The Power of Park Effects

Park effects have a huge impact on baseball statistics. Yet this area is confusing and often misunderstood. Here are some key points on park effects that agents may find useful for free agency and arbitration.

Beware of Reputations: Citizens Bank Park is thought to be a hitter’s paradise. Yet the numbers don’t back that up. According to the Bill James Handbook, the Phillies home ballpark increased home runs by just 1 percent last year. The impact was far greater from 2007 through 2009 when the park upped homer frequency by 14 percent. But even in this time frame, run production only increased by 3 percent. Now here’s the real shocker: After all the talk about the early season home run barrage in the new Yankee Stadium, the park decreased run production by 4 percent in 2009.

Avoid “One Size Fits All Park Factors”. Ballparks affect different players in different ways. Minute Maid Park is a good park for right-handed home run hitters, but not for left-hand hitters with power. Chase Field, which greatly increases doubles and triples, makes a great fit for gap hitters with speed.

Park Factors Change from Year to Year. Weather patterns and other factors influence park effects. Turner Field increased run scoring by 6 percent in 2008. Last season, when Atlanta had a cooler than usual summer, it decreased scoring by 10 percent.

Don’t Buy the Road Stats Argument. In some cases, teams may point out that a player had comparable numbers in both home and away games to show that his home park did not hurt his statistics. But most players have better numbers at home than on the road, probably due to park familiarity and the negative effect of travel on away stats. Ballparks impact statistics whether or not a player’s home and road numbers look similar.