I've noticed that at some bigger fields, the ball carries, while at some rather small fields, the ball doesn't seem to carry at all.
I've watched several games at a small high school field (310, 330, 345) and nothing carries. The few home runs I've seen seemed like no doubters off the bat and then barely squeaked over. Many warning track flies were balls that looked like homers off the bat and then hung up and were caught.
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I know when my son was touring the College of Charleston, the coach did tell him that there was usually a breeze blowing in from the ocean and and heading to the outfield. I could see things like that affecting the carry. I don't know how field size could?
There are definitely fields where the ball carries. College of Charleston is definitely one because of the ocean breeze. (Though it never seemed to help me playing golf at the course next door). C of C is a launching pad. The ball also carries at Georgia Tech, particularly down the RF line. I think it's the way the wind comes off the nearby buildings, but that's just a guess. There are also places where the ball does not carry because of the wind. RF at Clemson, particularly in the early months of the season, is one.
Usually it's all about the wind. But, I have seen some parks where the ball does not carry, but the effect is not due to wind. I don't know what it is. Humidity maybe? Sometimes it varies depending on the time of day. I don't see how the size of the park could have a positive influence on carry, but, since I don't have any other explanation, you may be right.
MTH posted:Usually it's all about the wind. But, I have seen some parks where the ball does not carry, but the effect is not due to wind. I don't know what it is. Humidity maybe? Sometimes it varies depending on the time of day. I don't see how the size of the park could have a positive influence on carry, but, since I don't have any other explanation, you may be right.
Yes, wind is a primary factor, Temperature is another major factor. The ball carries better in hot, humid air better than on a cold night when the air is denser. A D3 near us has its field situated such that looking out from home towards CF has you looking in an easterly direction. Even though the winds are generally flowing in that direction (east), not many HR's are hit there. Kind of weird. Only thing I can guess is the swirl patterns generated by the campus buildings.
An example of balls not carrying my son played for WSSU in Winston-Salem at BB&T Park, First doubleheader of the season was late January (cold night - 48 F at 1 pm start, mid 30's by 6th inning of 1st game and little to no wind). Many well hit balls into the outfield just simply died, however, in game 2 my son managed to get one to carry just far enough to hit the top of the LF fence and bounce out. Go figure.
Don't discount the possibility of optical illusions. I've been to a lot of HS fields where the positioning of the field/fences relative to the surroundings can make the field feel much smaller/bigger than it actually is. If you're not familiar with the actual dimensions, it could be easier to be fooled on any given batted ball.
