The outfield walls came down at the Rogers Centre following the Blue Jays playoff defeat back in October.
And now, as the process of putting them back up nears completion, some of the barriers will be coming “in” at a renovated ballpark that is on schedule to be unveiled for the 2023 season.
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On Friday, the team released the official dimensions for the new look stadium and at first blush, it seems they will be hitter friendly with shorter distances in some parts of the park, though not necessarily a bomber’s paradise given higher walls to help defend the long ball.
The biggest changes will see the the wall in right centre move in to 359 feet from 375, left centre moving in seven feet to 368 and the right centre power alley coming in to 372 feet from 383.
In part, those changes are reflective of the reconfiguration of some of the outfield seating areas and the visitor’s bullpen. But in transforming the dome dimensions away from a more routine design, it also has the potential to help out a team when the bats get hot.
That concept wasn’t lost on new centre fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who was already excited about being in a line-up that is one of the most prolific in the American League.
“For us, the new dimensions and moving the walls in, it’s going to let all these big guys hit that many more homers,” Kiermaier said when he was in Toronto recently as part of the Jays Winter Tour.
Of course, hitter-friendly dimensions in certain parts of the stadium could play well for the opposition as well, but the Jays are clearly confident in their own offensive prowess.
With a completely new look in the outfield, the premium placed on defending the new park will fall on Kiermaier, one of the best in the game at centre field and George Springer shuffling over to right field while another new body, Daulton Varsho across the way in left.
“On the defensive side, (the new measurements) will help us a lot more than it will hurt us, because we have good outfielders out there,” Kiermaier said. “Me, George (Springer) and Varsho and anyone else we’re going to have making plays out there … we’ll get acclimated to it very quickly and do everything in our power to help it play to our advantage.”
The walls themselves won’t be a straight-line experience. While the construction won’t be quirky, necessarily, it most certainly will be different. As the team put it in a release on Friday, the aging dome is “undergoing a significant transformation from a stadium to a ballpark, including redesigned outfield dimensions and wall heights that will add nuance to how the park plays and modernize the fan experience.”
As the attached graphic illustrates, the new outfield wall will vary in height, angles and depth, fulfilling Jays president Mark Shapiro’s vision of creating a more distinct ballpark character. The new configuration is a byproduct of the $300 million Rogers Centre renovation, the first phase of which is expected to be completed in time for the team’s April 11 home opener.
The shorter distances in some parts of the park will be offset by higher walls in spots. For the record, the team is saying that it expects the park to play similar to the way it always has.
“It was critical to understand how any modifications would impact play, so where the walls come in, heights go up to offset significant changes,” Marnie Starkman, the Jays vice president of business operations said in a statement. “We anticipate (the adjustments) will create a similar neutral environment while providing a modernized experience for our fans.”
For example, in right centre where the wall is now just 359 feet from home plate, the height has stretched to 14.4 feet from the 10 feet it was previously. The wall will be higher by the same amount down the left field line where it remains at its 328 feet.
In straight away centre though the 400 feet distance remains the same, the wall will be lowered from 10 feet to eight feet.
While the new specs have the potential to make life more rugged for pitchers on both teams, the Jays have made much of their off-season priorities on run prevention. As such, they are banking on an outfield that no longer includes occasional defensive liabilities Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez being more consistent.
“Having guys like Kiermaier and Varsho … our defence is going to be as good as ever,” Jays closer Jordan Romano said. “As a pitcher, with the dimensions scooted in a little bit, I’m glad to have those guys playing behind me.”