After more than three decades, baseball returned to Washington D.C. in 2005. The former Montreal Expos made their D.C. debut at RFK Stadium, the same venue occupied by the Senators from 1962-71. Opening in 2008, the brand new Nationals Park gave a subtle nod to nearby RFK as the outfield wall’s 5 “corners” perfectly match the on-field measurements of its predecessor at those points.
At a glance, the park’s shape resembles
Progressive Field and
Oriole Park. Nat Park plays further than average down the lines and the fence extends vertically from each foul pole before making a notably left-to-right path through the outfield. The wall is taller than average at all points and measures 16 feet high across most of right field. Undoubtedly, the best spot to hit a home run at Nationals Park is left-center where the fence is shallower than the MLB average and not as tall as it is in right.
Although the venue is generally neutral (leaning in favor of hitters), external factors at Nationals Park can provide some day-to-day variability (4th in park variation). The wind doesn’t blow all that hard in D.C. but the stadium is the 14th most receptive to wind, which tends to blow from all directions. Surprisingly, Nationals Park ranks 5th in average temperature (77 degrees) and nearly half of games are played in temps 80 and above.
