Globe Life Field was a pitcher’s park for Texas Rangers, but NLCS teams changing that
The word on the street, be it Randol Mill Road or Cowboys Way or others across baseball, after the 60-game regular season and three games of the MLB postseason was that Globe Life Field was a pitcher’s park.
The Texas Rangers hit eight fewer homers at home than on the road, and Rangers pitchers allowed four more homers on the road than at home.
Only three home runs were hit in the three games of the National League Division Series played between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres last week.
Teams noticed in batting practice that not nearly as many balls were clearing the fence as they had become accustomed to at other venues.
So, what gives so far in the National League Championship Series?
Home runs were hit in bunches in the first three games of the best-of-seven series, as the Braves and Dodgers have combined to hit 14. The Dodgers collected five in the first three innings Wednesday en route to a 15-3 romp, and they now trail in the series, 2-1.
It’s always been said that if a player makes good contact, he has a good chance to leave the park. Also, if a pitcher makes a bad pitch, there’s a chance he will pay for it.
That’s baseball, but the Braves and Dodgers are refining how Globe Life Field plays in part because they have far more pop in their lineup than the Rangers did at any point in their 30 home games in 2020.
“If you’ve got quality players that can do quality things, the ballpark will shrink,” said Braves third-base coach Ron Washington, the former Rangers manager. “This ballpark has shrunk.
“We’re talking about big-league baseball. This ballpark is huge, but we’ve got major-league baseball players out there. The park never bothers them. ... Little guys won’t be leaving here, except for Ozzie Albies.”
Albies might be the first to say that he should have three homers in the series instead of just two. His second-inning drive Wednesday in Game 3 was caught against the center-field fence.
The powerful Marcell Ozuna saw a drive die at the warning track later in the game. In Game 2, the Dodgers’ Chris Taylor hit a ball about as hard as he could, only to see it tracked down at the warning track in center field.
Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger made perhaps the play of the postseason when he leaped to rob Fernando Tatis Jr. of a two-run go-ahead homer in Game 2 of the NLDS, a ball that would have carried out of most ballparks.
On the flip side, the Dodgers hit three home runs Wednesday in their historic 11-run first inning. Joc Pederson and Edwin Rios went back-to-back, and Max Muncy of Keller capped the scoring with a grand slam.
“I thought we put together pretty good at-bats right out of the gate,” Muncy said. “We got the bat to the ball pretty good, and good results happened for us.”
Washington said that the Braves’ front office made an overlay of their home ballpark, Truist Park, and placed it against an overlay of Globe Life Field. There weren’t any significant differences, Washington said, and Braves players haven’t let Globe Life Field’s size become a mental barrier.
That was not the case for the Rangers, who became frustrated during their first home stand at the new ballpark after a number of well-struck balls ended up as outs instead of home runs.
In particular, Joey Gallo had a difficult time with it, and he fell into a slump as he tried to adjust his swing for more power. He was the only true power hitter the Rangers had the entire season as they started a rebuilding project in late August.
Rangers hitting coaches tried to convince players that while there might not be as many home runs at Globe Life Field as there were at Globe Life Park, there was plenty of room in the outfield to string together rallies.
The Dodgers have done that, too, in their six games here so far this postseason. They did not homer in two of their wins in their NLDS sweep of the San Diego Padres. Five of the Braves’ eight runs in Game 2 were produced without a homer.
“I don’t think the size of the park matters at all,” said Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. “I don’t think we’re going up there every time we get in the box trying to hit a home run. We’re just trying to play our style of baseball. To me, the dimensions aren’t really that important.”
Every postseason game so far has been played with the roof open. The Rangers’ data from the regular season suggests the ball travels better when the roof is not closed, so perhaps that has accounted for the power surge.
More likely, though, it’s the players.
So far in the NLCS, the dimensions haven’t mattered. Balls are flying out at an unexpected rate for a supposed pitcher’s park.
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
