Mancini echoes Judge’s criticism of Camden Yards’ size

Aaron Judge became the latest hitter to criticize the new pitcher-friendly dimensions at Camden Yards in Baltimore, and the Orioles veteran Trey Mancini seems to agree with the New York Yankees slugger.

After missing a potential home run that bounced off the top of the newly constructed high wall in left field Tuesday night, Judge told MLB.com he was “pretty annoying” for the new dimensions, saying that the redesigned stadium is a “spoof” and that it “now looks like a Create-A-Park (game feature on video game consoles)”.

Mancini, the oldest player on the Orioles, told the Baltimore Sun that Judge is not the first player to complain about Camden’s new dimensions; the left field wall has been pushed back approximately 30 feet and has also been raised from 7 feet to approximately 12 feet in height.

“No one likes him,” Mancini told the Sun. “No hitter likes it, myself included.”

Judge’s first-inning drive Tuesday traveled 399 feet and would have been a home run in the other 29 ballparks in Major League Baseball, according to Statcast data. But the new Camden Yards kept Judge in the ballpark, much to the Yankees’ dismay.

“He almost got three [jonrones]Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Judge, who hit a pair of solo home runs later in the game. “But Build-Your-Own-Park caught him.”

Judge, who leads the majors with 14 home runs this season, elaborated on his criticism of Camden on Wednesday, telling the New York Post that the new dimensions have detracted from what was a “beautiful park.”

“I feel like it ruins the park,” Judge told the Post before running out of hits in the Yankees win 3-2 over Baltimore. “It was quite a beautiful park as it was.”

Giancarlo Stanton of New York also gave up a home run to the new left-field dimensions in the first inning Thursday, when his 386-foot shot bounced off the wall for a two-run single. The line drive came off Stanton’s bat at 114 mph and would have been a home run in 28 of the 30 MLB ballparks, according to Statcast.

The Yankees slugger was happier with the outcome in the fourth inning, when his massive 392-foot drive hooked around the left-field foul pole for a solo home run. Stanton became the first visiting player to homer to left field at Camden Yards this season.

Robinson Chirinosof Baltimore also went over the high wall two innings earlier, when he hit a 381-foot, two-run homer, becoming the fourth Orioles player to homer to left field at home this season.

Only 1.8% of plate appearances at Camden Yards this season have ended in a home run, the fifth fewest of any MLB ballpark, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Last season, 4.5% of Camden’s plate appearances ended in a home run, the highest percentage in MLB.

No park allowed more home runs last season than Camden Yards, and the Orioles allowed 155 home runs at home last season, the most in MLB and the third-most by any team in a season.

Mancini, who is in his sixth season with the Orioles, did not homer at Camden Yards before Thursday afternoon’s game against the Yankees. The first-baseman slugger hit 14 of his 21 homers last season at Camden Yards, but has lost at least two potential home runs to the new dimensions this season.

“There’s nothing we can do to change it,” Mancini told the Sun. “It’s nothing you might be thinking about when you’re at the plate. But it doesn’t make it any less difficult when you hit a ball that you think should definitely be a home run.”

This is the second time in recent weeks that the Yankees have been involved in a controversy. about the dimensions of a stadium and its impact on home runs.

Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward referred to Yankee Stadium as a “right field minor league ballpark” earlier this month and said the Gleyber Torres that left them on the field would have been an “easy out in 99 percent of ballparks.” Boone did not initially respond to Woodward before joking that his “math is wrong” and noted that “99 percent is impossible. There are only 30 parks.”

With Boone on the opposite side of the speech this week, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told the Sun that he would “take the [camino] high” and said he thinks Camden Yards is playing “cleaner” on fly balls to left field.

Camden Yards has given up just 1.3 home runs per game this season, fifth fewest in the majors, after allowing an MLB-high 3.4 home runs per game last season, according to data from ESPN Stats & Information.

“Before, fly balls to left field were home runs, and a lot of times it was really unfair,” Hyde told the Sun. “It’s just playing fairer than before.”

Chirinos, Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander Y austin hays they’re the only Orioles hitters to have homered over the left-field wall this season, and Mancini reiterated that home run-stealing dimensions haven’t gone down well with Baltimore hitters.

“I know that the ball [de Judge] It should probably be a home run, but we’ve also had quite a few, which should have been,” he told the Sun. “Like I said, we play half our games here, so we’re not good at right-handed hitters.

“It’s still our job to go out and play, so complaining about [eso] it’s not going to help us. But that doesn’t mean we necessarily like it either.”

Orioles pitching, by contrast, has thrived in the new dimensions, posting a combined 2.74 ERA and allowing just 11 home runs in 19 home games going into Thursday. Baltimore pitchers had a 5.99 ERA in 81 home games last season.

“The stadium is an absolute gem,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias told the Post. “We wanted it to be less of a home run paradise.”