Stadium dimensions in the early days of MLB were not subject to the standard expectations of today. The original Yankee Stadium was especially indicative of this fact as it measured less than 300 feet to each foul pole, yet so deep to left that it was essentially impossible to hit a HR in that direction. Each iteration thereafter made the dimensions a bit less extreme, but its basic shape has held up for nearly an entire century.
Even after the original stadium was torn down and a new one constructed in 2009, Yankee Stadium has always featured a rounded, asymmetrical field with a short porch in right and a particularly deep fence in left. The original short porch was designed specifically with the left-handed Babe Ruth in mind who made a habit of pulling fly balls both long and short into the shallow right-field bleachers.
As it stands today, Yankee Stadium plays close to neutral for home runs. But as one would expect, the outcome of a given fly ball relies heavily on its direction. While right field is one of the top home run spots in MLB, its advantage is effectively offset by how deep the field plays to center and left-center. Overall, Ballpark Pal rates Yankee Stadium 11th for home runs and 26th for doubles and triples.
Wind can be an important factor at Yankee Stadium. Although it blows at average speeds, the field is especially susceptible (for reasons that are not readily apparent). Ballpark Pal rates the venue 5th most receptive to wind in MLB as well as the 8th most variable from day to day.
Yankee Stadium is also notable in that it ranks toward the bottom of the league for carry distance (-0.7% vs league average). This could be due to a combination of league average temperature (71 degrees), lower humidity (ranked 22nd), and low altitude (54 feet above sea level). Of course, the shorter carry distance makes the deep dimensions in left even more difficult to reach.
