CLEVELAND, Ohio — José Ramírez to right field for a home run on Thursday against the Royals at Progressive Field. Almost immediately reactions from fans on social media seemed to echo the same sort of sentiment: Who needs a wind tunnel, anyways? Certainly not Ramírez, who has 109 career home runs in the park, including nine this season before Thursday’s prodigious blast. For context, earlier in the week a included speculation that recent renovations at the ballpark which removed sections of seating in the upper deck in both right and left field have created a “wind tunnel” effect.
The video insinuates that the changes to the park are somehow responsible for giving Guardians hitters an advantage on balls hit to right, and are responsible for Cleveland’s improved overall offensive output this year. Ramírez’s blast, according to StatCast, would have gotten out of every other park in baseball based on its 106.1 mph exit velocity and 27 degree launch angle, regardless of weather conditions.
But the video points out a handful of examples of balls hit by Cleveland batters that seem to lend credence to the idea that something is different about the way the park is playing this year. Guardians players and executives refute the notion that any sort of conclusion can be drawn after just 29 home dates. They say the team’s upward trend in home runs has more to do with the way they are swinging the bats than any particular park factors that can be measured just a thir.
