Angels may end up haunted by effort to boost home run production for Ohtani

Los Angeles has decided to shorten the height of its home run fence, possibly in an effort to increase the newcomer’s power numbers to the Angels. The reduction of ten feet, from eighteen to eight, seems to coincide conveniently with the signing by the team of international star slugger Shoehei Ohtani.

It should be noted that the change is not likely to affect the two most prominent hitters in the lineup, because both Mile Trout and Albert Pujols are right-handed hitters. The fence is only going down in right field, where it will mostly benefit left-handed hitters.

As it happens, Shoehei Ohtani hits from the left side, another convenient coincidence. In fact, the tactic may help Ohtani’s home run production, but it could also backfire on the fate of the Los Angeles Angels.

Look back twenty years, for example, on the Cincinnati Reds. Coming out of a decade during which the team won a World Series and multiple division championships, the Reds jeopardized their future by altering their ball park. In that particular case, Cincinnati made the dimensions of the race ho! And they were more attractive to a player they didn’t even have.

In fact, the guy belonged to a team three thousand miles away in a completely different league, where he was one of the biggest stars in the game. However, Ken Griffey, Jr. had expressed his desire to be traded by the Seattle Mariners.

It made sense for Junior to identify the Reds as the club he most wanted to join, given that he grew up in Cincinnati. Additionally, the Reds had just made the postseason in 1999, and the city had approved funding for a new ballpark to replace what had been Riverfront Stadium before a recent name change to Cinergy Field.

Of course, Cincinnati lusted after Griffey even more than it lusted after the Reds, especially general manager Jim Bowden. He was willing to do almost anything to bring Junior home, including dismantling a team that had just won 95 games.

Bowden and the Reds were also keen to design the new stadium to greatly favor home run hitters, especially those like Griffey, who swayed from the left side of the plate. That consideration was probably the main reason the Great American Ball Park was erected to favor hitters, so much so that it quickly earned the nickname Great American Small Park. Both fans and the Reds front office were looking forward to seeing Griffey break Henry Aaron’s career home run record while wearing a Cincinnati uniform.

The Angels probably harbor similar big plans for Ohtani, whom they drew from Asia before many other major league clubs. Los Angeles, however, certainly hopes to have a much more satisfying result than the Reds of the early years of the century.

Cincinnati did get Griffey, but it never came close to eclipsing the lifetime home run record. For most of his years with the Reds, Griffey suffered injuries, which caused him to spend a lot of time on the disabled list.

The team’s fortunes suffered as well, and some might argue that the Reds are still suffering from that decision made twenty years ago. Since building that hitter-friendly stadium to lure Griffey, Cincinnati has not made the playoffs for ten years, and has received exactly zero postseason victories to date.

Due to the cozy setup of Great American Ball Park, no big name pitcher has been willing to sign with the Reds. The latest was Eric Milton, a dominant southpaw who had averaged fourteen wins a year for the previous five seasons before signing a lucrative free agent contract with Cincinnati. Milton was eight and fifteen with an ERA near seven in his opening season with the Reds, and would win a total of nine games over the next two seasons.

The lesson Cincinnati learned was not to alter or design stadiums to favor a particular player. The Angels, who missed the playoffs for a few games last year, may suffer the same lesson as the Reds of the early 2000s.

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