Aaron Rowand’s nose) and am glad to never see the Vet again.[/quote]

As much as you’d like to believe that all hockey rinks have the same dimensions, one of the greatest aspects is not the rink-size in hockey, but how close the fans are.

Think of the old Chicago Stadium and Boston Garden. The fans literally sat in the benches at those rinks.

It’s this kind of atmosphere and aura that made those arenas so unique and so incredible.

Also, you can’t deny that modern designs have killed the unique features of the hockey rink as well. The stairs from the visitors’ dressing room up to the ice in Chicago Stadium would literally kill teams in the third period and overtime as they had to haul their rear ends up and down those stairs.

The old rinks were close in playing size on the ice surface, but it was everything else that made the old barns extremely unique. And when you consider that good hockey games are made because of the crowd’s reactions to what’s on the ice, having the crowd right next to the action is much better than what we see in some of these arenas today.

Sure, the space is nice if you’re a big dude, but the cramped, crowded spaces of Chicago Stadium – with the pipe organ blaring in the background – literally was the best place on Earth to watch hockey.

[quote comment=”332212″][quote comment=”332191″][quote comment=”332166″]i know the rules state minimum distances of 250′ away down the lines, but i thought i had heard (or read) somewhere that MLB didn’t want any new parks to be less than something like 325′ (although some new parks — SBC/Pac Bell for example are shorter)…[/quote]

You need to read further down:

“NOTE (a) Any Playing Field constructed by a professional club after June 1, 1958, shall provide a minimum distance of 325 feet from home base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on the right and left field foul lines, and a minimum distance of 400 feet to the center field fence. (b) No existing playing field shall be remodeled after June 1, 1958, in such manner as to reduce the distance from home base to the foul poles and to the center field fence below the minimum specified in paragraph (a) above.”

I don’t understand why that rule is still in the rulebook, since many of the newer parks have blatantly broken it, seemingly without repercussions.[/quote]

damn…thanks steve

i KNEW it was somewhere…that’s what i get for posting in a hurry

point still stands tho…if MLB “requires” 325′ (knew i heard/read that somewhere — figures it was actually in the rules, lol), how is it that the new parks routinely flout this regulation? or rather, not how, but why?

the old ballparks were quirky because they needed to be link and link and stuff

these link, with their link, link, seemingly link wall heights, and/or link dimensions may be cute and trendy, but they lack the long term qualities and feel the old ballparks had, and, as i said before, feel very forced…

are they better than round, cookie-cutter, astro-turf-laden multi-purpose stadia of the 70’s? sure…but they could have been even better

camden got it right…the jury is still out on a lot of the post-92 parks[/quote]

The verdict is in on PNC Park: Awesome, as charged.

link

[quote comment=”332232″]Cleveland does link.[/quote]

Phoenix did guitars in 2005 also.

[quote comment=”332197″]As far as the Bengals prototype gumball helmets: does the guy who made them have any evidence that two of them were gold? Gold seems like a really odd choice for a team whose mascot is a tiger, since all tigers are orange (except white tigers). Gold is even odder since these helmets are mimicking a tiger’s striped body. Granted the photo used as reference is black and white, so the tiger-striped helmets could be any color for all we know, but I seriously doubt they were gold; they HAD to be orange, I mean, it’s the obvious, logical choice, right?[/quote]
Whaaaa???? Does link look “orange” to you? Real link wear link!

If you’re looking for odd colors for teams named “Tigers”, I give you link (Blue & White) and link (Purple and “yellow” Gold)…

[quote comment=\”332229\”][quote comment=\”332225\”][quote comment=\”332212\”]the old ballparks were quirky because they needed to be fit into neighborhoods and existing street patterns and stuff

these newer parks, with their dangerous, quirky, seemingly random wall heights, and/or blatently short dimensions may be cute and trendy, but they lack the long term qualities and feel the old ballparks had, and, as i said before, feel very forced…

are they better than round, cookie-cutter, astro-turf-laden multi-purpose stadia of the 70\’s? sure…but they could have been even better

camden got it right…the jury is still out on a lot of the post-92 parks[/quote]
I\’m not disagreeing with you that the contrived \”character\” of some of the newer parks is a bit of a joke, but why does Baltimore get a pass? By incorporating the warehouse into the park as a design element, aren\’t they just as guilty of forced quirkiness as all of the \”bad\” examples you cited?[/quote]

I can\’t explain why, but it doesn\’t feel like \”forced quirkiness\” at Camden. It just doesn\’t. At Nats Park, it feels forced. It\’s still a great place to see a game, but the surrounding neighborhood is a war zone of construction and empty lots. In Baltimore, it\’s just \”supposed\” to be there. That (and Uncle Teddy\’s) make Camden a great place to see a game.[/quote]

I may be a bit biased (being from Baltimore and all) – but I love the warehouse, because it\’s always been there, it was \”forced\” into the dimensions of the field – it\’s well over the right field wall.

It\’s not incorporated into the dimensions of the field – a la Petco Park.

I have also been to the Jake – that didn\’t seem like anything was \”forced\” there.

~Hickory

To add to the Cowparade.com comments, the Milwaukee Brewers cow is called “Bobbin’ Yount”

link

[quote comment=\”332222\”][quote comment=\”332221\”]does anyone know when the 76ers will announce their new uniforms?[/quote]

officially? no

but you link, right?[/quote]

yeah im a long time reader, first time commenter, so i was just wondering if i had missed a release date.

i assume it will be released before the draft since they dont have the draft cap on the nba.com shop

[quote comment=”332226″][quote comment=”332223″]Harrisburg Senators
link
Is that some kind of swoosh/vector hybrid on the wristband?[/quote]

this should answer that

link

Okay, Paul…

First off, you were in Phoenix yesterday, you didn’t let me know?

Secondly, if you were at US Airways Center (and I considered going, because my office is right down the street, but we had an internal deal here and I couldn’t), you were only a couple of blocks away from a city building eerily similar to your Candela structures. Did you see it?

Thirdly, I’ve been to link and it does not have a straight outfield wall, trust me.

[quote comment=”332217″]All football fields, basketball courts, hockey rinks, and soccer pitches have the same playing field no matter where you are.[/quote]

That is absolutely not true.

Soccer fields have a minimum and maximum length and width and must be a rectangle, but they’re not all, say 110 yards x 70 yards. The Home Depot Center field in Carson, California, is much longer and wider than Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. And even Gillette’s dimensions shrink for soccer once the NFL season starts because they bring in additional seats for the Patriots.

And even NHL hockey rinks aren’t uniform. The old Boston Garden’s ice surface was 15 feet shorter than “normal.”

I’m curious if anyone has a spread graph of all baseballs hit into the outfield/stands and where they landed. Some slice of time/players that would represent an average.

Another thing perfectly circular stands would do is de-emphasize the righty or lefty that can only hit to one side of the park. Jim Thome for instance.

And you never hear of a player who’s specialty is hitting straight to center field. Power or not.

Can you imagine a “Thome-shift” but for someone who hits to center more often? All the fielders bunched up near center?

Simply put, there’s a substantial difference between “out of necessity” and “by design”.

Right?

—Ricko

Right.

Big question is: Is one better than the other?

Given what passed for baseball stadiums in the 70’s–the Vet, Three River’s etc.–I think not.

Wow, I had no idea that the World Cup would allow fields to have varying dimensions. It seems strange that you could have some sort of advantage in a worldwide series like that.

[quote comment=”332236″][quote comment=”332227″][quote comment=”332217″]All football fields, basketball courts, hockey rinks, and soccer pitches have the same playing field no matter where you are. Making the outfield walls uniform would take away from one of the great aspects of baseball, not every park is the same. It adds a variety to baseball that the other sports cannot match. Making the outfield walls uniform is one of the WORST ideas I have ever heard.[/quote]

I agree. If you want to make a more uniform game, you might as well add a clock, too. I’m not sure about the hagiography applied to the older parks–they were just as problematic(see those earlier Yankee field left field pics) but we were used to the problems.

I love the new Phillies park, with its problems(remember Aaron Rowand’s nose) and am glad to never see the Vet again.[/quote]

As much as you’d like to believe that all hockey rinks have the same dimensions, one of the greatest aspects is not the rink-size in hockey, but how close the fans are.

Think of the old Chicago Stadium and Boston Garden. The fans literally sat in the benches at those rinks.

It’s this kind of atmosphere and aura that made those arenas so unique and so incredible.

Also, you can’t deny that modern designs have killed the unique features of the hockey rink as well. The stairs from the visitors’ dressing room up to the ice in Chicago Stadium would literally kill teams in the third period and overtime as they had to haul their rear ends up and down those stairs.

The old rinks were close in playing size on the ice surface, but it was everything else that made the old barns extremely unique. And when you consider that good hockey games are made because of the crowd’s reactions to what’s on the ice, having the crowd right next to the action is much better than what we see in some of these arenas today.

Sure, the space is nice if you’re a big dude, but the cramped, crowded spaces of Chicago Stadium – with the pipe organ blaring in the background – literally was the best place on Earth to watch hockey.[/quote]
Good God, Teebz. Ya done brought a tear to my eye. The (first AND second) balcony seats in that place were better than a lot of the seats in the lower level were. And they were a hell of a lot better than anything above the 100 level in the United Center. And the link produced sounds that were transcendent.

Of course, the beer vendors might not recall the balconies so fondly. Those poor bastards had to schlep kegs up all those flights of stairs — and sometimes twice a day if they had both basketball and hockey scheduled. It always amazed me that they didn’t install an elevator or at least some kind of dumbwaiter system for them.

And not for nothin’ but the ice surface was smaller than the standard NHL rink at the Stadium.

link

Of Course the New York Yankee cow is named “Holy Cow” after Rizzuto

Even cricket fields have dimension size minimums and maximums.

Standard dimensions for tests, one-day internationals and twenty-20 matches

The playing area shall be a minimum of 150 yards (137.16 metres)
from boundary to boundary square of the pitch, with the shorter of the
two square boundaries being a minimum 65 yards (59.43 metres). The
straight boundary at both ends of the pitch shall be a minimum of 70
yards (64.00 metres). Distances shall be measured from the centre of
the pitch to be used.
On large grounds the aim shall be to provide the largest playing area,
subject to no boundary exceeding 90 yards (82.29 meters) from the
centre of the pitch to be used.
Any ground which has been approved to host international cricket prior
to 1st October 2007 or which is currently under construction as of this
date which is unable to conform to these new minimum dimensions
shall be exempt. In such cases the regulations in force immediately
prior to the adoption of these regulations shall apply.

[quote comment=\”332252\”]Okay, Paul…

First off, you were in Phoenix yesterday, you didn’t let me know?
[/quote]

KT,

Also my first thought.

I assume you are referring to Patriots Square Gonna Be a Massive Corporate Building Soon Park?

Only 99.9999 percent condemnation for the caption on photo 8 here, as the writer lives in Tennessee:

link

It’s Duke Snider, not Snyder. Good heavens, just look at the autograph if you’re in doubt about a HOFer.

[quote comment=”332262″]
Good God, Teebz. Ya done brought a tear to my eye. The (first AND second) balcony seats in that place were better than a lot of the seats in the lower level were. And they were a hell of a lot better than anything above the 100 level in the United Center. And the link produced sounds that were transcendent.

Of course, the beer vendors might not recall the balconies so fondly. Those poor bastards had to schlep kegs up all those flights of stairs — and sometimes twice a day if they had both basketball and hockey scheduled. It always amazed me that they didn’t install an elevator or at least some kind of dumbwaiter system for them.

And not for nothin’ but the ice surface was smaller than the standard NHL rink at the Stadium.[/quote]

Well, it’s the truth, ain’t it? Sure, the United Center gets loud, but when you could feel the concrete shake in the old Chicago Stadium, you knew the Blackhawks were playing.

All of the old rinks had their personalities, and that’s what made them so incredibly memorable. It wasn’t the ice surface or the size of the rink whatsoever.

It was the little idiosyncracies found in every single rink that made Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Montreal different from one another. The home team literally had home-ice advantage in all of those old barns.

And isn’t that the same with baseball? Ebbetts Field, the old Yankee Stadium, Fenway, Wrigley, Tiger Stadium – they all have the fans much closer to the action than the new ballparks. And they are more loved by the fans than their newer brethren because of their old-time features.

[quote comment=”332267″]The Mets have link

Moo-Kie[/quote]

Islanders have one named Bossy, maybe?

[quote comment=”332273″]These cleats a carry over from his days playing baseball at Stanford?

link

Never knew that Mizuno made football spikes too.[/quote]

Elway wore adidas at Stanford and, as I recall, was one of the first in the NFL to wear Mizuno.

[quote comment=”332217″]All football fields, basketball courts, hockey rinks, and soccer pitches have the same playing field no matter where you are. Making the outfield walls uniform would take away from one of the great aspects of baseball, not every park is the same. It adds a variety to baseball that the other sports cannot match. Making the outfield walls uniform is one of the WORST ideas I have ever heard.[/quote]

It seems like everyone here wants ALL basbeall uniforms to look the same (white pinstripes at home, grey on the road, striped stirrups and stick with the same 1956 color pallette) and ALL baseball stadiums to be different. Go figure.

[quote comment=”332239″]For you Charger fans:

link
OK, I see the two throwbacks, the white jersey and the powder blue alt in that photo. The navy blue jersey is presumably out of frame, given that there are three helmets on that table/display stand. So… are they going to be wearing 5 different jerseys this year?

Whatever they do, I hope that someone with the team happens to notice that those white pants look approximately 97 trillion times better with the white jersey and helmet than the blue pants do.

[quote comment=”332238″][quote comment=”332212″][quote comment=”332191″][quote comment=”332166″]i know the rules state minimum distances of 250′ away down the lines, but i thought i had heard (or read) somewhere that MLB didn’t want any new parks to be less than something like 325′ (although some new parks — SBC/Pac Bell for example are shorter)…[/quote]

You need to read further down:

“NOTE (a) Any Playing Field constructed by a professional club after June 1, 1958, shall provide a minimum distance of 325 feet from home base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on the right and left field foul lines, and a minimum distance of 400 feet to the center field fence. (b) No existing playing field shall be remodeled after June 1, 1958, in such manner as to reduce the distance from home base to the foul poles and to the center field fence below the minimum specified in paragraph (a) above.”

I don’t understand why that rule is still in the rulebook, since many of the newer parks have blatantly broken it, seemingly without repercussions.[/quote]

damn…thanks steve

i KNEW it was somewhere…that’s what i get for posting in a hurry

point still stands tho…if MLB “requires” 325′ (knew i heard/read that somewhere — figures it was actually in the rules, lol), how is it that the new parks routinely flout this regulation? or rather, not how, but why?

the old ballparks were quirky because they needed to be link and link and stuff

these link, with their link, link, seemingly link wall heights, and/or link dimensions may be cute and trendy, but they lack the long term qualities and feel the old ballparks had, and, as i said before, feel very forced…

are they better than round, cookie-cutter, astro-turf-laden multi-purpose stadia of the 70’s? sure…but they could have been even better

camden got it right…the jury is still out on a lot of the post-92 parks[/quote]

The verdict is in on PNC Park: Awesome, as charged.

link

That backdrop is beautiful. Are there any other fields that rank up there with PNC concerning that?

[quote comment=”332282″]That backdrop is beautiful. Are there any other fields that rank up there with PNC concerning that?[/quote]Off the top of my head, how about St. Louis?

What I’m curious to know is why didn’t O’Malley build his dome when he moved the Dodgers to California. Ok, I get it, it’s nice weather – no dome. But why not keep the rest of it, as designed? Or at least stick with the 385-foot dimension all around?

[quote comment=”332281″]what is the purpose of tal\’s hill?

this is just quirkiness for quirkiness sake [/quote]
I propose an official acronym: QFQS (alternatively QFTSOQ)

[quote comment=”332282″]

link

That backdrop is beautiful. Are there any other fields that rank up there with PNC concerning that?[/quote]

Oakland?
link

Maybe not…
Lee

[quote comment=”332286″]What I’m curious to know is why didn’t O’Malley build his dome when he moved the Dodgers to California. Ok, I get it, it’s nice weather – no dome. But why not keep the rest of it, as designed? Or at least stick with the 385-foot dimension all around?[/quote]

Ask Captain Emil Praeger.

[quote comment=”332291″]Old Municipal Stadium in Cleveland an extraordinary view of downtown Cleveland.[/quote]

There is such a thing? ;)

[quote comment=”332295″][quote comment=”332290″]
Oakland?
link

Maybe not…
Lee[/quote]Isn’t that AKA “Mount Davis”?[/quote]

Known derisively, of course.

Lee

[quote comment=”332297″]It was when you saw it after a decade or so of looking up at the roof of the Metrodome. LOL

—Ricko[/quote]
They’re keeping the RollerDome for football, correct?

I just hope they do something with the (shallow) end zones once they don’t have to think about baseball seating.

[quote comment=”332298″]
They’re keeping the RollerDome for football, correct?[/quote]

Vikings will be the only tenant (really) then, won’t they? Twins will have a new yard and the Gophers are moving to a new one as well. Twins have wanted one for a while. Don’t know that it’s going to happen.

[quote comment=”332291″]Not a skyline vista, but in person this is supposed to be a magnificent view of San Francisco Bay.
link
It is. I was lucky enough to be there for a day game. My seats were actually pretty close to where that picture was taken.

Busch Stadium III: link.

Yet another reason to love Yankees.

link

[quote comment=”332303″] A Wyoming brown field?[/quote]
Given yesterday’s series of marathon photos, today might be a little too soon for that suggestion.

OTOH, someone here will soon ask about Denver.

[quote comment=”332295″][quote comment=”332290″]
Oakland?
link

Maybe not…
Lee[/quote]Isn’t that AKA “Mount Davis”?[/quote]

Alright…

Question #1 one has been asked: What backdrops rival PNC?If you can think of Minor league ballparks, like where the Camden Riversharks play, they are fair game.

Question #2. Besides Mt. Davis, what ballparks have the worst or least aesthetic?

[quote comment=”332300″][quote comment=”332298″]
They’re keeping the RollerDome for football, correct?[/quote]

Vikings will be the only tenant (really) then, won’t they? Twins will have a new yard and the Gophers are moving to a new one as well. Vikes have wanted one for a while. Don’t know that it’s going to happen.[/quote]

Well, tractor pulls and monster trucks do pretty well in the Triple H.

Yeah, the Vikings have been pushing for a new stadium as long as the Twins. The Metrodome was really built for the Vikings (it sure wasn’t designed for baseball) and so their lease was longer.

I’d say they’re certainly not going to get a new stadium during the Great Recession, but I honestly didn’t think the Twins and Gophers would get new stadiums as fast as they did. Plus they might get a new stadium elsewhere if any community can still afford a moving franchise.

[quote comment=”332173″][quote comment=”332160″]So, for the Islander’s “Draft Party”…is that to sucker in a few more fans and to be witness to the final nail in the coffin for the franchise?

Has any other team this?[/quote]

My once-and future proud franchise, the Indiana Pacers, did this last year. A desperate move to regain goodwill with fans.[/quote]
There’s more of a political undercurrent to this that just bringing in a few casual fans. Every ticket “sold” shows the Town of Hempstead that there is a fanbase that wants the Isles on Long Island.

The Isles had a “Draft Party” last year that was surprisingly worthwhile (until the draft itself). Since they sat at #5 last year they didn’t do much along the lines of promotion, but holding #1 will make you do silly things.

None of the other teams have announced similar events (save for Montreal, since they’re hosting), but I found this photo if Peter Zezel wearing the Pelle Lingbergh memorial on his shoulder. Couldn’t the Flyers choose something less creepy?
link

When I was in Memphis, I stayed at a great hotel named The Peabody, famous for a few of it’s tenants.

Very nearby was the home of the Memphis Redbirds, which from the outside was very nice looking.

link

link

If you ever have the chance to go, you MUST get the barbecue at Rendezvous!

Why do the pants for Wazzu look like they’re made of pleather. DITCH THE SHEEN

[quote comment=”332253″][quote comment=”332250″][quote comment=”332226″][quote comment=”332223″]Harrisburg Senators
link
Is that some kind of swoosh/vector hybrid on the wristband?[/quote]

this should answer that

link

How do we identify a “minor league cow” if it’s out of uniform?[/quote]

Well since the cow was put there in ’04 and they didn’t change to the new Nationals type uni’s till ’05 technically the cow was in uniform

[quote comment=”332287″]FYI concerning old time parks having to fit into pre-existing street grids versus what takes place today, specifically AT&T Park (PacBell) here in San Francisco.

The park is actually placed into a pre-existing street grid: King Street along the third base side, Third street along the first base side, and McCovey Cove along the outfield.
No streets were altered or moved to make way for the park (there is a drawbridge on 3rd Street that couldn’t have been moved if they wanted to).

As for the short field in right, the Giants built the wall as far back as they were allowed to, they actually wanted to build the outfield wall closer to the water, the city wouldn’t let them.
They could have built the left field wall farther back, but right field is as far back as they could have gone.

Lee[/quote]

Amen. AT&T Park is definitely not “quirky for quirkiness sake.”

appropos of stadia, and in regard to statistical analysis…

these guys chart EVERYTHING

[quote comment=”332252″]Okay, Paul…

First off, you were in Phoenix yesterday, you didn’t let me know?

Secondly, if you were at US Airways Center (and I considered going, because my office is right down the street, but we had an internal deal here and I couldn’t), you were only a couple of blocks away from a city building eerily similar to your Candela structures. Did you see it?

Thirdly, I’ve been to link and it does not have a straight outfield wall, trust me.[/quote]

Wow – I flew into Phoenix a few weeks back and saw what I thought was a candela structure.
It was northeast of the airport if I had my bearings correct.

I’ve been trying to find it on Google Maps to send to Paul

KT – do you have any more info?

[quote comment=”332321″][quote comment=”332320″]
Amen. AT&T Park is definitely not “quirky for quirkiness sake.”[/quote]

link

i never said it was, i merely used the short porch as an example of how teams seemingly flout the 325′ distance requirement…i kinda like the idea of a short porch…and obviously, unless your name is baroid, it doesn’t really yield any cheapies

i didn’t realize they wanted to, but were forbidden from moving the wall back further; they could have rotated the field a few degrees, however, and had longer distances (while remaining within the grid) — they also could have raised the height of the RF porch…but i like how it was done

i’ll happily concede AT&T is not QFQS, but other new parks certainly are

[quote comment=”332309″][quote comment=”332307″][quote comment=”332290″][quote comment=”332282″]

link

That backdrop is beautiful. Are there any other fields that rank up there with PNC concerning that?[/quote]

Oakland?
link

Maybe not…
Lee[/quote]

Baltimore’s is pretty good, but I think the new hotel obscures some of the downtown view. Here’s a pic before it was built.

link

St. Louis is definitely up there.

link

Atlanta has a dowtown skyline view, but it’s a little further away.

link

Safeco Field in Seattle has a nice view:

link

I think the plan for Target Field in Minneapolis is for it to have a nice downtown view:

link

Here’s a better view of Target Field

link

link

Orioles Park:
link

Here’s Baltimore’s view before/after the massive Hilton came to town:

Before: link

After: link

Wow, I hate that Hotel.

[quote comment=”332328″]Wow, I hate that Hotel.[/quote]That’s absolutely terrible. I thought that the Bromo-Seltzer tower had landmark protection?

I’m surprised the city leaders allowed that.

The mathematician in me was curious.

Assuming the Isosceles Field fence is perfectly straight from foul pole to foul pole, the dimensions would be (assuming my math is correct):
If center is 400 ft, the LF/RF lines would have to be 566 ft.
If center is 375 ft, the lines would be 530 ft.
if center is 350 ft, the lines would be 495 ft.

Seems impractical no matter which way it is done. The blogger should have done a little more research before suggesting this idea.

[quote comment=”332327″]
WTF is going on in center field in link?[/quote]

You mean the subliminal patriotism, or the amusement park ride beyond the fences? Either way, the park is actually a very nice remodel of a 1960s stadium.

[quote comment=”332333″][quote comment=”332315″]Here is a Best of List for the Minors:

link

Not to cry Shenanigans on whomever at US Airways made that list, but they obviously never went to Victory Field in my beloved hometown of Indianapolis…. regularly voted #1 in many other contests.

link

I’m callin’ bullshit on em.[/quote]
So the offense is great enough to call bullshit, but not so egregious as to cry shenanigans?

[quote comment=”332336″][quote comment=”332333″][quote comment=”332315″]Here is a Best of List for the Minors:

link

Not to cry Shenanigans on whomever at US Airways made that list, but they obviously never went to Victory Field in my beloved hometown of Indianapolis…. regularly voted #1 in many other contests.

link

I’m callin’ bullshit on em.[/quote]
So the offense is great enough to call bullshit, but not so egregious as to cry shenanigans?[/quote]

If my college years are recollected correctly, then a cry of “Shenanigans” calls for a beating of the offended party with broomsticks, whereas “bullshit” only incites the accusing party to spit chawjuice onto the ground.

I think that the biggest challenge understanding the reasoning for the odd dimensions and angles is that we may never now the full reasoning.

The majority of the old stadiums were built within city blocks only.

Fenway Park
link

Old Comisky Park
link

KC Municipal Stadium
link

Tiger Stadium
link

Griffith Stadium
link

Wrigley Field in LA for the Angels
link

Baker Bowl, Philadelphia
link

Shibe Park, Philadelphia
link

Teams were probably trying to use as much space as they could and also put in as many seats as possible. Then they adjusted the dimensions to fit these requirements.

[quote comment=”332285″][quote comment=”332268″][quote comment=\”332252\”]Okay, Paul…

First off, you were in Phoenix yesterday, you didn’t let me know?
[/quote]

KT,

Also my first thought.

I assume you are referring to Patriots Square Gonna Be a Massive Corporate Building Soon Park?[/quote]

No, the one over by the court house. By Change of Venue. I don’t know what function it serves. Whatever that is between 1st and 3rd Avenues on Jefferson.

Also, link‘s satellite proof that Peoria Sports Complex doesn’t have a straight outfield wall.[/quote]

Candela look-alike in Phoenix via Google maps.
link,,0,6.19

I forgot to put St. Louis’ Sportsman’s Park
link

[quote comment=”332330″][quote comment=”332328″]Wow, I hate that Hotel.[/quote]That’s absolutely terrible. I thought that the Bromo-Seltzer tower had landmark protection?

I’m surprised the city leaders allowed that.[/quote]

The Bromo-Seltzer tower still exists, it was a few blocks away from the Camden Yards. The Hilton just now stands in between it.

The Bromo-Seltzer tower just recently got it’s landmark protection: link

I live about 10 doors away from the ballpark (right near Pickles Pub for those who are familiar) and there are always people petitioning the appearance of the wall that faces the playing field – the most recent one I saw wants to get an artist to comission an Orioles-related mural on the side that you see from the stadium. (I doubt Paris Hilton would go for that – haha).

[quote comment=”332341″]Good call on including the Cell. Not a terrible looking place, but they could have improved the aesthetic appearance tremendously just by rotating it 90 degrees counter-clockwise. It’s maddening that they chose the orientation that they did.

They wanted home plate at the corner of 35th and Shields (Bill Veeck Drive). Perhaps we’ll have to wait for Comiskey III, which could be built on the original Comiskey’s footprint, to get that aesthetic that everyone seems to prefer.[/quote]

Hey all,

This is just a heads up to those of us that went to MAC schools (or follow them) the new Miami, Eastern Michigan, and Toldeo jerseys are also leaked on that EA Sorts feature site. Miami has ditched Nike for Adidas (a school wide deal was hammered out but has yet to be announced officially) and along with the new designers comes a sleek throwback design (something I helped do). Also for whatever reason EA thinks Rice is a member of the MAC (which is false, I double checked the MAC site, Rice has not joined our ranks)

[quote comment=”332245″][quote]I’ve never been to either of those parks, so I can’t compare and contrast and I have no doubt that Camden’s a terrific place to see a game. However, I have been to three of the parks that Phil pointed out (Petco, Pac Bell, the Jake) and nothing really felt forced to me about them.[/quote]

perhaps “forced” is the wrong word…what im getting at is this…the old stadia had their quirks because they (99% of the time) HAD TO…whether it was link, a link (not that im longing for baseball in the coliseum again), or even just having to link into link street link or needed link because of the really link … those quirks were dictated by other factors

the “quirkiness” of the new parks feels forced because there is no NEED for these features … architects have, for the most part, ample land for a stadium and parking, and no need to make the ballpark quirky (forced) for quirkiness sake

not saying the jake (im calling it the jake), petco and whateverthehellitisnow park in SF are ‘forced’ per se…just that they seem to force quirkiness where it doesn’t need to be

does that make sense?[/quote]

Call me simple, but I’d argue the B&O Warehouse in Balto influenced Oriole Park at Camden Yards. “Yard” refers to both the field and the old switching yard on which the stadium was built.

Would Camden Yards be as iconic without the warehouse (which also serves as team offices, hosts events, and more)? I like the Jake and all, but while it’s a nice place to watch a game and more visually pleasing than many of the stadiums that came after (especially the Great American Ballpark down I-71), it’s not iconic.

[quote comment=”332353″]RE: Cows

Virginia Tech does a similar thing, except with HokieBirds instead of cows. These ugly pieces of shit are all over Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Roanoke, and even as far away as DC and Richmond…

link

a “hokie bird” is a turkey?

[quote comment=”332325″]http://z.about.com/d/pittsburgh/1/0/W/h/pnc_park_view.jpg
I’m a Pirate fan, and as great as PNC Park is, the outfield is forced. The nook in left-center is there for no reason other than to add a quirk. The Pirates have been trying to get fans to use the nickname “North Side Nook” since the park opened.

From the Pirates website (which shows they are obviously proud of their asymmetry):
“The outfield fence height varies from a mere six feet in left, to 10 feet by the left-center bullpens, to 21-feet in right in honor of Roberto Clemente.

PNC Park also features a 410-foot nook in the alley in deep left-center field.”[/quote]

hmmm… first time i’ve actually ever heard of that term… interesting

[quote comment=”332342″]
Candela look-alike in Phoenix via Google maps.
link,,0,6.19[/quote]

That is the one, exactly. My commute takes me by it every morning.

[quote comment=”332354″][quote comment=”332353″]RE: Cows

Virginia Tech does a similar thing, except with HokieBirds instead of cows. These ugly pieces of shit are all over Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Roanoke, and even as far away as DC and Richmond…

link

a “hokie bird” is a turkey?[/quote]

a gelding turkey

[quote comment=”332305″]Comerica Park: link.[/quote]

Nice view but because it faces the direction it does, every day game looks like its 10 a.m. Looks weird and hitters can’t be too thrilled facing the sun.

[quote comment=”332354″][quote comment=”332353″]RE: Cows

Virginia Tech does a similar thing, except with HokieBirds instead of cows. These ugly pieces of shit are all over Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Roanoke, and even as far away as DC and Richmond…

link

a “hokie bird” is a turkey?[/quote]
link

[quote comment=”332362″][quote comment=”332305″]Comerica Park: link.[/quote]

Nice view but because it faces the direction it does, every day game looks like its 10 a.m. Looks weird and hitters can’t be too thrilled facing the sun.[/quote]

or Detroit

[quote comment=”332305″]Comerica Park: link.[/quote]
How about the BEAUTIFUL view of Northern Kentucky at Great American Ballpark? link

[quote comment=”332351″]Is that the line that runs to the west of the park or the one on the other side of the Dan Ryan? It’s crazy that with the ballpark and IIT both right there that there is no working train station now.[/quote]
The Rock is to the east. The line would “serve” both IIT and Comiskey.

I’m constantly amazed by the gentrification to both the east and west (as well as the north). Years ago you couldn’t pay me enough to cross the Ryan. Last year I met two women on the Blue line; they had transfered from the CTA trains which go east of IIT (Green?). I was shocked. I never gave a thought to walking there.

Mr. X[quote comment=”332168″]BTW…

The grey/carolina caps in the XYZ pic are available at Eastbay:

link

Mr. XYZ appears ot have a gray bill on his cap, unlike his teammates with Carolina blue bills. Could be the lighting or a dirty cap.

[quote comment=”332360″][quote comment=”332354″][quote comment=”332353″]RE: Cows

Virginia Tech does a similar thing, except with HokieBirds instead of cows. These ugly pieces of shit are all over Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Roanoke, and even as far away as DC and Richmond…

link

a “hokie bird” is a turkey?[/quote]

a gelding turkey[/quote]
All this VT talk has got be craving Pokey Stix…

Not a fan of the grass cutting designs. Give me the standard checkerboard and I’m happy.

[quote comment=”332356″][quote comment=”332325″]http://z.about.com/d/pittsburgh/1/0/W/h/pnc_park_view.jpg
I’m a Pirate fan, and as great as PNC Park is, the outfield is forced. The nook in left-center is there for no reason other than to add a quirk. The Pirates have been trying to get fans to use the nickname “North Side Nook” since the park opened.

From the Pirates website (which shows they are obviously proud of their asymmetry):
“The outfield fence height varies from a mere six feet in left, to 10 feet by the left-center bullpens, to 21-feet in right in honor of Roberto Clemente.

PNC Park also features a 410-foot nook in the alley in deep left-center field.”[/quote]

hmmm… first time i’ve actually ever heard of that term… interesting[/quote]
Greg Brown has used the term “North Side Notch” on broadcasts, but I’ve never heard nook.

PNC Park is so great, I wish I had a time machine so I could go back in time and make a shirt that said “I WANT TO CALL IT PNC” and wear it to the shithole that was 3Rivers! I know, I know, the history blah, blah. Immaculate Reception, Roberto’s 3000th. I DON’T CARE! That place was a cold, cement bowl of multi-purpose crap.

Victory Field in Indy is a great park. Took an Indians game in a few years ago while there for F1 and had a blast.

Blair County Ballpark, home of the Pirates’ AA affilate, the Altoona Curve is nice as well. Love the backrop with the rollercoaster. link

Tulsa had penguins when the zoo was raising money for a new enclosure a few years back.

Just did a quick Google search and the first thing was a step-by-step guide about how they made them (I’m assuming the process would have been the same for the other menagerie of fiberglass animals currently dotting the country).

Anyway – I’m sure some of you DIY’ers might find it interesting ;-)

link

I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link

perhaps the “classic” baseball layout has the deeper center field as that allows more seating, which mean means more income for the owners, than a “straight wall” layout would permit?

Okay, next time I include the whole comment instead of trying to cut…this is what #232 is referring to:

[quote comment=”332278″][quote comment=”332217″]All football fields, basketball courts, hockey rinks, and soccer pitches have the same playing field no matter where you are. Making the outfield walls uniform would take away from one of the great aspects of baseball, not every park is the same. It adds a variety to baseball that the other sports cannot match. Making the outfield walls uniform is one of the WORST ideas I have ever heard.[/quote]

It seems like everyone here wants ALL basbeall uniforms to look the same (white pinstripes at home, grey on the road, striped stirrups and stick with the same 1956 color pallette) and ALL baseball stadiums to be different. Go figure.[/quote]

[quote comment=”332382″]I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link

You can arrive by boat at Heinz Field…maybe not your own, but the Gateway Clipper will take you there. Great way to travel to a game!

[quote comment=”332388″][quote comment=”332382″]I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link

You can arrive by boat at Heinz Field…maybe not your own, but the Gateway Clipper will take you there. Great way to travel to a game![/quote]

im pretty sure you can take a boat, paddle ski or raft to candlestick PacBell SBC AT&T, right?

[quote comment=”332383″]I just graduated from Iowa State…where is this abandoned tennis court?[/quote]

Adjacent to the Larry Eustachy memorial Infirmary.

[quote comment=”332390″][quote comment=”332388″][quote comment=”332382″]I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link

You can arrive by boat at Heinz Field…maybe not your own, but the Gateway Clipper will take you there. Great way to travel to a game![/quote]

im pretty sure you can take a boat, paddle ski or raft to candlestick PacBell SBC AT&T, right?[/quote]

link

[quote comment=”332380″]Tulsa had penguins when the zoo was raising money for a new enclosure a few years back.

Just did a quick Google search and the first thing was a step-by-step guide about how they made them (I’m assuming the process would have been the same for the other menagerie of fiberglass animals currently dotting the country).

Anyway – I’m sure some of you DIY’ers might find it interesting ;-)

link

The penguin statues are still all around town…it’s pretty cool.

[quote comment=”332394″][quote comment=”332390″][quote comment=”332388″][quote comment=”332382″]I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link

You can arrive by boat at Heinz Field…maybe not your own, but the Gateway Clipper will take you there. Great way to travel to a game![/quote]

im pretty sure you can take a boat, paddle ski or raft to candlestick PacBell SBC AT&T, right?[/quote]

link[/quote]

What about Shea and Shea II?

[quote comment=”332395″][quote comment=”332378″][quote comment=”332356″][quote comment=”332325″]http://z.about.com/d/pittsburgh/1/0/W/h/pnc_park_view.jpg
I’m a Pirate fan, and as great as PNC Park is, the outfield is forced. The nook in left-center is there for no reason other than to add a quirk. The Pirates have been trying to get fans to use the nickname “North Side Nook” since the park opened.

From the Pirates website (which shows they are obviously proud of their asymmetry):
“The outfield fence height varies from a mere six feet in left, to 10 feet by the left-center bullpens, to 21-feet in right in honor of Roberto Clemente.

PNC Park also features a 410-foot nook in the alley in deep left-center field.”[/quote]

hmmm… first time i’ve actually ever heard of that term… interesting[/quote]
Greg Brown has used the term “North Side Notch” on broadcasts, but I’ve never heard nook.

PNC Park is so great, I wish I had a time machine so I could go back in time and make a shirt that said “I WANT TO CALL IT PNC” and wear it to the shithole that was 3Rivers! I know, I know, the history blah, blah. Immaculate Reception, Roberto’s 3000th. I DON’T CARE! That place was a cold, cement bowl of multi-purpose crap.

Victory Field in Indy is a great park. Took an Indians game in a few years ago while there for F1 and had a blast.

Blair County Ballpark, home of the Pirates’ AA affilate, the Altoona Curve is nice as well. Love the backrop with the rollercoaster. link

You guys are right. “North Side Notch” is the name they use to describe the nook. You can see it used in this article:
link

The problem I have is that the Pirates came up with the nickname (I’m pretty sure) before the park opened.[/quote]

i wasn’t questioning at all. just never heard that term. and the pirates probably did make that term up. lol. love that place though!!!

[quote comment=”332332″]The mathematician in me was curious.

Assuming the Isosceles Field fence is perfectly straight from foul pole to foul pole, the dimensions would be (assuming my math is correct):
If center is 400 ft, the LF/RF lines would have to be 566 ft.
If center is 375 ft, the lines would be 530 ft.
if center is 350 ft, the lines would be 495 ft.

Seems impractical no matter which way it is done. The blogger should have done a little more research before suggesting this idea.[/quote]
Your math is spot-on. Dude’s suggestion seemed to imply shorter down the lines, though, like 320 to the poles and 226 to CF or maybe 350 and 247. Either a lot of cheap homers or a lot jai alai off a tall wall.

[quote comment=”332403″]
Arriving at a Jaguars game by ferry is common.
link for the Jags, just plain arriving isn’t as common as they’d like.

[quote comment=”332397″][quote comment=”332382″]I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link
I beg to differ as those stadiums are not directly ON the river. I live right across the river from Great American Ballpark and if you head to the “Beer Sellar” link you can catch a shuttle across the Ohio River and directly to the ballpark as those pictures seem to show.

Are there docks right up against the stadium?[/quote]

Sorry, I meant UT and UW were the only college stadiums you could float to. Yes, there are docks at Neyland but I’m not sure about Husky Stadium.

[quote comment=”332406″][quote comment=”332397″][quote comment=”332382″]I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link
I beg to differ as those stadiums are not directly ON the river. I live right across the river from Great American Ballpark and if you head to the “Beer Sellar” link you can catch a shuttle across the Ohio River and directly to the ballpark as those pictures seem to show.

Are there docks right up against the stadium?[/quote]

Sorry, I meant UT and UW were the only college stadiums you could float to. Yes, there are docks at Neyland but I’m not sure about Husky Stadium.[/quote]
Heinz Field, as Kek pointed out (Pitt).

And link hosts the occasional college game.

[quote comment=”332408″][quote comment=”332406″][quote comment=”332397″][quote comment=”332382″]I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link
I beg to differ as those stadiums are not directly ON the river. I live right across the river from Great American Ballpark and if you head to the “Beer Sellar” link you can catch a shuttle across the Ohio River and directly to the ballpark as those pictures seem to show.

Are there docks right up against the stadium?[/quote]

Sorry, I meant UT and UW were the only college stadiums you could float to. Yes, there are docks at Neyland but I’m not sure about Husky Stadium.[/quote]
Heinz Field, as Kek pointed out (Pitt).

And link hosts the occasional college game.[/quote]

I STILL can’t fathom ski jumping there!

[quote comment=”332409″] 9th best winning percentage in the NFL since 1995.[/quote]
Which combination of link do you use to honor that?

[quote comment=”332412″][quote comment=”332409″] 9th best winning percentage in the NFL since 1995.[/quote]
Which combination of link do you use to honor that?[/quote]

which “UH” has the shocker? houston?

[quote comment=”332280″
Whatever they do, I hope that someone with the team happens to notice that those white pants look approximately 97 trillion times better with the white jersey and helmet than the blue pants do.[/quote]

I think the all white look is 97 trillion +1 worse than the white jerseys with the blue pants. :) I don’t like the all white at all, too boring for football, looks like a baseball or nurses outfit.

[quote comment=”332414″][quote comment=”332412″][quote comment=”332409″] 9th best winning percentage in the NFL since 1995.[/quote]
Which combination of link do you use to honor that?[/quote]

which “UH” has the shocker? houston?[/quote]

Yeah, isn’t that messed up???

A friend of mine is a UH graduate, and claims that they “invented” the shocker not as the randy innuendo, but in honor of a former Cougar mascot that was missing a toe.

[quote comment=”332407″][quote comment=”332405″]http://www.digitalballparks.com/Pioneer/Lindquist16.html

This is a view[/quote]

[quote]WOW! I seem to remember seeing views of this Utah ballpark, probably during a similar discussion here.[/quote]

I played there in my HS state tournaments. Not the best part of town but a fun place to play.

[quote comment=”332393″][quote comment=”332384″]perhaps the “classic” baseball layout has the deeper center field as that allows more seating, which mean means more income for the owners, than a “straight wall” layout would permit?[/quote]

Not to be TOO logical, or unscientific, but isn’t a deeper center field area just an extension of configuration of the four bases?

Home to first: 90 feet
Home to third: 90 feet
Home to second: farther than 90 feet.

Hence, center field also should be, in theory, deeper than down the lines.

Although I have to also include the notion that a ball hit toward center should carry farther because any “hook” or “slice” wouldn’t be as pronounced as a ball hit deep along the foul lines. Just the way it is.

—Ricko[/quote]

If you use the same proportions as a typical baseball diamond, this is what the outfield dimensions would be:

(assuming 325ft down the lines)

3B/LF = 90 feet/325ft
2B/CF = 127ft/458ft
1B/RF = 90 feet/325ft

~Hickory

[url=”http://img1.college-football-sports.com/img/showpics/74/ba/l36cc9bad0000_1_7507.jpg”]Wyoming Cow[/url]

[quote comment=”332409″][quote comment=”332404″][quote comment=”332403″]
Arriving at a Jaguars game by ferry is common.
link for the Jags, just plain arriving isn’t as common as they’d like.[/quote]

Hey, there it is. Some peanut gallery humor about attendance at Jags games. Haven’t heard that before. :) 9th best winning percentage in the NFL since 1995.[/quote]

I’m an Eagles fan, we have a solid winning % since 1995 (probably the best since big red arrived in 1999)… without a title it means absolutely NOTHING!

what’s up with tarps over seats for football?

link

link

The Icelanders have given away 4,000 tickets to their draft party … oddly enough thats the avg. attendance of an Icelander game.

Going to Kansas City…Kansas City here I come…they have some preety little women……

I don’t know what it is about Boise State. They (or Nike) seem to feel the need to have a new uni set each and every year with these ‘radical’ new uni designs. This would be more more acceptable if they didn’t get worse looking each and every year. Boo Boise State for voluntarily looking stupid.

Not sure in all the comments Forbes Field was mentioned. Off the top of my head I do not know the dimensions of it. I do remember going to games there and the batting cage was kept in center field or left center field. And right field was rather close. I used to like to look at the dimensions of those old fields when I was a kid. The Dodgers move to LA andthe coloseum had some odd dimensions.

o my, those “tarp” seats (actually better seats just next to the tarp) in JAX are $39 a game!!!

link

my birds tix in a similar section at the linc are $80, maybe the nfl doesn’t belong on Jacksonville…

speaking of paul brown and those helmets. how did he look at this

link

at think it was better than anything else he could come up with??

[quote comment=”332411″][quote comment=”332243″]The verdict is in on PNC Park: Awesome, as charged.

link…

I have been to Citizens, PNC, the Jake and the Camden Riversharks stadium, all of which are newer old style parks and although they are kind of quirky, it has never bothered me. The only problem with PNC is the Pirates! (sorry, couldn\’t resist)[/quote]

link[/quote][/quote]

Hilarious! Painful for a lifelong Buccos fan, but hilarious!

[quote comment=”332437″]speaking of paul brown and those helmets. how did he look at this

link

at think it was better than anything else he could come up with??[/quote]
Because he was trying to mirror the Bengals franchise after the Browns franchise in every facet and, when it came to the helmets, that was the closest he could get without going with the same exact (read: logoless) design.

[quote comment=”332438″][quote comment=”332435″]maybe the nfl doesn’t belong on Jacksonville…[/quote]
Biggest mistake in NFL history putting a team in that market.[/quote]
Second biggest mistake, actually. Putting a Super Bowl there ranks first.

the old ballparks were quirky because they needed to be link and link and stuff

these link, with their link, link, seemingly link wall heights, and/or link dimensions may be cute and trendy, but they lack the long term qualities and feel the old ballparks had, and, as i said before, feel very forced…

are they better than round, cookie-cutter, astro-turf-laden multi-purpose stadia of the 70’s? sure…but they could have been even better

camden got it right…the jury is still out on a lot of the post-92 parks[/quote]

If you like parks that are crammed into city blocks, then PacBell/SBC/AT&T should be your favorite. Nothing about it’s quirky design is contrived or fake. I remember hearing that it was built on the smallest lot in MLB, crammed in hard between 2nd and 3rd street, King Street to the north and the bay to the south. If you knew the pain of getting that stadium built in the first place, you’d appreciate it even more . . .

Agreed, Pac-Bell fits perfectly with your logic of quirky becasue it had to be. You try expanding that wall into the bay and then you can poke fun at it.

[quote][quote comment=”332443″]the old ballparks were quirky because they needed to be link and link and stuff

these link, with their link, link, seemingly link wall heights, and/or link dimensions may be cute and trendy, but they lack the long term qualities and feel the old ballparks had, and, as i said before, feel very forced…

are they better than round, cookie-cutter, astro-turf-laden multi-purpose stadia of the 70’s? sure…but they could have been even better

camden got it right…the jury is still out on a lot of the post-92 parks[/quote]

If you like parks that are crammed into city blocks, then PacBell/SBC/AT&T should be your favorite. Nothing about it’s quirky design is contrived or fake. I remember hearing that it was built on the smallest lot in MLB, crammed in hard between 2nd and 3rd street, King Street to the north and the bay to the south. If you knew the pain of getting that stadium built in the first place, you’d appreciate it even more . . .

Agreed, Pac-Bell fits perfectly with your logic of quirky becasue it had to be. You try expanding that wall into the bay and then you can poke fun at it.[/quote]

i already applied doublespeak misremembered retracted my comment, even though my only true point about AT&T was the 309′ (if that) distance…i should NOT have grouped it with the other stadia whose quirks seemed forced

i was actually link just a few days ago and thinking it was an odd site location and such, but never put 2 + 2 together to realize how tightly it’s wedged in there

props to the architects on a nice job

Anybody remember this list from about six weeks back?

1. It’s Entirely Possible They Won’t Send Me A Christmas Card this Year (9/22/08) 431 comments
2. Hat Trick (4/22/09) 419 comments
3. Tony Miller Has Way Too Much Time on His Hands (7/15/08) 387 comments
4. See Spot Run (9/20/07) 344 comments
5. The Real First Day of Spring (4/1/08) 340 comments
6. What’s In A Name (4/13/09) 335 comments
7. Just One Little Problem (1/11/07) 332 comments
8. Flag Day (9/12/07) 326 comments
t9. The Ricko Files, Vol. 5 (8/5/08) 323 comments
t9. Portrait Of The Artist As A Young TV Viewer (4/24/07) 323 comments
11. Frame Game: Lame? (4/4/08) 322 comments
12. No, Not Those Brownies (12/21/06) 313 comments
13. Jags Unveil Crummy New Uni Set; Kids Cry (4/23/09) 312 comments
14. Uni Watch Book Club: The College Vault Series (9/11/08) 305 comments
15. The Pleasures of Sending a Big, Heavy Ball into a Bunch of Innocent Little Pins (12/11/08) 303 comments
t16. It’s Academic (6/20/07) 299 comments
t16. Para el Cinco de Mayo: Los Uniformes de Béisbol (5/5/09) 299 comments
18. In the Red (10/1/07) 298 comments
t19. Discussion Topic: Up Against the Wall (6/2/09) 297 comments and counting
t19. That Hat is Juuuuuusst a Bit Outside (5/8/07) 297 comments
t19. Seeing Stars Stripes (1/26/07) 297 comments

You’re now free to move about the cabin get back to your lives.

[quote comment=”332382″]I know it’s not a baseball stadium but the setting for games at Neyland Stadium is awesome. Tennessee and Washington boast the only two stadiums you can arrive to in a boat.

link

link

link

link

I have been to both of those. Fun places to see a college football game.

Lots of cool old sports photos included in this gallery from Philly.com 1900-1939.

link

I believe that in some of the lower level Soccer professional teams the coaches and groundskeepers decide on the dimensions based on the skills of the team (in the same stadium). So if a team has fast attackers and mediocre midfield they may narrow the field. I do not believe anything too dramatic is ever done but I have heard a few feet here and there is pretty common.

I do not think it is done as much in the top leagues.

As for the idea of standardized dimensions, you have to realize that conditions for each ballpark won’t be identical no matter what you do. If you standardize dimensions so that ballparks aren’t bandboxes, don’t you then have to establish new standards for the Rockies, who play in the thin air a mile above sea level? And then what do you about teams that play in very windy ares?

[quote comment=”332265″][quote comment=”332258″]Simply put, there’s a substantial difference between “out of necessity” and “by design”.

Right?

—Ricko

Right.

Big question is: Is one better than the other?

Given what passed for baseball stadiums in the 70’s–the Vet, Three River’s etc.–I think not.[/quote]

Wasn’t making a judgement, just helping LI Phil make his point. I would NEVER advocate a return the sterile, symmetrical stadia of the ’70s. Ick.

I do think intentionally building a hill in the outfield is too much, though. Smacks of miniature golf.

—Ricko[/quote]

Or an homage to a great old park like Engel Stadium in Chattanooga, TN:

link

At least two current minor league parks also have hills:

Albuquerque, NM:

link

Johnson City, TN:
link

Though this may get lost among the discussion today, I noticed that you mentioned in your ESPN article that NFL temas are considering wearing ads on their practice jerseys.

The Titans seem to be doing so already, as indicated from the front article of their website with Chris Johnson: link

It’s probably a little late in the day to start a new discussion topic, but I finally got a chance to read Paul’s ESPN column on the Phoenix Lifelock’s new unis and it made me think about the implications on replica and authentic jersey sales.

I can’t imagine the WNBA sells enough jerseys to be a significant revenue source, but obviously major professional teams do. Would that potentially lost revenue be enough to keep major sports teams from selling out their jerseys? Or do you think American fans would eventually come around and buy a Minnesota Best Buys or Seattle Starbucks jersey? Would they sell replicas with the team name/logo rather than reflect what’s actually on the field/court/ice?

I took a tour of Stamford Bridge (home stadium of the Chelsea Futbol Club) while visiting London a few years back and thought it would be cool to buy a jersey as a souvenir — until I realized I would essentially be wearing a billboard. I ended up buying a polo shirt with the CFC logo instead. But based on the number of jerseys in the pro shop, fans clearly buy them.

I don’t really have a point. Just wondered what others thought of the merchandising impact of putting sponsor names on jerseys.

[quote comment=”332461″]I can’t imagine the WNBA sells enough jerseys to be a significant revenue source, but obviously major professional teams do. Would that potentially lost revenue be enough to keep major sports teams from selling out their jerseys?[/quote]Supposedly the the Phoenix WNBA team got a seven-figure payment for this. I really don’t know if that’s payable at a dollar a year for a million years or what, but IMHO that type of revenue would go a long way towards replacing replica jerseys, etc.

[quote comment=”332462″]Is link playing in the link an link?[/quote]From a marketing standpoint, I think you need to play up these pictures with a stirrup angle.

:-)

[quote comment=\”332461\”]It\’s probably a little late in the day to start a new discussion topic, but I finally got a chance to read Paul’s ESPN column on the Phoenix Lifelock’s new unis and it made me think about the implications on replica and authentic jersey sales.

I can’t imagine the WNBA sells enough jerseys to be a significant revenue source, but obviously major professional teams do. Would that potentially lost revenue be enough to keep major sports teams from selling out their jerseys? Or do you think American fans would eventually come around and buy a Minnesota Best Buys or Seattle Starbucks jersey? Would they sell replicas with the team name/logo rather than reflect what’s actually on the field/court/ice?

I took a tour of Stamford Bridge (home stadium of the Chelsea Futbol Club) while visiting London a few years back and thought it would be cool to buy a jersey as a souvenir — until I realized I would essentially be wearing a billboard. I ended up buying a polo shirt with the CFC logo instead. But based on the number of jerseys in the pro shop, fans clearly buy them.

I don’t really have a point. Just wondered what others thought of the merchandising impact of putting sponsor names on jerseys.[/quote]

I think people would respond to it if it was fully ingrained in our culture. People dont\’ seem to mind wearing NASCAR memorabilia with all the sponsor loogs, but that\’s becuase they are used to it.

As Paul mentioned in his ESPN article, it may be tough for long-standing teams to have that freedom of sponsorship since we\’re so used to not having it.

No one cares about the WNBA so they can get away with it.

I had some fun making some new unis for the Oregon Ducks on EA’s team builder. Check ’em out here:

link

Top row is the standards, and the bottom row are ideas for alternate combinations, including a white-out uniform.

[quote comment=”332468″]new subj: if the wnba doesn’t go the euro uni route with ads on the jerseys, how would you raise revenues. houston isn’t the only marguee team at risk of shutting their doors.[/quote]
First, I have to say I’m not aware of any team being a marquee team in the WNBA.

Second, right now they’re a product without a market IMHO. I can’t think of a situation where there’s a team sport that is played by both men and women and the popularity is equal-or the women’s sport is more popular.

They had some good ideas about either a salary cap and/or revenue sharing: it always seemed to me to be a silly idea to try and start out in an NBA sized-arena though.

[quote comment=”332453″]I believe that in some of the lower level Soccer professional teams the coaches and groundskeepers decide on the dimensions based on the skills of the team (in the same stadium). So if a team has fast attackers and mediocre midfield they may narrow the field. I do not believe anything too dramatic is ever done but I have heard a few feet here and there is pretty common.

I do not think it is done as much in the top leagues.[/quote]

This is certainly the case in collegiate rugby. I played for Towson University in Baltimore. Every field was different in terms of dimensions. When we would play the more physical teams, their field would be quite narrow – so there was less open space to run away from tacklers. When we would play the more finesse teams, in particular, the Naval Academy, their field would be very wide for them to take best advantage of their conditioning.

[quote comment=”332286″]What I’m curious to know is why didn’t O’Malley build his dome when he moved the Dodgers to California. Ok, I get it, it’s nice weather – no dome. But why not keep the rest of it, as designed? Or at least stick with the 385-foot dimension all around?[/quote]

A number of books on the subject of the Dodgers move west refer to the model of the proposed flatbush Dome (never really read that nickname, but the design was originated by buckminster Fuller)with references to the model being displayed around Brooklyn and at meetings and placed at the Dodgers’ offices.

After the move was finalized, the model dome dissappeared, and a number of the personalities involved expressed wonder at the final whereabouts of the model dome.

[quote comment=”332476″]John O’Donnell Stadium in the Quad Cities (Davenport & Bettendorf, Iowa + Rock Island and Moline, Ill.) has a pretty sweet view.[/quote]
I’m sure somewhere there’s a view of that stadium during one of the flood years too. :-) Always amazes me how quickly (and how well) they clean it up.

[quote comment=”332245″][quote]I’ve never been to either of those parks, so I can’t compare and contrast and I have no doubt that Camden’s a terrific place to see a game. However, I have been to three of the parks that Phil pointed out (Petco, Pac Bell, the Jake) and nothing really felt forced to me about them.[/quote]

perhaps “forced” is the wrong word…what im getting at is this…the old stadia had their quirks because they (99% of the time) HAD TO…whether it was link, a link (not that im longing for baseball in the coliseum again), or even just having to link into link street link or needed link because of the really link … those quirks were dictated by other factors

the “quirkiness” of the new parks feels forced because there is no NEED for these features … architects have, for the most part, ample land for a stadium and parking, and no need to make the ballpark quirky (forced) for quirkiness sake

not saying the jake (im calling it the jake), petco and whateverthehellitisnow park in SF are ‘forced’ per se…just that they seem to force quirkiness where it doesn’t need to be

does that make sense?[/quote]

All I know is, AT&T Park has a pretty good view.

Click this:

link

..and tell me there’s a better view anywhere in MLB.

These pages give some more insight into O\’Malley and his Dome vision:
link
The whole O\’Malley site, in fact, seems to be an excellent history of all things Dodger.

[quote comment=”332195″][quote comment=”332190″][quote comment=”332158″]OOps….make that the 6 teams (Bears, Cubs, Hawks, White Sox, Fire, and Bulls)[/quote]

I hardly consider the Chicago Fire MLS soccer team a “major” sports team.[/quote]
At the time those cows were on display, the Fire were probably more “major” than the Blackhawks were.[/quote]

If the Chicago Fire are a “major” sports team, you might as well call the Chicago Rush arena football team a “major” sports team.

[quote comment=”332477″][quote comment=”332476″]John O’Donnell Stadium in the Quad Cities (Davenport & Bettendorf, Iowa + Rock Island and Moline, Ill.) has a pretty sweet view.[/quote]
I’m sure somewhere there’s a view of that stadium during one of the flood years too. :-) Always amazes me how quickly (and how well) they clean it up.[/quote]
After the ’93 flood Davenport renovated the stadium and installed a flood wall. I doubt, that would have protected it against that kind of flood, though.
link

[quote comment=”332487″][quote comment=”332477″][quote comment=”332476″]John O’Donnell Stadium in the Quad Cities (Davenport & Bettendorf, Iowa + Rock Island and Moline, Ill.) has a pretty sweet view.[/quote]
I’m sure somewhere there’s a view of that stadium during one of the flood years too. :-) Always amazes me how quickly (and how well) they clean it up.[/quote]
After the ’93 flood Davenport renovated the stadium and installed a flood wall. I doubt, that would have protected it against that kind of flood, though.
link

The new movie “Sugar” link had several scenes shot in JOD

[quote comment=”332471″][quote comment=”332468″]new subj: if the wnba doesn’t go the euro uni route with ads on the jerseys, how would you raise revenues. houston isn’t the only marguee team at risk of shutting their doors.[/quote]
First, I have to say I’m not aware of any team being a marquee team in the WNBA.

Second, right now they’re a product without a market IMHO. I can’t think of a situation where there’s a team sport that is played by both men and women and the popularity is equal-or the women’s sport is more popular.

They had some good ideas about either a salary cap and/or revenue sharing: it always seemed to me to be a silly idea to try and start out in an NBA sized-arena though.[/quote]

I’m certainly a much bigger fan of women’s gymnastics and beach volleyball…. Hardy-har-har.

But in all seriousness, there are a few areas where the love of women’s basketball trumps the men’s- specifically at U Nevada and Knoxville. The trouble is that there’s very little way to draw off of that when you’re holding onto NBA locations to survive. Ah well.

Is anyone else having way too much fun with EA sports new team builder? Minus the logos on the site not being able to edit or not having a chance to properly edit ones logo, the tool is fun. Currently procastinating from doing my studies while making my own versions of different teams, like trying to make the Oregon yellow helmet work with different jerseys. Maybe it is the kid in me, who, like many of us, would draw their own sports jerseys on loose paper with crayon.

As for Dodger Dome, that plan looked crazy nuts, had Taxi platforms and everything. Does anyone know what the capacity would have been. Also regarding having straight fences, take this one on for size. In the Bay Area there is a highschool that basically squeezed a baseball diamond inbetween some school buildings and the track and football fields. There wasn’t much room, so they built about a 60 foot (maybe more) chain link fence. The left field fence is in a C shape. At the foul pole to home plate, its about 310, I believe, and to left center field was about 280, center about 400, and a straight fence to the right field foul pole. I wish I could find a picture to post.

[quote comment=\”332457\”][quote comment=\”332265\”][quote comment=\”332258\”]Simply put, there\’s a substantial difference between \”out of necessity\” and \”by design\”.

Right?

—Ricko

Right.

Big question is: Is one better than the other?

Given what passed for baseball stadiums in the 70\’s–the Vet, Three River\’s etc.–I think not.[/quote]

Wasn\’t making a judgement, just helping LI Phil make his point. I would NEVER advocate a return the sterile, symmetrical stadia of the \’70s. Ick.

I do think intentionally building a hill in the outfield is too much, though. Smacks of miniature golf.

—Ricko[/quote]

Or an homage to a great old park like Engel Stadium in Chattanooga, TN:

link

At least two current minor league parks also have hills:

Albuquerque, NM:

link

Johnson City, TN:
link
Ahhh…Engle Stadium. I saw my first professional game at that place. Saw Joe Charbaneau and Chris Bando play there in the late 70s. To me, Enron is an awful new stadium. The hillside should have been left for Cincinnati to copy Crosley Field, the flagpole to Detroit. And the train that comes out after a homerun only to retrace its steps going backward to it\’s shed is rediculous (the going backwards part). And when a lefthanded relief pitcher can hit an opposite field homerun the fence is toooooo short. Bad, baaaaaaaaad, design.

[quote comment=”332485″]If the Chicago Fire are a “major” sports team, you might as well call the Chicago Rush arena football team a “major” sports team.[/quote]

On the other hand….go screw yourself.

[quote comment=”332476″]John O’Donnell Stadium in the Quad Cities (Davenport & Bettendorf, Iowa + Rock Island and Moline, Ill.) has a pretty sweet view.

link
link
I hate to nitpick. OK, that’s bullshit. I love to nitpick. Anyway, you left out East Moline, which is the fourth of the Quad Cities. Bettendorf is the fifth. “Quad Cities” is an obvious misnomer, but “Quint Cities” never caught on.

Wow!
I really like the new WSU uniforms…huge improvement over the last Russell design

gotta make one more addition to an already packed comments list.

Is anyone going to the US vs Honduras World Cup qualifier on Sat at Soldier Field in Chicago?

I’d been planning on going, but it took a backseat to other things and I don’t have the time anymore.

-Greenie

For the last 15 years my wife has asked me why all ballparks aren’t required to have the same distances to the fence. Her arguement is that you one football field isn’t 100 yards while another is 111 yards so why can’t the baseball fields be the same. She’s never bought the whole ‘ballpark character” defense. And don’t get her started on the hill in Minute Maid Park.

RE: UNC pic with fly down

Check out the coach/manager: his pants Swoosh is darker than the players’.

The cow charity thing was created in PDX. I think it raised over $2M selling the funny painted cows.

link

[quote comment=”332334″][quote comment=”332327″]
WTF is going on in center field in link?[/quote]

You mean the subliminal patriotism, or the amusement park ride beyond the fences? Either way, the park is actually a very nice remodel of a 1960s stadium.[/quote]

Amusement Park? You mean the 57 Freeway and the Honda Center? (Although I prefer Honda Ponda)

To quote Dangerfield, the Halos get “no respect at all”

[quote comment=”332511″][quote comment=”332334″][quote comment=”332327″]
WTF is going on in center field in link?[/quote]

You mean the subliminal patriotism, or the amusement park ride beyond the fences? Either way, the park is actually a very nice remodel of a 1960s stadium.[/quote]

Amusement Park? You mean the 57 Freeway and the Honda Center? (Although I prefer Honda Ponda)

To quote Dangerfield, the Halos get “no respect at all”[/quote]
I missed the original reply yesterday, but what I was referring to is what at first glance appears to be a huge patch of astroturf interrupted by a rock outcropping.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, we made the top 4.

An outfield wall that is simply a straight line from foul pole to foul pole would not be a uniform distance.
Centerfield would be shorter than down the lines.

Think of 1/4 of a pie. That’s a uniform distance. Half of a semi-circle.