Kagan: The physics of of wind at the remodeled Wrigley Field
From SABR member David Kagan at The Hardball Times on September 16, 2015:
Amazing things are happening on the North Side these days. Wrigleyville is starting to fulfill its promise. By nearly all accounts the remodel of the Friendly Confines, while still in progress, is considered a success. Jake Arrieta tossed a no-no and the most amazing miracle of miracles has the Cubbies ensconced in the playoff hunt in September.
The remodel, like the Cubs postseasons chance, does not come without some concerns. I recently was alerted to a FanGraphs chat question from commenter Henry Rowengartner (an alias, I suspect) asking, “Is there any meaningful data yet on how the new video screens are impacting the hitter/pitcher friendliness of Wrigley?” A Hall-of-Fame broadcaster is asking the same question:
One thing I would be interested to see is as time goes on here because this ballpark has always been about the winds…those two big boards may change those wind patterns a little bit.” — Jon Miller during the Giants broadcast from Wrigley Field on Aug. 6.
Now, Chicago has many nicknames — Chi-town and Second City chief among them — but The Windy City is the most well known. Yet, Boston, New York, Milwaukee, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Cleveland are all major league cities with higher average winds. So before the science, we need a bit of history.
Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-physics-of-wind-at-the-remodeled-wrigley-field/
Originally published: September 16, 2015. Last Updated: September 16, 2015.