The Controversy of the New Yankee Stadium

In this feature on baseball scoreboards, I will talk about the controversy surrounding the advantages the new Yankee Stadium gives their team.

In their latest victory over the Mets, it is claimed by many that the Yankees had a major advantage because of their new stadium’s hitter-friendly dimensions. The new Bronx stadium has been criticized by detractors ever since 2009, when it came to replace the old Yankee Stadium. It is often accused of being a “bandbox”, which is a slang word that refers to a ballpark that favors home run hitters because it has short fences. But are these accusations legitimate? Is it possible that the Yankees are winning their games because their own stadium gives them an advantage on the baseball scoreboards?

Some credible people claim that this is, in fact, what’s happening, but logic and statistics tell a different story. If you think about it, the other team playing there has just as much of an advantage. It’s not like they roll the fences back when the other team is batting. Also, the Yankees are just as good at hitting home runs at other stadiums as they are at their own. Actually, according to statistics, the Yankees hit fewer home runs at their home stadium this year than the Cincinnati Cincy’s Homers. The Yankees are simply a good team that is able to score homeruns anywhere they play.

Of course, it is a fact that from 2008 to 2009 the number of home runs the Yankees had did increase, which coincided with their move to the new stadium. But a coincidence is all it was. It also happened to coincide with a number of other things. Joe Girardi was a skipper in 2008, and it was a rebuilding phase for the team. They didn’t even make the playoffs that year, which was a first in 14 years. Also it seems to be a forgotten fact that Teixeira, the star of the Yankees, also scored plenty of home runs for the Bronx Bombers, who won the world series in 2009, after which Teixeira was transferred to the Yankees.

Another point worth rebutting is the detractors’ argument against what they call the “right field porch”, which they claim gives them a home run advantage. The reality is though that there is a number of stadiums that have short fences on the right, even the famous Fenway Park of the Red Sox! Officially the new Yankee Stadium’s dimensions are the same as their first stadium. Some critics have even come to using aerial photography to disprove this point. But if you really check the facts, you will see that this is a lie.

The bottom line is that the Yankees are just good at what they do, as much as their opponents may not like it. And no stadium in the world is going to change the way they play.

For more information on the Yankees stadium, go to:
//newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/ballpark/index.jsp