Playing at TD Ameritrade - Home Runs

[VFLVFLVFL]

With us relying on the home run ball so much this season, how much do you think playing at TD Ameritrade will affect our Vols?

 

[Catbone]

Poorly.

 

[Volunteer08]

Nope - don’t even start. Dimensions at TD are 335 down the lines and 408 to center. Every single one of our homeruns today would’ve been gone except maybe one from Gilbert, which was still a piss missile, but low trajectory. Our team hits bombs. We don’t even need to go down this road.

 

[TheBigOne10]

Poorly.

Lol considering we spent the first two months of the season winning by playing small ball. You’re on rock, Cat.

 

[cncchris33]

Seems like we will be playing with round balls, aluminum bats, and leather gloves in Omaha, next week. How do you think that could affect Tennessee in its 60th-some odd game of the season?

"Not good, at all."
- Cat

 

[OrngeJuiceJones]

We did fine in Hoover. Another big park.

 

[golfer89]

Omaha plays totally different than Vols park. Wind blows in about 20-30 mph,,, most HR in Knoxville will be easy pop-flies out in Omaha... don't care about the Omaha dimensions of ballpark..HR are hit to left & right field not center field.. I have been to Omaha & have watch the wind play a major factor in the game !!!!

 

[cncchris33]

Omaha plays totally different than Vols park. Wind blows in about 20-30 mph,,, most HR in Knoxville will be easy pop-flies out in Omaha... don't care about the Omaha dimensions of ballpark..HR are hit to left & right field not center field.. I have been to Omaha & have watch the wind play a major factor in the game !!!!

No, "most" of the HRs in LNS will not be pop flies. Some will be long, hard outs, certainly, but a lot of the HRs hit in Lindsay Nelson will be line drive doubles in Omaha. Not a bad consolation prize. This team doesn't exclusively play gorilla ball, and they don't simply benefit from a small park, either. They know how to get on base. 2nd nationally in walks and 5th in doubles, as a team.

As mentioned, Hoover Met plays much larger than LNS, and we had no problem with its added distance (7 HRs in 5 gms). TD Ameritrade is smaller than Hoover Met (though obviously larger than LNS), and the winds can certainly be an issue, but this team hits balls hard and puts them in play. I'm not worried. Perhaps fewer HRs, especially from left center to right center, but our line shots should still clear the fence.

 

[VolunteerVandiver]

VOLS have won every road series this year.

 

[@1RBFjr]

Omaha plays totally different than Vols park. Wind blows in about 20-30 mph,,, most HR in Knoxville will be easy pop-flies out in Omaha... don't care about the Omaha dimensions of ballpark..HR are hit to left & right field not center field.. I have been to Omaha & have watch the wind play a major factor in the game !!!!

From watching on TV over the years, and speaking with Omaha natives, it is a pitcher’s park. I also found these NCAA stats, which put some numbers to this.
Go to page 24 to see the number of home runs that year’s national champion hit during the CWS. Then go to page 26 to see the total numbers of home runs hit per college World Series.
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/baseball_cws_RB/2017/1-CWSGeneral.pdf

 

[BigBadVol]

Well since all teams will have to deal with the same ballpark it’s a wash. Why is this even a question when it comes to homers?

 

[aaronvol]

The greater difficulty is with the grass. They haven't mowed there in 6 weeks and they're using kiddie pools for bases.

 

[the_great_pumpkin]

Poorly.

That didn’t take long.

 

[GAVol]

Poorly.

Lol . . . the perpetual fart in an elevator has posted.

 

[Zues1]

I'm okay with back to back to back stand up doubles.

 

[Gilbert]

We won’t hit as many as we do in LNS but we’ve shown we don’t have to rely on the long ball to score runs.

I actually think TD Ameritrade is an advantage for our pitchers. We have a propensity to give up homers.

 

[wtmvol]

In our 10 SEC series, we hit a combined 25 home runs at home (1.67/game) and 20 home runs on the road (1.33/game).

In the SEC tournament we hit 7 home runs, or 1.4/game.

What does that mean for Omaha? I'm not sure. I can't really think of many of our home runs recently that would be "pop flies" though. If some of our home runs turn into doubles off the wall, I think I can live with that.

 

[karmazone]

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Poorly.

You’re just the absolute worst.

 

[Pacer92]

We’ve lived off the long ball in the Region and Super Region. I’m not sure we can do that at Ameritrade.

Pitching and defense will factor more, imo.

 

[BigBadVol]

Lol considering we spent the first two months of the season winning by playing small ball. You’re on rock, Cat.

Exactly!

 

[reecetn]

I am going out on a limb here in saying that I bet CTV is well aware of the variables at TD Ameritrade and will come up with a very good plan to take advantage of the situation just like he has all year long. I may be wrong but we will find out soon. GBO!!!!!!!

 

[Backwards K]

The shots UT was hitting this weekend would have been out of any park in America including Yellow Stone.

 

[VolsFan-TX]

We’ve lived off the long ball in the Region and Super Region. I’m not sure we can do that at Ameritrade.

Pitching and defense will factor more, imo.

Saturday's game was a homerun exception in the Super Regionals when we won 4-2. We had six hits of which 3 were doubles. No HRs, but we added 3 walks. Four different players had RBIs. Our pitching was really good that game with 2 runs of which only 1 was earned. Our pitchers combined for 16 SOs with no walks.

 

[Pacer92]

Saturday's game was a homerun exception in the Super Regionals when we won 4-2. We had six hits of which 3 were doubles. No HRs, but we added 3 walks. Four different players had RBIs. Our pitching was really good that game with 2 runs of which only 1 was earned. Our pitchers combined for 16 SOs with no walks.

True...and my point. I think it’s these type of efforts from the the pitching staff and defense that will take us far into the tournament...not the long ball...ideally, a combination of both. We’ve proved that we can small ball, as well.