Should They Change TD Ameritrade?

[ssladler]

It seems odd to play in a ballpark for the CWS final that is so much different from the parks that most teams play at throughout the season. I believe that if you are going to consistently play the CWS at the same park, it should be a park set up more toward the middle of the distribution of collegiate ball parks. I understand the every park is idiosyncratic, and that is part of the fun of baseball, but the difference is so severe in this case that I don't really like it.


Obviously the extreme setup at TD Ameritrade advantages some teams/players/styles and disadvantages others, and that would be fine if the CWS rotated around different parks, but that doesn't happen so the same teams/players/styles are advantaged every year.


This sort of thing happens in golf and tennis all time time. The U.S. Open, for instance, in golf, gives a big advantage to very accurate players but not much of one to especially long drivers. In tennis, the French Open is played on clay, which is well suited to some players' games (Nadal, famously), but not to others'. But in these sports there is a collection of major championships and not a single championship for all the marbles.

One solution would be rotating parks, like they do in MLB, but I like the tradition on keeping it in Omaha. An alternative would be to change TD/Ameritrade setup each year, so as to make it quasi-rotating. But if we don't want to do any of those things, I think the setup of TD/Ameritrade needs to be changed to make it more representative of the average college ballpark,

[cack]

That park needs a MAJOR overhaul. They'll never do any major changes like turning it or anything, but the fence needs to come in.

My opinion they need to bring the whole fence in, but I expect they'll only do center field. You have to crush a ball and pull it down the line to get a HR, and taking the HR out of the game will kill the game. Greiner CRUSHED 2 balls in game 1 and 2 that would have been gone is 90% of parks in the nation.

I'm not saying the park cost us anything, because we just got whooped.

[cockypirate]

I think they will rethink the bats before they change the ball park

[The Yancey]

The fence is movable. That would be easy and necessary. Orel noted it frequently. As it is is not how the game was designed to be played. That being said it did not cost us the series. Both teams played on the same field.

[carolinafan111]

either move those fences in slightly, or more importantly make the balls tighter (like the MLB) to let them travel a little farther. I love college baseball, but I do not like seeing teams sac bunting in the first inning...

[cockypirate]

I dont have any excuse why we lost, but i think if we were in columbia or any other stadium it would of been a whole nother ballgame. Alot of those fly outs would have been gone in any other stadium.

[tomtomusc]

The park has been open two years. we came in first and second. just how is it keeping us from winning?

[carolinafan111]

Originally Posted by tomtomusc

The park has been open two years. we came in first and second. just how is it keeping us from winning?

for me, it has nothing to do with us winning or losing but rather it takes away from the long ball, something that makes baseball exciting and fun to watch. Team like Florida have to COMPLETELY revamp their style of play because the park is so much different than anything they have seen all year.

[Order 66]

Well I heard Zona plays in a stadium just like TD, so they knew what to do.

[carolinafan111]

Arizona's field:

Hi Corbett’s dimensions are 366 feet down the left-field line, 349 to right and 392 to center. The power alleys are 410 in left and 405 in right.

An article reiterating what you just mentioned:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...FmV_story.html

[cack]

Originally Posted by Order 66

Well I heard Zona plays in a stadium just like TD, so they knew what to do.

Yep, they weren't swinging for the fences every at bat, because they knew it was pointless

[tomtomusc]

So they should change the park so teams like Florida can win it or should teams like Florida adapt to the park. all ball parks are different. its up to the coaches and players to change with the circumstances

[ShutTheSuccop]

Originally Posted by carolinafan111

either move those fences in slightly, or more importantly make the balls tighter (like the MLB) to let them travel a little farther. I love college baseball, but I do not like seeing teams sac bunting in the first inning...

I agree 100%. Once the reigned in the bats, they now need to juice up the ball and see if it makes any impact before chaning the park. I think that the "softer" wound ball in college is more to blame at this point than the distance of the walls. I am sure that there are studies out there but how much further will the MLB travel as opposed to the college ball? I know that in golf the higher compression balls seem to go further than the lower compression balls but a good bit (% wise)

[davidmc467]

Originally Posted by carolinafan111

either move those fences in slightly, or more importantly make the balls tighter (like the MLB) to let them travel a little farther. I love college baseball, but I do not like seeing teams sac bunting in the first inning...

I'd be curious to see what would happen if college used MLB-style balls with the denser core. I've always wondered if since they deadened the bats, that there is a sort of inequality going on or if something is out of whack with the balls now.

But to the topic on hand, if the balls aren't changed....I think the fences should be moved in at TD Ameritrade...at least in centerfield. They should be similar to the average dimensions of college parks. I know it didn't affect Arizona because they play in a huge park in Tuscon...but it does negatively affect most other college teams.

[cack]

They're not going to change the bat or balls because of one stadium ...

[ccured]

I really like the style of game that it forces you to play. I do think that the whole fence should probably be pulled in a little in the alleys and to CF.

[carolinafan111]

Originally Posted by cack

They're not going to change the bat or balls because of one stadium ...

the ball being changed has been talked about for the last year by most analyst in the sport. I like how you can't bomb five home runs in a row .. pause



resume..

but baseball is COMPLETELY different without the realistic chance of 1 swing tying the game.

[cack]

Originally Posted by tomtomusc

So they should change the park so teams like Florida can win it or should teams like Florida adapt to the park. all ball parks are different. its up to the coaches and players to change with the circumstances

I don't think it's to help those teams out, but at The Blatt ANYBODY could hit one out. It was a level playing field, because it was easier to hit the ball out.

I personally think they planned the park for the old bats. There were far too many homeruns at Rosenblatt, so I think they turned the park into the wind and did all the set up to counter act the bats ... which aren't around anymore.

[davidmc467]

Originally Posted by cack

They're not going to change the bat or balls because of one stadium ...

Yeah, I was referring more to college baseball overall than just TD Ameritrade when discussing the balls/bats.

If it were up to me...I'd love to see wooden bats and MLB balls. But I guess that'd be too much of a disadvantage for the lesser programs and some of the younger players.

[carolinafan111]

Originally Posted by cack

I don't think it's to help those teams out, but at The Blatt ANYBODY could hit one out. It was a level playing field, because it was easier to hit the ball out.

I personally think they planned the park for the old bats. There were far too many homeruns at Rosenblatt, so I think they turned the park into the wind and did all the set up to counter act the bats ... which aren't around anymore.

This here is a correct statement.