Home Field Advantage?
February 14, 2010 5:00 PM Subscribe
Sportsfilter: To what extent do various events go out of their way to support or eliminate home field advantage?
In researching the Luge accident, it became clear that Canada wasn't doing anything special by limiting access to their course. Home field advantage is "customary" in sliding sports, apparently, and exists in other Winter events as well.
I have also learned that Downhill Biking (at least at the US Open) goes out of its way to prevent home field advantage, by closing the route used for competition all year outside of training periods.
Now, there are many sports out there. I'm curious, for those where a home field advantage could be a relevant thing (meaning, something more than 'a generic standardized pool' or 'a generic ice rink'), what other sports do.
In researching the Luge accident, it became clear that Canada wasn't doing anything special by limiting access to their course. Home field advantage is "customary" in sliding sports, apparently, and exists in other Winter events as well.
I have also learned that Downhill Biking (at least at the US Open) goes out of its way to prevent home field advantage, by closing the route used for competition all year outside of training periods.
Now, there are many sports out there. I'm curious, for those where a home field advantage could be a relevant thing (meaning, something more than 'a generic standardized pool' or 'a generic ice rink'), what other sports do.
Major League Baseball has occasionally seen rumors of stadium employees and caretakers surreptitiously doing their part to help the home team. For example, the former superintendent of the Metrodome in Minneapolis once claimed that he "tried to help the Minnesota Twins by adjusting the ventilation system during the late innings of close games in an attempt to get baseballs to carry farther."
posted by cirripede at 5:20 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by cirripede at 5:20 PM on February 14, 2010
Major League Baseball stadiums vary wildly in size and shape, and teams will customize their lineups to fit the stadium. Short right field? Get big left-handed power hitters. Massive outfields? Get a bunch of speedy guys that can both defend it and nab extra bases when balls are hit into the gap.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:23 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:23 PM on February 14, 2010
Response by poster: Cool,
Indeed, but you can train for a different stadium than the one you have, no?
posted by effugas at 5:24 PM on February 14, 2010
Indeed, but you can train for a different stadium than the one you have, no?
posted by effugas at 5:24 PM on February 14, 2010
Also, realize that in every sport, the visiting team's locker rooms are tiny compared to the home team's. The Dallas Mavericks locker room is a palace, with every amenity imaginable. The visiting locker room is ... meh.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:24 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:24 PM on February 14, 2010
In baseball, the design and management of the infield is up to the home grounds crew. If there's a speedy bunter on the home team, they'll tend to angle the base paths in a little bit (i.e. make a slight "uphill" going from fair to foul) so that most bunts roll fair. If they have a pitcher who gets a lot of ground balls, they'll let the grass grow a little longer, to make the ground balls slow down and give the infielders a chance to get to the ball.
This one's pretty specific, but Tim Wakefield (knuckleball pitcher for the Red Sox) used to throw really well in domed stadiums. The steady air currents provided by the intake fans apparently created optimal conditions for his knuckleball. So the two teams in the AL East with domes (Rays and Blue Jays) got wise, and either turned off the fans or opened the dome when he was pitching.
posted by one_bean at 5:28 PM on February 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
This one's pretty specific, but Tim Wakefield (knuckleball pitcher for the Red Sox) used to throw really well in domed stadiums. The steady air currents provided by the intake fans apparently created optimal conditions for his knuckleball. So the two teams in the AL East with domes (Rays and Blue Jays) got wise, and either turned off the fans or opened the dome when he was pitching.
posted by one_bean at 5:28 PM on February 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
Indeed, but you can train for a different stadium than the one you have, no?
Half of your games will take place at home, while the other half will be spread across 20-30 different sites. Your opportunities for customizing the team are limited -- insert a player here, a player there, etc. You're better off focusing on your home field and doing the best you can everywhere else.
As a for example, the St. Louis Cardinals play in Busch Stadium, which is enormous compared to other stadiums. In the 80s, the team played a strategy called "Whiteyball" to take specific advantage of it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:28 PM on February 14, 2010
Half of your games will take place at home, while the other half will be spread across 20-30 different sites. Your opportunities for customizing the team are limited -- insert a player here, a player there, etc. You're better off focusing on your home field and doing the best you can everywhere else.
As a for example, the St. Louis Cardinals play in Busch Stadium, which is enormous compared to other stadiums. In the 80s, the team played a strategy called "Whiteyball" to take specific advantage of it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:28 PM on February 14, 2010
Response by poster: OK, let me clarify: By relevant, I mean first "could impact the safety of the game", and second "could impact the outcome of the game". Baseball is interesting because if you really load up on players that are only good in your own stadium, you're going to lose in the playoffs. And I don't think either stadium size or locker room quality is going to significantly impact safety.
posted by effugas at 5:29 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by effugas at 5:29 PM on February 14, 2010
Response by poster: I take back what I said about baseball, and will simply listen :)
posted by effugas at 5:30 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by effugas at 5:30 PM on February 14, 2010
Oh, another thing in baseball -- the home team gets to choose which clubhouse is theirs. Most will opt to place their clubhouse on the third base side, putting their manager closer to that side of the field, where, in theory, he would have a better advantage in communicating to key members of his team (e.g. the shortstop, the third-base coach, right-handed pitchers, anyone rounding second and third, etc).
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:31 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:31 PM on February 14, 2010
I'm still trying to think of examples...
Competitive indoor rock-climbing ... a route-setter will design a route on an indoor wall, and individual competitors will be sequestered in outside rooms until it's time for them to compete. They can then enter the room and see the route for the first time, and they have X amount of time to devise a strategy and begin climbing. After competing, they're then shuttled off to a third location, so they can't let the other climbers, coming behind them, know what the route looks like.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:35 PM on February 14, 2010
Competitive indoor rock-climbing ... a route-setter will design a route on an indoor wall, and individual competitors will be sequestered in outside rooms until it's time for them to compete. They can then enter the room and see the route for the first time, and they have X amount of time to devise a strategy and begin climbing. After competing, they're then shuttled off to a third location, so they can't let the other climbers, coming behind them, know what the route looks like.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:35 PM on February 14, 2010
Here in Seattle, Qwest Field creates somewhat of a home field advantage through the way crowd noise interacts with its acoustics. Other teams have complained but as far as I know, the NFL hasn't done anything other than check that there is not powered amplification.
posted by grouse at 5:39 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by grouse at 5:39 PM on February 14, 2010
Oh, another thing in baseball -- the home team gets to choose which clubhouse is theirs. Most will opt to place their clubhouse on the third base side, putting their manager closer to that side of the field, where, in theory, he would have a better advantage in communicating to key members of his team (e.g. the shortstop, the third-base coach, right-handed pitchers, anyone rounding second and third, etc).
For what it's worth, most teams put their dugout on the first base side. I always assumed it was so the batters would have less far to run when they made an out.
posted by dfan at 5:43 PM on February 14, 2010
For what it's worth, most teams put their dugout on the first base side. I always assumed it was so the batters would have less far to run when they made an out.
posted by dfan at 5:43 PM on February 14, 2010
The visitors' locker room at The University of Iowa's Kinnick Stadium is famously pink. Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but the story has been that it's meant to emasculate the Hawkeyes' opponents.
Seattle's Qwest field was designed to focus the crowd noise onto the playing field, which can give the home team an advantage.
posted by Balonious Assault at 5:45 PM on February 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
Seattle's Qwest field was designed to focus the crowd noise onto the playing field, which can give the home team an advantage.
posted by Balonious Assault at 5:45 PM on February 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
Oh, not a permanent feature by any means, but many teams will encourage all of the fans to wear a certain color. I've mostly heard of people doing black or white.
Also, when a large group of fans from the other team get a block of tickets it's not uncommon for the seats to be buried in the furthest reaches of the stadium.
posted by theichibun at 5:51 PM on February 14, 2010
Also, when a large group of fans from the other team get a block of tickets it's not uncommon for the seats to be buried in the furthest reaches of the stadium.
posted by theichibun at 5:51 PM on February 14, 2010
A couple of relevant infographics from Flip Flop Fly Ball.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:55 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:55 PM on February 14, 2010
In football (soccer), the dimensions of the pitch are flexible within limits. Basically this means you have a lot of scope to vary the width of the pitch fairly dramatically from week to week, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent versus your own team.
Imagine if you were the Boston Red Sox and you knew you were coming up against a team that was just set up with right handed bombers that could hit it over the Green Monster. Solution? Move the Green Monster to the other side. It's a bit of a simplification, but the ability to alter a football pitch by several meters can have a somewhat dramatic effect on how the game is going to be played.
posted by Sk4n at 5:56 PM on February 14, 2010
Imagine if you were the Boston Red Sox and you knew you were coming up against a team that was just set up with right handed bombers that could hit it over the Green Monster. Solution? Move the Green Monster to the other side. It's a bit of a simplification, but the ability to alter a football pitch by several meters can have a somewhat dramatic effect on how the game is going to be played.
posted by Sk4n at 5:56 PM on February 14, 2010
...there is also a line of argument that for an Indian team desperate to level the series before travelling to Mumbai, a dry, brown, dusty pitch, where the ball would have gripped the surface and offered vicious turn from early on might have suited the side's cause better
The above article was the only one I have time to find right now, but the way in which a cricket pitch is prepared has a major influence on what type of bowlers a side will use and how effective they will be.
posted by bunglin jones at 6:31 PM on February 14, 2010
The above article was the only one I have time to find right now, but the way in which a cricket pitch is prepared has a major influence on what type of bowlers a side will use and how effective they will be.
posted by bunglin jones at 6:31 PM on February 14, 2010
Oh, you'll love this one -- the infamous Snowplow Game.
More from wikipedia.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:40 PM on February 14, 2010
More from wikipedia.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:40 PM on February 14, 2010
when your infielders' fielding is shit, and hopefully you have a lot of power in the lineup, you let the infield grass grow really long.
when you don't have a lot of power hitting, you have to rely on small ball/move the runner, and you want to take advantage of iffy infielders (and yours are good), you dig up the grass and have a fast clay infield.
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:54 PM on February 14, 2010
when you don't have a lot of power hitting, you have to rely on small ball/move the runner, and you want to take advantage of iffy infielders (and yours are good), you dig up the grass and have a fast clay infield.
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:54 PM on February 14, 2010
Here's a slightly different example: there was a (hockey) game between the Penguins and...the Flyers, I think?...about a month ago in Pittsburgh. The visiting team scored a goal that was under video review, and FSN Pittsburgh declined to provide a specific camera angle that pretty clearly showed that it was a good goal.
The producer was fired shortly thereafter.
posted by andrewcilento at 8:31 PM on February 14, 2010
The producer was fired shortly thereafter.
posted by andrewcilento at 8:31 PM on February 14, 2010
The old Chicago Stadium -- predecessor of the United Center -- was renowned for its earsplitting crowd noise, believed by some to be a factor in the Chicago Bulls winning percentage (Michael Jordan may have helped a bit too). The Blackhawks also installed a foghorn on the center-field scoreboard. "Following Blackhawk goals, the horn blasts a sound like that of the Queen Mary bearing down on a dinghy. The report has more than once brought unsuspecting skaters to their knees. "
posted by dhartung at 8:38 PM on February 14, 2010
posted by dhartung at 8:38 PM on February 14, 2010
The Army / Navy college football game is held at a neutral site in Philadelphia.
posted by smackfu at 6:14 AM on February 15, 2010
posted by smackfu at 6:14 AM on February 15, 2010
Keeping on the baseball front...
- Specifically to your "how is it encouraged/discouraged" question, the winning league (AL/NL) of the All-Star Game now has home field advantage for the World Series (first 2 at home, next 3 away, last 2 at home).
- Dugout locations are pretty standard, but some ballparks will put the bullpens (where relief pitchers warm up) of visiting teams in really annoying places (along the third-base line, on an overhang).
posted by mkultra at 10:58 AM on February 15, 2010
- Specifically to your "how is it encouraged/discouraged" question, the winning league (AL/NL) of the All-Star Game now has home field advantage for the World Series (first 2 at home, next 3 away, last 2 at home).
- Dugout locations are pretty standard, but some ballparks will put the bullpens (where relief pitchers warm up) of visiting teams in really annoying places (along the third-base line, on an overhang).
posted by mkultra at 10:58 AM on February 15, 2010
In the NHL the home team gets "last change" so can potentially get better matchups
82.1 Line Change - Following the stoppage of play, the visiting team shall promptly place a line-up on the ice ready for play and no substitution shall be made from that time until play has been resumed. The home team may then make any desired substitution, except in cases following an icing, which does not result in the delay of the game.
Rules about faceoffs also give the advantage to the home team:
When it is unclear as to which of the four face-off spots is the nearest, the spot that gives the home team the greatest territorial advantage in the neutral zone will be selected for the ensuing face-off.
and
The visiting player shall place his stick within the designated white area first followed immediately by the home player.
I don't have any specific examples of this but in some (the older ones?) NHL arenas the visiting team can't get to their locker room directly from their bench (have to exit through the zamboni doors) and so can't access their locker room during play. I also think I once heard a story about some arena where the visiting team actually had to walk through a season-ticket holder lounge to get to their dressing room, which seems like it would have been awkward.
posted by ghharr at 11:07 AM on February 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
82.1 Line Change - Following the stoppage of play, the visiting team shall promptly place a line-up on the ice ready for play and no substitution shall be made from that time until play has been resumed. The home team may then make any desired substitution, except in cases following an icing, which does not result in the delay of the game.
Rules about faceoffs also give the advantage to the home team:
When it is unclear as to which of the four face-off spots is the nearest, the spot that gives the home team the greatest territorial advantage in the neutral zone will be selected for the ensuing face-off.
and
The visiting player shall place his stick within the designated white area first followed immediately by the home player.
I don't have any specific examples of this but in some (the older ones?) NHL arenas the visiting team can't get to their locker room directly from their bench (have to exit through the zamboni doors) and so can't access their locker room during play. I also think I once heard a story about some arena where the visiting team actually had to walk through a season-ticket holder lounge to get to their dressing room, which seems like it would have been awkward.
posted by ghharr at 11:07 AM on February 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
The Minnesota Vikings used to play outside in brutally cold, snowy weather in Metropolitan Stadium. The Vikings wouldn't use heaters or wear gloves. (Now they play in the dome and suck in bad weather.)
NFL.com's Top Ten Home Field Advantages (mini-documentaries):
posted by kirkaracha at 12:21 PM on February 15, 2010
NFL.com's Top Ten Home Field Advantages (mini-documentaries):
- Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field
- Denver Broncos, Mile High Stadium
- Baltimore Colts, Memorial Stadium
- Oakland Raiders, Oakland Coliseum
- Kansas City Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium
- Philadelphia Eagles, Veterans Stadium
- Pittsburgh Steelers, Three Rivers Stadium
- Miami Dolphins, Orange Bowl
- Seattle Seahawks, Qwest Field
- Minnesota Vikings, Metropolitan Stadium
posted by kirkaracha at 12:21 PM on February 15, 2010
The Colorado Rockies play at Coors Field, which for years had a notorious reputation for being the most "hitter-friendly" park in the MLB; balls hit in the dry air there carried much farther than normal, exaggerating home runs. In '02, they started keeping game balls in a humidor, which has pretty much negated this effect.
posted by mkultra at 1:23 PM on February 15, 2010
posted by mkultra at 1:23 PM on February 15, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
For college and high school sports the site of the conference tournament is sometimes set based not on how the teams finished the year but by how the teams finished last year. When I've seen this done it was just for semi-finals and maybe finals, or the entire thing if it's something like track or cross country where it's a one day event anyway.
posted by theichibun at 5:20 PM on February 14, 2010