Friday, December 16, 2016

One of the wonderful things about the great game of baseball is that the ballparks the game is played in are all different from one another.  Field dimensions, wall heights, the playing surface, seating arrangements, even the name of the field – differences all around.  In baseball, “one size fits all” is far from the case.  These differences add to the charm of baseball.

In an official press release, the Reno Zephyrs announced the organization will be making some changes to their ballpark.  First and foremost, the home field will no longer be known as Kingpin Alley.  It was only a matter of time before ownership implemented a name change.  As every Reno fan knows, the team changed their nickname from the Tenpinners to the Zephyrs last season.  “Zephyrs” was chosen because of a local weather phenomenon known as the Washoe Zephyr.  The city of Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, so it is only fitting that the Zephyrs play their home games in a ballpark with the name Washoe Field.

In addition to the name change, the Zephyrs announced that the team will be reworking the dimensions of the outfield.  The left field fences will be moved in approximately 20’ and the height of the wall will go from 12’ to 8’. The field’s current dimensions are 352’ down the left field line, 390’ to left-center, 440’ to center, 390’ to right center, and 352’ down the right field line.  The wall height is 12’ in most places and reaches as high as 15’ in straightaway center.

The expectation is that the new dimensions will open up the offense and make home runs a little more frequent. There are a lot of factors that go into the flight distance of a baseball – primarily, bat and pitch speed – but the distance from home plate to the home run line can also greatly impact the game.

The changes are designed to give a slight advantage to the Zephyrs young right-handed power hitters.  The organization hopes that their stable of young right-handed power hitters – which include Ramón Leach, Dale Griffith, Kurt Keller, Travis Mitchell, Leon Brunelle, and Donald Eldridge – will all benefit from the changes to the left field fences.

In addition to the new name on the marquee and altered outfield dimensions, the Reno front office has unveiled some aesthetic and menu changes for the upcoming season. The sidewalks outside Washoe Field will have over 40 new weeping cherry trees lining them.  This beautiful species of tree has cascading branches with lush pink blossoms that set an attractive view as the fans are walking into the field to cheer on their Zephyrs.  The field lighting and scoreboard will also feature upgrades, with an emphasis on energy efficiency.  Another change will be a reduction in advertising space.  Many fans and sportswriters have complained in the past that the old Tenpinners scoreboard devoted too much space to advertising and it may have detracted from the overall baseball experience.

As for the menu, the Zephyrs will unveil a brand new Zephyr Burger that is served with a fried egg and American cheese.  There will also be new chicken nachos and three different types of gourmet popcorn.  Last but not least will be the signature Washoe baked beans in a cup.  This delicious recipe has been passed down from generation to generation in team owner Maximillian Poppington’s family.  This reporter has had the good fortune to get an early taste and, I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed with these beans!

Of course, if you will kindly pardon the pun, none of these changes will not amount to a hill of beans unless the Zephyrs are able to finally put together a winning season.