Schools with odd-shaped fields/dimensions

Hopkins has a beautiful facility, but the field is basically a square. Some high fencing, but still tiny.

"307' left field line, 340' left center, 396' center, 320' right center, 295' right field line"

The Univ of Pennsylvania gets my vote as the most unique baseball field (Meiklejohn Stadium)...I've ever been to.  You have the train tracks down the left line, major highway (I believe I-76) in center field and the water treatment plant down behind the right field line by the visitors bullpen (how considerate!).  The stadium seating is very comfortable.

They have their own version of the Fenway Pesky pole down the right field line.  If you are skilled you can hit a 289 ft home run down the left field pole toward the train tracks.

My son played at this, quite literally, "baseball diamond" this past summer.

A local HS field has some really odd dimensions RF pole at 320. RF power alley at 308, CF at 303, LF power alley at 330, LF pole at 300. Right field and center have elevated fences. But the fence in left is normal height. Team only uses old, worn out balls for on field BP and take a lot of BP in the cages.

Buckeye 2015 posted:

Son is not a happy kid today.  Pitched yesterday at Morehead St.  If you've never been there, google the field and take a look at the satellite map lol.  Had 2 balls that would have been short fly outs anywhere else end up a double and a 3-run HR.  4 runs in 3 innings      RF is 300' down the line...goes down to about 290' as you head toward center before going out to 400' straight away.  RC and RF have nets up above the fence.  Double had our RF backed up to the track...he misplayed it and hit hit about 4' off the ground at the 300' sign.  HR was over the net at about 290' but was just a high pop up that got caught in the wind and was coming straight down.  CF was camped there, but couldn't play it.  I guess it happens and considering the campus is up against a mountain, not much they could do about it, but it makes for a crappy day for the pitcher lol

I've seen that field. Field carved out of a school, that is carved out of a town, that is carved out of a mountain.  Best of luck to your son the rest of the way.

Buckeye 2015 posted:

Son is not a happy kid today.  Pitched yesterday at Morehead St.  If you've never been there, google the field and take a look at the satellite map lol.  Had 2 balls that would have been short fly outs anywhere else end up a double and a 3-run HR.  4 runs in 3 innings      RF is 300' down the line...goes down to about 290' as you head toward center before going out to 400' straight away.  RC and RF have nets up above the fence.  Double had our RF backed up to the track...he misplayed it and hit hit about 4' off the ground at the 300' sign.  HR was over the net at about 290' but was just a high pop up that got caught in the wind and was coming straight down.  CF was camped there, but couldn't play it.  I guess it happens and considering the campus is up against a mountain, not much they could do about it, but it makes for a crappy day for the pitcher lol

Son plays there later this year.  So, you're saying there's a chance  

Sorry, Buckeye .

One of the legion fields my son played at was carved out of an old football field.  From RF to lef center was the old football field with the old main grandstands in the hill behind it.  LF had a short fence (I think about 275'). but then the fence went deep to about 350-375' with CF deep (over 400').  I never understood why they didn't move the LF fence back.

Son took advantage of that short LF fence one night during legion play.  Facing a D1 commit, he turned on it and powered it out over the LF fence.  Cleared it by a good 50-75'.  One of my fondest memories.

Here it is....the top left of the picture is the start of a mountain....the house in RC is where a bunch of baseball guys live....which would be pretty cool.   Ground level at the LF foul pole is about 3' higher than the RF foul pole lol

Buckeye, that's an interestingly shaped field for sure.  Understand how pitchers could get frustrated with some of those outfield distances.

I played a game at LIU Brooklyn.  It's in the middle of NYC, flanked on the north and east by streets.  Down the lines is about 290 ft.  Because of the soccer field field, it's 450+ to center.  The buildings along the right field line are high-rise dorms.  Interesting place for a game.

A friend of my son played here last summer.  My parents were out there in October and said it's as strange as it looks in the pictures

That's nuts.

This would be minor leagues and it's not dime signs. But it's definitely an oddity. Waconah Park in Pittsfield MA used to be a minor leagu field. I believe it's a FCNL field now. It's the oldest wooden baseball stadium structure in the country. My son's 13u travel team played a tournament there several years ago.

The sun sets in left center. The hitter and catcher are blinded. It's the only place in the country baseball is stopped for a sunset delay.  Go figure the team is called the Pittsfield Suns.

Article ... https://www.bostonglobe.com/me...Hjvm49QbO/story.html

In your face ... https://www.google.com/search?...mgrc=nJ319rcV2joFRM:

Well those fields at Ripken Experience are also "interesting"... My son had the joy of getting to be the first at Crosley field with a short LF porch *and* the wind blowing out...

Another favorite field is "Victory Field" in Watertown, MA (hopefully the link works)

https://maps.google.com/maps?l...town%2C%20MA%2002472

The baseball field is in the left corner of the football field - imagine no goal post there and well no fence during summer men's league...  Any ball past the RF'er is an "f* it" - I ain't chasing that...

A local new turf field in NoVA (South County Middle School) faces the sunset dead on...brutal.

Oh yes, the RF has a tall fence and is like 280'. LF line is maybe 300'. But dead center stretches out to a rectangular "apex" that has got to be over 400'. So, hit a LD that gets past the CFer in the exact right spot and in the park homeruns become very achievable.

Batty67 posted:

A local new turf field in NoVA (South County Middle School) faces the sunset dead on...brutal.

That reminds me of one field in our HS district.  Field faces dead west.  When the sun sets it is directly behind CF.  Most varsity and legion games are scheduled to start after sunset.  Many of the summer legion games had start times of well after 8 pm.

Buckeye 2015 posted:

A friend of my son played here last summer.  My parents were out there in October and said it's as strange as it looks in the pictures

My son played in the NECBL in 2012. This is the weirdest field I've ever seen. My recollection is the dimensions are all over the place (either too short or too long), the home and away dugouts are right next to each other on the first base side (hockey style), and there is a bar tucked down the right-field line that you can drink a beer and watch the game without paying for admission.

Birdman....the bar is how my dad got in to see it.  There's no baseball there in October, but the bar is open...can walk right in and go out on the field

Land is expensive in Boston.  They managed to add seating and a press box to the baseball field recently.   Son did hit a HR during the series there.

I can't remember the name of it, but I saw one in Oregon that the baseball field and the football field were the same playing surface. So you can imagine what center field was like... a mile long! lol. 

Here's another one.  A HS I attended at one time had the football field in the outfield such that one of the goal posts was in RF - similar to the pic Keewart posted.  The rule was if a batted ball hit the goal post it was still "live".  If you did manage to hit the home field grandstands behind CF it was well over 425'.  LF was even deeper - about 500'.

keewart posted:

Land is expensive in Boston.  They managed to add seating and a press box to the baseball field recently.   Son did hit a HR during the series there.

Several years ago I was at a Northeastern-UNCW game. UNCW's big hitter hit a moonshot 450 to center for an out. The next time up he turned on it and hit it over everything including the bullpen in left. He just stood and watched it. There was no doubt it was gone. I thought I heard him mumbling, "Catch that ******."

More recently football died at Northeastern. They put fences in place to make the outfield realistic.

Our HS field in urban Honolulu. 180 to Right, 405 to left, 350 to the big monkeypod tree in center.  Right field fence is a 30-ft high hedge.  Back stop is about 10 feet behind home plate, and there's about 8 feet of foul territory down the LF line, about 15 ft of foul territory down RF line.  On deck circle is 20 feet away from batter's box. Living dangerously with that. Only JV and younger play games on it, but all the teams use it for practice and Varsity has no real home field; uses several city park fields.  Dugouts are not covered, only benches, and where our bench ends, the visitor bench begins, running along the 1st baseline.  Right field is bordered by30-ft tall hedge that runs all the way to the monkeypod tree.  Edge of foul territory down LF line is marked by a twenty foot high net that runs the entire length of the 405 ft. to the LF corner.  The net is screwed into about 20-25 palm tress to the LF corner.

All four teams in program use the field every day, rotating about 1/2 each from station to station.

RJM posted:

keewart posted:

Land is expensive in Boston.  They managed to add seating and a press box to the baseball field recently.   Son did hit a HR during the series there.

Several years ago I was at a Northeastern-UNCW game. UNCW's big hitter hit a moonshot 450 to center for an out. The next time up he turned on it and hit it over everything including the bullpen in left. He just stood and watched it. There was no doubt it was gone. I thought I heard him mumbling, "Catch that ******."

More recently football died at Northeastern. They put fences in place to make the outfield realistic.

When I played there years ago, the soccer/football/field hockey portion of the field was artificial turf.  The RF and CF had to switch to turf shoes to play the field, then put their spikes back on for plate appearances.

I just looked at Google Maps - by the latest aerial photo it looks like the entire field is now artificial turf.

I used to umpire some games at this high school in Virginia. Centerfield is the shortest fence because it gets smushed by a corner of the track around the football field.

Matt Reiland posted:

Buckeye, that's an interestingly shaped field for sure.  Understand how pitchers could get frustrated with some of those outfield distances.

I played a game at LIU Brooklyn.  It's in the middle of NYC, flanked on the north and east by streets.  Down the lines is about 290 ft.  Because of the soccer field field, it's 450+ to center.  The buildings along the right field line are high-rise dorms.  Interesting place for a game.

Just curious if you knew any history of "inside the park HR's"?

My son will never be power but he can hit a line drive...Split that outfield and your off to the races!!!!

Matt Reiland posted:

RJM posted:

keewart posted:

Land is expensive in Boston.  They managed to add seating and a press box to the baseball field recently.   Son did hit a HR during the series there.

Several years ago I was at a Northeastern-UNCW game. UNCW's big hitter hit a moonshot 450 to center for an out. The next time up he turned on it and hit it over everything including the bullpen in left. He just stood and watched it. There was no doubt it was gone. I thought I heard him mumbling, "Catch that ******."

More recently football died at Northeastern. They put fences in place to make the outfield realistic.

When I played there years ago, the soccer/football/field hockey portion of the field was artificial turf.  The RF and CF had to switch to turf shoes to play the field, then put their spikes back on for plate appearances.

I just looked at Google Maps - by the latest aerial photo it looks like the entire field is now artificial turf.

It's now all turf and 400 to center.

Bellarmine High in San Jose. 279' down the lines; 285' to the power alley in left-center. All turf with the stands on top of the dugouts. I've heard that the pitching coach there, when it comes to fastballs, will only let his pitchers throw a two-seamer!

My son is playing in a HS tournament at this field this weekend....

Mike Johnson Park in Georgetown SC

Google Earth has it at about 340' down the LF line, 360' to the LCF corner, 330' to dead center, 345' to the RCF edge of the bleachers, 360' to deep part of RCF, and 275' down the RF line.  I guess we better load up on the lefty hitters

threeunassisted posted:

My son is playing in a HS tournament at this field this weekend....

Mike Johnson Park in Georgetown SC

Google Earth has it at about 340' down the LF line, 360' to the LCF corner, 330' to dead center, 345' to the RCF edge of the bleachers, 360' to deep part of RCF, and 275' down the RF line.  I guess we better load up on the lefty hitters

My son played there a couple years ago.  Valuable tip: park far away because all of the cars in the picture are in danger of being dinged. Park on the street behind home plate about 100 yards down.

Wow, hard to believe anyone would park there and not realize it was a bad idea.  Morehead State's entire parking lot off the LF side of the field is a danger zone.   Funny story....when my son was 12 or 13 we were playing at a field that had a few rows of bleachers behind the backsstop.....then a row of trees and then a driveway.  People parked on the other side of the driveway, obviously thinking that the trees and backstop would protect them.  Last inning, one of our guys hits a foul ball directly backwards....and yep, broken rear window on a car.  After the game we walk out....it's the UMPIRE.  To make it worse he says "I backed in first, then thought I don't want to get my windshield broke, so I turned around".....true story lol. 

Buckeye 2015 posted:

Wow, hard to believe anyone would park there and not realize it was a bad idea.  Morehead State's entire parking lot off the LF side of the field is a danger zone.   Funny story....when my son was 12 or 13 we were playing at a field that had a few rows of bleachers behind the backsstop.....then a row of trees and then a driveway.  People parked on the other side of the driveway, obviously thinking that the trees and backstop would protect them.  Last inning, one of our guys hits a foul ball directly backwards....and yep, broken rear window on a car.  After the game we walk out....it's the UMPIRE.  To make it worse he says "I backed in first, then thought I don't want to get my windshield broke, so I turned around".....true story lol. 

My sons showcase team was supposed to play at Morehead but was rained out.  Coach made little effort in trying to get the field playable. You really have to like that part of Kentucky to want to go to school there.

I can just imagine all you know what breaking out if the football team had to always play on inconsistent and irregular fields. 

How about adding where the sun sets?  The sun sets directly behind home plate at our HS.

Love threads like this... keep 'em coming

2forU posted:

How about adding where the sun sets?  The sun sets directly behind home plate at our HS.

Scroll up to my links about Waconah Park. The sun sets in the hitter's face. They have a sunset delay at night games. It used to be a minor league park. Now it's a NECBL park. My son played there in 13u. Go figure the team is called the Suns.

Just last night my son's HS team played a (somewhat wacky) scrimmage against a private school in a very exclusive section of Georgetown (Washington, DC) where space is at a premium: Maret (Jelleff Community Center).

Utility turf field with a crazy fence that was maybe 220' from home plate in RF, maybe 260' in LF, and perhaps dead center it hit 300' (maybe). As the picture shows, it had an at least 60' tall fence to protect those expensive houses and cars. My son's first AB (he bats lefty), first pitch, he destroys a ball that goes dead RF and hits 2-3' below the top of the net and was still rising. (Nice shot of the moon too; vs. moon-shot.) Right at the multi-million dollar brick house in the background. If it cleared the fence it probably would have gone over and past that house. As it was, the right fielder caught the ball off the fence but my son got credited with a single. By far the hardest I've ever seen him hit the ball, and on a normal HS field, the consensus was it would have been a HR, maybe a "no-doubter."

Branson, if you read this thread - how about St. Vincent?  I've never seen a game there, but when visiting the campus it looked like the nuttiest baseball set up I had ever seen.

RJM posted:

2forU posted:

How about adding where the sun sets?  The sun sets directly behind home plate at our HS.

Scroll up to my links about Waconah Park. The sun sets in the hitter's face. They have a sunset delay at night games. It used to be a minor league park. Now it's a NECBL park. My son played there in 13u. Go figure the team is called the Suns.

My old high school often has sun delays as well. At certain times of the day, the sun shines directly in the face of everyone around home plate.  

Bulldog 19 posted:

I can't remember the name of it, but I saw one in Oregon that the baseball field and the football field were the same playing surface. So you can imagine what center field was like... a mile long! lol. 

Concordia University in Portland has a fairly new multi-use field for Soccer and baseball.