Wind at new Nationals Park

What about the wind condition at other parks?

A steady wind blew in from left field, swirled around the park and
then blew out to right field, making it easier for left-handed hitters
to launch tape-measure home runs than right-handed sluggers who were
aiming directly into the breeze.
With more large building that will be build nearby, the more chance of
different wind conditions.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/29/AR2008...902200_
So the Nationals players did their own studies of the wind. Friday
afternoon, it howled down Half St. SW and into the park through left-
center field, but then appeared to whip around out to right. "I was
standing in the outfield," said right fielder Austin Kearns, "and the
wind was hitting me in the face. But then I looked up at the flags [in
right], and they were blowing in."
Last night, the American flag in left sat limp in the early innings,
but the flags above the scoreboard were stiff. If that is a pattern --
and no one is willing to say it is, yet -- Kasten believes it will
change over the course of the summer, and even into next year.
Construction projects could shape not only the ballpark's
neighborhood, but how the park itself plays.


news.google.com
March 29, 2008
By Mark Zuckerman - The ball connected off Ryan Langerhans' bat, made
a beeline for center field and soared over the 402-foot mark that
denotes the deepest corner of Nationals Park.

It was only a few minutes into last night's first batting practice
session, but it was obvious that the Washington Nationals' new home is
nothing like their old home.

"The first home run, over dead center field," pitcher Jason Bergmann
said. "Fittingly, seeing that was the disputed thing about RFK."

Indeed, few if any players could hit the ball over the center-field
fence at spacious RFK Stadium. So it's safe to say Nationals Park
passed its first crucial test last night when the home team worked out
in its new digs for the first time.

Over the course of 90 minutes, the Nationals tested every facet of the
ballpark. Outfielders corralled balls that bounced off the fence in
every direction. Infielders charged ground balls that skipped off the
Kentucky bluegrass turf and onto the dirt cutout. And hitters drilled
the ball to every part of the field, trying to gauge where the ball
flies farthest and where it gets knocked down.

The final consensus: Everything went just fine.

"It plays just like any other new field, which is good," third baseman
Ryan Zimmerman said. "The grass was a little long, but I'm sure they
can cut it down to whatever we need. The infield dirt's fine. It feels
like it's going to play well."

The Nationals will get a more thorough opportunity to test their new
park out tonight when they host the Baltimore Orioles in a 6 p.m.
exhibition game. An intentionally limited crowd of about 25,000 season-
ticket holders and workers who helped build the stadium will watch for
free, testing the place out themselves in preparation for tomorrow
night's nationally televised opener against the Atlanta Braves.

Before those games, though, the club wanted to conduct one early-
evening workout, hoping to get a better sense of the ballpark's
quirks.

Team officials hadn't had many opportunities in the past to test the
field out, but theories abounded about how the wind would affect the
flight of fly balls. Some wondered whether the two parking garages
beyond the left-field fence would create a wind tunnel, as was often
the case over the past month.

"I've been here every day in March," team President Stan Kasten said.
"We had a windy March. If the stadium plays like it played in March,
no one's ever hitting a home run out of here."

Sure enough, when players took the field last night, the conditions
were just as Mr. Kasten predicted.

A steady wind blew in from left field, swirled around the park and
then blew out to right field, making it easier for left-handed hitters
to launch tape-measure home runs than right-handed sluggers who were
aiming directly into the breeze.

Not surprisingly, the first home run was hit by a lefty, Langerhans,
who sent the ball to straight center field and drew a mild ovation
from onlookers when it cleared the fence. Langerhans, who did not make
the final 25-man roster but was invited to participate in tonight's
game before leaving for Class AAA Columbus, also hit the most-
impressive homer of batting practice: a towering shot down the right-
field line that landed in the second deck above the Washington
bullpen.

The right-handed hitters did have their moments. Lastings Milledge and
Elijah Dukes each blasted several balls into the left-field bleachers.
But several hitters seemed to struggle trying to push their drives
through the breeze.

"I don't think the wind is going to blow in every single day from
left, or at least I hope it wouldn't," Zimmerman said. "But it's too
early to tell anything. You need a month or so to see what's going to
happen."

The Nationals don't expect to have much of an edge over the Orioles
tonight or Braves tomorrow just because they've gotten a sneak peak at
the ballpark.

"It takes at least a week," manager Manny Acta said. "I guarantee you,
we won't have a home-field advantage on Sunday right off the bat."

No, but that won't diminish the sense of pride the Nationals will feel
when they emerge from their dugout tomorrow night in front of a
sellout crowd of 41,888 and christen their new home.

"I think it's just great to have a park that's ours: the Nationals and
only the Nationals," Bergmann said. "RFK was the Senators, was the
Redskins. It was a lot of other people's stadiums. It never really
felt like it was ours. This is ours. It's got our name all over it."