Evening star., 1950-02-12
Homer Output 10 Rise
With Installation of
Six Rows of Seats
By Burton Hawkins

drl1Iltn SJdQlum vast playing
area, long a suffering spot for
baseball's sluggers, will shrink 10
feet this year. Six rows of box
seats are to be installed in left and
centerfields. according to an an
nouncement yesterday by Presi-
dent Clark Griffith Of the Mats,
vacationing at Orlando. Fla. The
change will boost the parks
capacity by 1000 to $4,000 seats.
Although the distance to the
leftfeld stands will be cut from
405 feet to 1856, home run slug
gers still will be confronted with
the longest shot to any major
league fields leftfield fence. Down
the line the Mats new stands will
be "a feet farther than at
Chicago's Comiskey Park, next
lengthiest in the American League,
and four feet farther than at Gin
cinnati.
The shortest point in the left
center area will be behind short
stop, toward the second base side.
The fence to the rear of shortstop
will be 372 feet from the plate.
Folding Chairs to Be Used.
The seats will extend from near
the leftfeld line, leaving only
enough room to permit passage
of the batting cage, almost to
the new visiting bullpen in dead
centerfleld. A 3-foot fence will
bridge the slight gap between the
box seats and the bullpen wall.
Stands will be Of the tubular
steel type used along the side
lines at football games, with fold
ing chairs being employed.
Griffith, long opposed to any
alteration Of his park, succumbed
to the persuasion of Vice Presi-
dent Calvin Griffith, who feels
fans will welcome more home
runs.
A survey of the last 10 years
shows the Mats followers have
glimpsed fewer home runs every
year than fans in other cities. In
1945, when the Mats missed the
American League pennant by IL
games, only seven home runs were
hit at Griffith. Stadium and only
one of those was delivered by a
Washington player. That same
year the New York Yankees
blasted IS of 11e homers hit at
Yankee Stadium, yet finished
fourth.
Over the 10-year period Wash
tngton fans have seen 296 hon.
ers, 121 of which have been hit by
Washington players. BY compari-
son, the next lowest figure is the
551 homers hit at Chicago, while
the Yankees fans have viewed l.
. 130 homers and the Detroit Tigers
customers 1000.
Mats Get 20 Here In 49.
While other. clubs admittedly
have possessed more fence bust
erS than the Mats, a review of
home runs hit at Griffith Stadium
last year doesn't indicate Wash
ington will suffer due to the
shrinkage. Thirty-four home runs
were hit here last year, with the
Mats accounting for 20. Only
twice in the last 10 years, though,
have the Mats hit more home runs
here than the opposition.
nY1lr tHinrY,c thu
bleachers last season and the Mats
fashioned seven of them, with
Clyde Vollmer and Sam Mele get
ting three each and Al Kozar con-
tributing another. Joe Gordon Of
Cleveland was the lone visiting
player to reach the bleachers twice.
with Hank Majeski, Cass Michaels,
Bob Kennedy, Dizzy Trout. Ed
Malone and Roy Sievers RESPONSE
BILE for the others.
Young Griffith feels that sew
eral Of the Mats long ball hitters
may convert what previously have
been long outs into home runs.
He is gambling that the opposition
wOh 4Cdp
harvest of homers.
Chicago Change Backfired.
Expected to benefit by the move
are Kozar, Eddie Yost, Sam Dente,
AL Evans, Vollmer and Mele. Bob
Ortiz although another right
handed hitter. is not a pull" hit
ter and isn't likely to capitalize
on the alteration.
Should the revised seating ar
rangement backflre in early games,
1t is likely the stands will be ell
minated. The White Sox installed
a temporary fence at Coniskey
Park last season but tore it down
after the Mats clouted 10. home
runs there in two days early in
May. The Mats hit seven homers
in one game there on May 3
and four of them merely cleared
the temporary fence.
In the span of the last 10 years
the Yankees Joe Di Maggie, active
only seven of those seasons due
to the war, has led visiting PLAYERS