Located in downtown Houston, Minute Maid Park features one of the most unique field designs in MLB. It can be described as the anti-
Angel Stadium, with two of the most home-run friendly corners and a particularly deep CF fence. Believe it or not, the wall in center measured 436 feet from home plate until it was moved forward to a still-distant 409 in 2016.
Minute Maid’s primary focal point is the 21-foot wall that stands just 315 from home plate (to the foul pole). While similar to
Fenway Park, Minute Maid’s version of the “Green Monster” is actually a much more appealing home run target. It’s 16 feet shorter, just 5 feet deeper, and one of the top spots for cheap dingers in all of MLB. Right field in Houston plays just as favorable. Measuring 326 down the line, the 7-foot wall often fails to keep fly balls in play that would have been doubles or routine outs in other parks. The deep 9-foot wall in center provides some much needed balance to the field as it’s the most difficult CF for home runs outside of
Comerica Park.
A notable piece of Minute Maid’s field is the 25-foot wall above the enclosed bullpen in left (just right of the short porch). It’s a great target for doubles off the wall as it measures much shallower than the league average at that spot. It can be a tough park for singles (rated 30th in MLB) likely due to the unique shape of the outfield.
Minute Maid Park has a retractable roof, but it’s only left open for about 16% of games, usually occurring in April and May when the temperature is cooler. When it’s open, the downtown Houston venue ranks 6th in average temperature (78 degrees). The wind blows out 58% of the time (vs 35% blowing in) but the tall walls surrounding the park tend to neutralize its effect. Since games tend to take place either indoors or in mild 75-degree weather, Minute Maid sees very little day-to-day variation (ranked 23rd in MLB).
