The following is some interesting material on the radically reconfigured Braves Field in 1928.  All of the HR data were supplied by David Vincent.

 

Ron Selter-Author of Ballparks of the Deadball Era

 

 

 

 

BRAVES FIELD Boston NL: 1928

 

 

Braves Field was the home park of the Boston Braves from August 1915 until the end of the 1952 season.  During the Deadball Era (1915-19 in Braves Field) and through the 1927 season, Braves Field was the site of many Inside-the-Park-Home-Runs (IPHR).  In the 11 plus season (1915-1927) at Braves Field 235 home runs were hit-93 % of them were IPHR.  The reason for nearly all of the home runs being IPHR was because the park was designed to facilitate IPHR with average distance to LF, CF, and RF being over 400 feet.

After the 1927 season the Braves management decided to build two sections of bleachers inside the perimeter walls in LF and CF.  Perhaps the acquisition of the premier NL power hitter Rogers Hornsby for the 1928 season had something to do with this decision.  The attempt to encourage Over-The-Fence (OTF) home runs did so in a manner that did not use any half-measures.  LF became 320, left-center 330, CF 387, and RF 310.  The 1927 dimensions had been LF 402, left-center 402, CF 461, and RF 365.

What was the impact of these drastically shorter dimensions?  Opening Day at the newly reconfigured Braves Field was April 21, 1928.  Because of lengthy road trips early in the season, the Braves played only four home games in April and May.  In these four games nine home runs were hit-all of them into the newly installed LF and CF bleachers.  No great notice was taken of this increased rate of home runs-still only slightly above one home run per team per game.  In June the Braves played many home games and things took an alarming (from the Braves point of view) turn.  In the first 11 home games in June, OTF home runs began to fall like so many raindrops in an April shower-38 home runs were hit, with 25 of them being accounted for by the visitors.  Of the 38 home runs only one was known to be to RF, the other 37 were either into the bleachers or to a field unknown.

At this point in time, the Braves management decided to remove both the LF and the CF bleachers and move the outfield fences further back.  Since it would take some time to dismantle and remove the bleachers, a temporary ground rule was made that any ball hit into the LF bleachers would, effective with the game of June 14, become a two base hit.  Balls hit into the CF bleachers section (the two sections of bleachers were separated by an open space) would continue to be home runs.  As usual, this new ground rule instituted by the Braves management back-fired on the team.  In the first game vs. the St. Louis Cardinals with the new ground rule (June 14), four balls were hit into the LF bleachers and because of the new ground rule were doubles not home runs.   The problem was that the Braves hit three of them and the Cardinals only one!

Thus for home runs to LF, balls had to be hit over the interior LF-CF fence AND over the LF bleachers.  The estimated distances for home runs were now: LF 360, LC 370, with CF unchanged at 387.  This ground rule did have an immediate and significant effect on home runs.  In the 17 games while this ground rule was in effect, 15 home runs were hit-one by the Braves and 14 by their opponents.  With the ground rule, home runs were hit at a rate of 0.88 per game, while before the ground rule the rate was 3.36 home runs per game.  This amounted to a decline in home runs per game of 74 %.

A new more distant interior fence was built in LF and CF and was in use starting with the game on July 25, 1928.  The new dimensions were LF 354, left-center 369, and CF 417.  The effect was to reduce home runs far below the rate in the first part of the season.  In 45 games between July 25 and the end of the 1928 season, 24 home runs were hit.  As usual the Braves were out-homered as they hit eight to 16 for their opponents.  For the 1928 season the rate of home runs went from 3.36/game in the early season’s configuration, to 0.88/game with the ground rule making two base hits of ball hit into the LF-CF bleachers, to 0.53/game for the last 1928 configuration.  In the entire 1928 season there was only one IPHR, a far cry from the levels before the 1928 season.

 

 

The dimensions and average LF/CF/RF distances for Braves Field for 1921-1928 are shown below:

 

Dimensions

 

Time Period                  LF        SLF     LC       CF       RC       SRF     RF

1921-27                       402      402      402      461      542      390      365

4/6-6/13 1928              320      319      330      387      387      369      310

6/14-7/24 1928*          320      319      330      387      387      369      310

7/25-End of Year         354      348      369      417      395      369      310

 

• SLF: Straightaway LF at 15 degrees from foul line
• SRF: Straightaway RF at 15 degrees from foul line
• * Balls hit into LF bleachers were two base hits

 

 

 

Average Outfield Distances

 

Time Period                  Left                  Center              Right

1921-1927                   401                    469                407

Apr-7/24/1928             320                    359                362

7/25-End of Yr             353                    390                363