The regular season is about two weeks away, and ESPN has come up with a formula to give baseball stadiums "power rankings." Of the most hitter-friendly parks, the Arizona Diamondbacks' Chase Field ranks third.
After last year, yeah, we're a little surprised, too.
Chase Field was number two in the league for most runs scored last year, which helped boost the ballpark's ranking on the list of hitter-friendly fields. Unfortunately for D-backs fans, most of those runs were scored by the other team, which is why the Rattlers finished last season in the basement of the NL West.
In fact, according to ESPN statisticians, Chase Field has been in the top five in terms of most runs scored for the last five seasons.
The study finds that left-handed sluggers get a small advantage over right-handers in terms of power, despite the dimensions in right-field being four feet deeper than in left.
The Colorado Rockies' Coors Field stands as the most hitter-friendly park because it's practically in outer space.
Coors Field is exactly one mile above sea-level, and the team's own Web site boasts that a baseball "travels nine percent farther at 5,280 feet than at sea level. It is estimated that a home run hit 400 feet in sea-level Yankee Stadium would travel as far as 440 feet in the Mile High City."
The new Yankee Stadium, despite last year's hissy-fit from Yankee-haters because the Bronx Bombers were hitting home runs at an alarming rate, isn't even in the top five.
Even with the short porch in right field, the new Yankee Stadium is only ranked 10th on ESPN's list of hitter's parks.
Check out ESPN's complete list of hitter-friendly parks here.
