Baseball's Home/Road Disparities
Baseball is unique in that every ballpark is different in its size and field configurations. This isn't true in any of the other sports. A football field is always 100 yards long, and both college and pro basketball courts are the same length, the only difference being the three-point line. Baseball is very different, with several small, hitter-friendly parks like Jacobs Field, Fenway Park, Coors Field, the Metrodome, Tropicana Field, the Ball Park in Arlington, and small parks in Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Houston and Cincinnati.
There are several parks with expansive outfields that are tough to hit home runs in, perfect for pitchers, such as Shea Stadium, Safeco in Seattle, Dodger Stadium, plus parks in Oakland, Detroit and San Diego. Smart organizations will construct teams around the strengths and weaknesses of their park. For instance, the Mariners and A's have huge outfields and know the importance of speedy outfielders (Ichiro and Mark Kotsay).
Oakland's offense has struggled, but the pitching has been dominant in their huge park, tops in ERA in the AL. That combination is why the A's started 40-20 under the total. There is very little foul ground around first base in Fenway Park in Boston, as well as a short left field because of the Green Monster. Historically, the Red Sox haven't paid much attention to having good defensive players at first and left field, preferring to go with strong offensive players, though that's not the case the last few years.
The thinking was that they could get away with it for 81 home games, though on the road those weaknesses can reveal themselves, which is one reason the Red Sox are usually much stronger at home than on the road. On the way to winning the World Series in 2004, Boston was a respectable 43-38 on the road, but a sizzling 55-26 at Fenway! Last season was more of the same, with a 38-43 road record, but 48-33 at Fenway.
Strong all-around defensive and pitching teams can help diminish significant home/road differences. The biggest surprise in the American League last season was the Tigers, but it's no surprise to find they have been constructed around pitching and defense. They are fifth in the AL in fielding. Only injuries to the bullpen have hurt the overall staff ERA, but this starting staff is still solid, as evidenced by Justin Verlander's no hitter last week. This balanced team won 51 games both home and away last season, and in 2007 they again have a winning record at home and on the road.
The Orioles started with a winning home mark, yet started just 13-21 away from Camden Yards. The Indians and the Angels have been roughly .500 on the road, but sensational at home. Cleveland started 21-8 at Jacobs Field, while the Angels started 24-9 in Anaheim.
In the National League, the first-place Brewers have been a Jekyl-and-Hyde team, starting 22-11 at home, but with a losing road mark. The Padres have been one of the best examples ever since Petco Park opened, the toughest place to hit in baseball. San Diego has built its team around pitching and speed in the outfield, while the offense consistently ranks near the bottom in most offensive categories because of the park.
This season San Diego is playing .500 ball on the road, but their NL, scratch-out-a-run here and there style at home works to the tune of winning 20 of their first 32 home contests. They also started 19-11 under the total at home.
Finally there are the Rangers, who aren't doing much right in what is already a lost season. Texas is last in pitching, second to last in ERA, and in the bottom five in hitting and on base percentage. They have been able to play close to .500 ball at home, a hitter-friendly park, but that poor defense and pitching is magnified away from home, where they started a miserable 9-24. Teams that can adjust and play well on the road can avoid slumps by upgrading their defense and pitching, a key to success during a 162-game marathon.
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