I love this image. It reflects the idea that, technically, a ballpark does not end with the outfield wall, but rather that the foul lines extend to infinity. With that in mind, there is very little of America that doesn’t actually belong to a Major League Baseball field. You’ll also notice that no Major League Baseball field in the country reaches out to the west. It’s an observation that makes this image go well with this one.
Click on the image below for a larger view.
Never seen this image before. Interesting.
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I could be totally off base here (disregard the pun), but I’m guessing the arrangement of U.S. ball parks has something to do with wind and sunlight. Generally speaking, kinda sorta, for the most part, weather systems move from west to east, or from the southwest to the northeast. Everybody loves a home run, and I’m guessing it would be a lot tougher to knock one out of the park if the hitter’s facing an incoming breeze. Same line of thought for sunlight. The majority of games are played in the evening, and a setting sun makes good contact much more difficult. Can’t hit what you can’t see. I”m grasping at straws here, so I hope someone else steps up to the plate (again, pardon the pun) with another explanation. 🙂
The sun sets in the West: It’s difficult enough to see for the first few innings of a night game as the sun is setting even if you’re not staring directly into it.
Yes, Gary. The sun does set in the west. I’m guessing that’s why no parks face that direction. If not sun or wind, got any ideas why no park faces westward? 🙂
This guy lists that he worked for the MLB at one point (in what capacity, I don’t know), but whatever his background, his answer to the question sounds legit: https://www.quora.com/Why-are-MLB-baseball-fields-built-to-face-East-Northeast
It does state in the MLB rule book, “It is desirable that the line from home base through the pitcher’s plate to second base shall run East-Northeast” [2.01 (1.04)]. The rule book doesn’t go into the details why, but the sun argument makes sense to me.
I’m confused by all this talk of infinity and extension, but feel ever more grateful that baseball attracts maybe some of the world’s smartest science people, astronauts and what not.
It is a thinking man’s game 🙂
It may be time to read a book I bought at a book sale a while back and have barely browsed since then….The Physics of Baseball by Robert K. Adair. I do remember reading something about the speed of a pitch having a better chance to increase between 89-97 mph than it does when over 103 mph. I may have the speeds wrong, but I think that was the theory or maybe it was a scientific fact?