BALTIMORE — Austin Hays knew his old office was getting a revamp. The left field wall at Camden Yards – his turf – was moving back nearly 30 feet, its height raised by nearly 13 feet. But nothing could prepare the Baltimore Orioles left fielder for the sinking feeling when he saw the stadium’s mini-monster for the first time – and the first month worth of anecdotal data that confirmed his new reality.
“It’s exactly what I thought it would be, from the time I stepped on the field and saw how far away it was,” says Hays, a fourth-year outfielder whose career-best 22 homers last year were significantly dependent on the cozier dimensions. “It’s playing exactly how I thought it would to left field.
“Very big. Very far away.”
And it’s arguably the most transformational alteration to a ballpark in the 30 years since Camden Yards’ 1992 opening heralded a new era of cozier stadiums. They’re celebrating the anniversary off the field with special ticket prices and remembrances of the stadium’s greatest moments throughout the park.
On the field, Camden 2.0 has been accompanied by curses and tossed bats.
“There’s a lot of, ‘That was a homer last year,’” says Orioles catcher Anthony Bemboom, who often plays park therapist to opposing hitters in the box.
They have reason to grieve: Going yard at Camden Yards has done a 180 from a hitter’s haven to a home run hellscape.
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Orioles left fielder Ryan McKenna makes a catch near the new left field wall at Camden Yards during an April game against the Red Sox.
The data’s daunting enough: Camden Yards ranks 27th in the major leagues in home runs as measured by park factor, at 0.677, well below the neutral rate of 1.000, with anything greater favoring hitters and anything less than that favoring pitchers. One year ago, it ranked No. 1 at 1.574, a 25% leap from the runner-up,…