Why the Statcast-measured distance of Stanton’s homer vs. Rangers might be well short
New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton annihilated a first-inning pitch from Texas Rangers left-hander Joe Palumbo, sending it off the top of the back wall of the visiting bullpen for the team’s 300th homer of the year.
That area is Jose Canseco territory, only higher up.
Back in Canseco’s day in 1994, the Rangers measured the blast at 480 feet.
Statcast measured the Stanton blast at 440 feet, and there’s a very good chance that measurement isn’t correct.
Here’s why:
The dimensions of that area of Globe Life Park remain the same even though the visiting bullpen area was reconfigured after the 2011 season.
The old bullpen ran from the left-field fence to the back wall, meaning there had to be at least 70 feet between the fence and back wall — 60 feet, 6 inches from the mound to home plate and room to maneuver behind the mound and the plate.
The fence where the bullpen begins is 390 feet away from home plate.
Do the math: 390 plus 70 does not equal 440.
Perhaps the Statcast radar just needs to be rebooted. Danny Santana’s first-inning shot into the Yankees’ bullpen, which bounced well short of the wall, was measured at 417 feet. If 440 were correct, 417 would seem to be, too.
With only two more games remaining at Globe Life Park before it becomes a football stadium, it’s doubtful MLB is scrambling for a fix.
But the Stanton measurement appears to be wrong.
