Longest Centerfield Fence In Baseball History

Longest Centerfield Fence in Baseball History

Jun 14, 2011 | By Steve Silverman

Centerfield is almost always the deepest part of a Major League baseball stadium. Outfield dimensions are usually shortest down the right field and left field foul lines, and they get longer toward the center of the field. There have been exceptions in some irregularly shaped stadiums, but hitting a ball over the fence in centerfield takes strength and timing.

Polo Grounds

The Polo Grounds was the home of the New York Giants before they moved out of New York City and headed west to San Francisco after the 1957 season. The Giants played in the Polo Grounds from 1891 through 1957, and when the horseshoe-shaped stadium opened, it had a distance of 500 feet from home plate to centerfield. Eventually, that distance was reduced to 483 feet, which was the longest distance of any Major League Baseball stadium.

Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium was baseball's first superstadium. After the Yankees acquired Babe Ruth from the Red Sox, the team decided to build its own stadium instead of sharing the Polo Grounds with the Giants. When Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, it had a gargantuan distance of 490 feet to centerfield. That distance was soon reduced to 461 feet and it remained at that distance through 1973, when the distance to the centerfield fence was drastically reduced to 408 feet during the stadium renovation project. When the Yankees built a new stadium that opened in 2009, its centerfield fence was also 408 feet from home plate.

Tiger Stadium

Tiger Stadium opened in 1912 and served as the home of the Detroit Tigers through 1999. When the stadium first opened, the distance from home plate to the centerfield fence was 467 feet. The Tigers ultimately reduced the distance to 440 feet. Nevertheless, it was still one of the deepest centerfields in the Major Leagues. The Tigers moved into Comerica Park in 2000. That ballpark has a distance of 422 feet to dead centerfield.

Longest Centerfield Home Runs

Four players hit the ball over the fence in dead centerfield at the Polo Grounds. According to Baseball Almanac, Negro League slugger Luke Easter did it in 1948, Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves accomplished the feat in 1953, Lou Brock of the Chicago Cubs did it in 1962 and Hank Aaron of the Braves also blasted the ball out in centerfield in 1962.