Hello everyone,

I'm new to SABR and the SABRballparks yahoo group.  I'm working on a stadium database that will include yearly information – dimensions, fence heights, backstop distance, playing surface, fair and foul square footage, capacity, etc - on every ballpark ever used by a professional baseball team since 1871 including the major leagues, minor leagues, independent leagues, negro leagues, and some of the major foreign leagues.    I find much of the information on ballparks available out there to be inconsistent as it seems that ballpark information listed in one source often conflicts with the information listed in another source.  My intention is to sort through all of that to make the most accurate and complete source of historic ballpark data available. 

I'm wondering if anyone here knows of any good books or websites containing ballpark info for the minor leagues, independent leagues, and/or foreign leagues – especially ones with pictures and/or diagrams.

I hear that Green Cathedrals is a very good source/starting point for info on Major League and Negro League parks and I plan on obtaining a copy here shortly.   I understand that the book lists its dimensions in an LF LCF CF RCF RF format but does anyone know what angle the LCF and RCF dimensions in the book are supposed to represent?   In other words, do they represent the distance at 15 degrees from center, 22.5 degrees from center, 30 degrees from center, or something else entirely?  I'm curious because, in my database, I plan on listing the dimensions and fence heights at the left and right field lines, center field, and the distances at 15 degrees, 22.5 degrees, and 30 degrees from center in both directions. 

Any information would be greatly appreciated and if you'd like to contribute to the project please feel free to contact me via e-mail.

Thank you for your time,

Steven Leffew