The Detroit Tigers had a major home run problem during the 2022 season and are taking some steps to try and remedy that.
Not by adding better players to their roster, but by making some dramatic changes to the configuration of their home ballpark.
The Tigers announced on Wednesday that they are moving their center field fence from 422 feet to 412 feet, while also lowering the height of several outfield walls. Among those changes are lowering the outfield wall in center field from eight-and-a-half feet down to seven feet, lowering the wall in right-center field from 13 feet to seven feet, and going from eight-and-a-half feet to seven feet in right field.
The Tigers said they will “reward hitter outcomes on balls hit to the deepest parts of the park” while also increasing the number of extra base hits.
The Tigers could lineup could certainly use the help as they were one of the most punchless teams in all of Major League Baseball during the 2022 season.
Their 110 home runs were by far the lowest total in the Major Leagues, sitting 17 below the next lowest team (the Cleveland Guardians at 127). Detroit and Cleveland were the only two Major League teams that hit fewer than 130 home runs all season.
It is not a new problem for the Tigers, either. They have been one of the worst power-hitting teams in the league for several years now, while Comerica Park has long been one of the league’s best pitchers park due to its vast outfield dimensions. This is also not the first time they have made changes to the configuration of the park in an effort to boost offense, also doing so before the 2003 season. It did not help as the Tigers went on to lose 119 games that year.
While this might prove to be a minor benefit for Tigers hitters, the flip side to it is that their pitchers will also have to deal with the shorter dimensions. The best way to improve things is to simply get better players. But that is a little more expensive than making some cosmetic changes to the field.
