The Detroit Tigers announced on Wednesday that they'll adjust Comerica Park's outfield dimensions and wall height ahead of Opening Day 2023. The adjustments will modify the deepest aspects of Comerica Park's playing field.
Whereas Comerica had previously employed the deepest center-field wall in the majors, at 422 feet, the changes will move the fence 10 feet closer to home plate, dropping it to second in that respect behind Coors Field. Additionally, the Tigers will lower the right-center field wall by six feet (reducing it from 13 feet to seven feet) and will lower the right-field wall by 1.5 feet (to seven feet).
The Tigers believe that the changes will reward hitters for hitting the ball to the deepest part of the field while maintaining Comerica's reputation for generating extra-base opportunities on the basepaths. There's also the possibility that the lowered walls will engender more at-the-wall catches.
"This has been a topic of conversation for quite some time within our organization," Scott Harris, the club's new president of baseball operations, said in a statement.
"We're confident that this plan accomplishes our goals of improving offensive conditions on the hardest hit balls, while maintaining Comerica Park's unique dimensions and style of play. These updates come after a great deal of research and feedback from all stakeholders in and around the organization, including our fans, players and front office. The outfield wall changes, combined with new rules from Major League Baseball in place this season, have the potential to create even more excitement and on field action for years to come."
Comerica Park has long had the reputation for being a pitcher-friendly space. According to Baseball Reference's multi-year park factors, Comerica suppresses offense by about three percent compared to the standard field. The old dimensions no doubt played a role in that number, so it'll be interesting to see how much the new changes impact the run-scoring environment.
