Polo Grounds. A hitters paradise, mostly. The foul poles were 277 feet away in left and 258 feet away in right. A pop-fly down either line was a homerun. Lots of room in the power alleys. Just don’t try to hit a homer to dead centerfield. That measures 455 feet away.
What could work: Joe Morgan, Chipper Jones, Willie Stargell, Charlie Keller, Pete Browning are solid hitters. If Bert can make the opposition hit to center he won’t give up a record number of homers. Moose and Dizzy Dean followed by a quartet of great closers.
What could fail: The field. It might be a wash, with some players aided by the short corners, but the deep gaps and centerfield will probably hurt more often. The squad doesn’t have a high batting average compared to others, but it does have a high number of home runs, which might be offset by the park. The Giants loved the field so much they moved to Candlestick.
Result: 77-85. Morgan, Blyleven and Diz will have great years. The rest will be average. Normally a mediocre Stargell, Jones and Moose would be fantastic, but not in this league.
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