Distance changes should make way for a “fun baseball”

Morgan M. Hurley | Downtown Editor

Since opening up to much fanfare in April of 2004, Petco Park has been known as one of the “most extreme pitcher-friendly parks in major league baseball” due to the location of its outfield fences.

In April of 2013, that will no longer be the case, because after eight years, Padres management decided to make a change and this week those changes are well underway.

“Our goal is to move Petco Park away from being the most extreme run suppressing ballpark in Major League Baseball,” said Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler in a released statement. “After an extensive study, it became clear to all of us that some change was needed. Petco will still be a pitcher’s park; however, it will no longer be the outlier.”

Local resident and longtime Padres fan Gary Miller peered down from his perch at the Gaslamp Marriott’s Altitude Bar on Thanksgiving Day and got a bird’s eye view of the current construction.  He quickly grabbed his camera and went to work, and later said he was “thrilled” at the changes.

“The Pads have been my team since 1978 when I got here and we’ve never had a reasonable right field wall,” he said. “There are so many great reasons to bring in that wall. The game will be more exciting now with more home runs and close plays at second base.

“The Pads have been last in homers for years,” Miller said. “We will be able to attract left-handed power hitters that want a shot at the new wall, similar to Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch or the Green Monster in Boston.

“The fans will be closer and the kids will have to wear helmets in the sandbox! No more 1-0, 2-1, boring pitcher battles. We’re gonna see run production and exciting, fun baseball here.  The games will run longer but they will be more fun to watch.”

The specific changes for the 2013 season, according to the press release, are as follows:

• The distance down the right field foul line will remain the same at 322 feet.
• From the right field porch to the right center field gap, the fence will be moved in 11 feet and lowered to
• match the sub-eight-foot height in left and center field.
• The out-of-town scoreboard will be relocated.
• At right center field, the distance will decrease from 402 feet to 391 feet.
• The distance at straightaway center field will remain the same at 396 feet.
• The deepest portion of the left center field gap will be decreased from 402 feet to 390 feet.
• The home bullpen will be reconfigured to allow for the visitors’ bullpen to be relocated from the field to the area behind the home bullpen.
• The dimensions from left center field to the left field foul line will remain the same.
• The distance at straightaway left field will remain the same at 357 feet.
• The distance down the left field foul line will remain the same at 336 feet.

Petco Park is the home field of the San Diego Padres major league baseball club. It has also been used for various other purposes, including a Rolling Stones concert, the Madonna Sticky and Sweet Tour, American Idol tryouts, a Food Network challenge, an NCAA baseball series, and a USA Rugby World Series game.  It is located at 100 Park Blvd. For season or individual game tickets for the 2013 season, visit padres.com.