It is no secret that the Twins play in a pitchers ballpark. In the infancy of Target Field, the Twins have not been afraid to change up the dimensions of their beloved ballpark. After the inaugural 2010 season, the Twins removed the spruce trees from behind the center field fence (which I was extremely disappointed in because TC hid in those trees) and hung black mesh off the batter's eye to improve the hitting background.
As the club prepares for club year 3 at the best park in America, it has yet to address the issue that every hitter has grumbled about: the dimensions.
Target Field has been one of the more unfriendly ballparks when it comes to homers, with the park averaging 1.56 homers a game in 2011 and 1.43 in 2010. That places Target Field 12th of the 14 AL teams each season. In contrast, the Metrodome gave up 2.30 home runs a game in the final year of the Twins presence.
The Twins aren't the only ones looking to make a change. The New York Mets, who moved into Citi Field in 2009, are altering their dimensions for the 2012 season. An 8-foot wall will be built from foul pole to foul pole, which will take the 16-foot wall in left field, out of play. That wall is famously nicknamed "The Great Wall of Flushing". The power alley in left field will shrink from 371 feet to 358. According to studies conducted by the Mets, the team would have hit 81 more home runs and given up 70 more home runs over the past three seasons under the new dimensions.
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