The New York Yankees have a special ballpark in the Bronx. However, this season it’s becoming more and more apparent that the Stadium might draw some similarities to a ballpark out west.
Let’s state a fact. The New York Yankees are incredible in their home ballpark.
While it doesn’t hold a candle to the old Yankee Stadium, the new Bronx Cathedral is something spectacular. It is supposed to appeal to younger generations of fans but there is nothing quite like the old Stadium.
This new Stadium has treated the Yankees well, especially this season. In 25 games so far at East 161st Street and River Avenue, the Yankees have slugged 41 home runs. In the entire season, they’ve hit 58 homers.
But do we go as far as to list Yankee Stadium as the new Coors Field? You know, that ballpark in downtown Denver that is known for being a hitter’s dream and a pitcher’s worst nightmare? At this point, we might have to consider the possibility.
Yankee Stadium has some unique dimensions that can seem almost unfair when it comes down to it. Just a simple flick of the wrist and one can launch a home run into the short porch.
While the Bronx doesn’t have the thin air that makes Coors Field such a delight for hitters, it does have a favorable right field that appeals to power-hitting lefties and any righty with a sweet opposite-field swing. It’s not the environment but the actual makeup of the stadium itself.
Because of Coors Field’s altitude, stats for their players are highly (pun intended) inflated. In the 2017 season, the team played in 81 games at home and 81 games on the road. In their home games in Denver, they hit 110 home runs while hitting only 82 on the road. The Rockies had padded stats in every offensive category in their home park, likely due to the crowd providing some extra home field advantage.
The Yankees are well on their way to doing the same thing. Or, more specifically, certain Yankees players. While Giancarlo Stanton is struggling in the Bronx, Aaron Judge is crushing it. In fact, his stats are so shockingly different at home and away that it can’t just be the crowd. It has to be something else.
Judge has hit 41 home runs in his career at Yankee Stadium and only 26 on the road. This season alone, Judge’s numbers are staggeringly different. Judge is hitting .344 at home, with 10 home runs, 31 RBI and 27 walks. On the road, Judge is hitting only .250 with one home run, four RBI and nine walks.
How about April’s Player of the Month, Didi Gregorius? Gregorius is a sweet-swinging lefty who has become comfortable utilizing that short porch in right. Gregorius has hit nine of his 10 home runs this season in his home ballpark. He also has 26 RBI and 16 walks at home vs. five RBI and five walks on the road.
Sure, some players are splitting their home runs evenly…we’re looking at you, Gary Sanchez and Stanton. However, the stats should speak for themselves.
Yankee Stadium was a home run hitter’s paradise last season. In 2017, the Stadium saw the third most home runs in the league, with 243 according to baseball-reference.com. So far this season, Yankee Stadium has seen 69 home runs, the most in the entire sport to this point.
Guys, let’s face it. The short porch in right is definitely an attraction to both the Yankees and their opposing teams. It may not be Coors Field in terms of location but it clearly has become a place where the home runs are the main attraction.
Want to see a place where the baseballs will fly? Don’t bother going all the way out to Denver. We’ve got the new Coors Field right in the Bronx.
