Orioles moving left-field wall again in latest Camden Yards change

The Orioles are making changes to the left-field wall at Camden Yards once again. Baltimore executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias announced Friday that the franchise will shorten dimensions in left field at Oriole Park by as much as 20 feet, 11 feet in some areas and as little as nine feet in others.The move comes three seasons after the Orioles made major alterations to the left-field wall before the 2022 campaign, moving it back nearly 30 feet and raising it by about six feet.Elias admitted that the team “overcorrected” with those changes in 2022. “We’ve developed a plan to seek a happy medium,” he said. After being one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball since opening in 1992, Camden Yards suddenly became one of the tougher venues for right-handed hitters to go deep in.From 2022-24, right-handed batters hit just 218 homers in Baltimore, which were the third-fewest of any ballpark in the league. According to Baseball Savant, 137 home runs have been lost over that period due to the bigger dimensions in left field. “[It will] be a little less drastic, particularly as it pertains to our right-handed hitters,” Elias said.“I think this is something that I know our hitters are obviously going to be excited about.

The pitchers will be less excited, but we’re thinking that this will improve the overall style of play and retain some of the benefits from the changes that we made while discarding some of the extremities.”...