Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a arena that influenced almost all of the brand-new ballparks throughout baseball these past 2 years. But at 30 years old, the arena hasactually been in dire requirement of upgrades for years.
That made the Orioles’ choice to devote resources into moving back the left-field wall so perplexing.
This past offseason, the Orioles management pressed the left-field wall back 30 feet and raised it to 13 feet high. Aesthetically, it looked horrible with an uncomfortable corner jetting out into left-center field. And sure, the group desired to make it more tough for challengers to hit house runs, however by doing so, they made it more challenging on themselves.
Just ask Ryan Mountcastle.
This ballpark modification is dreadful pic.twitter.com/QETEK2WzBO
— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) May 8, 2022
During the 5th inning of Sunday’s videogame versus the Kansas City Royals, Mountcastle smoked a hanging breaking ball from Zack Greinke to left field. Dead baseball aside, it needto haveactually been a house run. But duetothefactthat of the brand-new wall, the baseball stayed in play, and Mountcastle had to settle for a long double rather of a game-tying house run.
And simply to put that 407-foot double into pointofview, that hit would haveactually been a house run at every other ballpark in baseball.
Ryan Mountcastle vs Zack Greinke#Birdland
Double 🏃💨
Exit velo: 104.6 milesperhour
Launch angle: 23 deg
Proj. range: 407 feetThis would haveactually been a house run in 29/30 MLB ballparks.
Only Oriole Park at Camden Yards would’ve held this one in.KC (3) @ BAL (2)
🔻 5th pic.twitter.com/lne1qN22v6— Would it dong? (@would_it_dong) May 8, 2022
The Orioles ended up losing, 6-4, and they ca