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Experts Agree: Metrodome produces heavy home field advantage

Discussion in 'Sports Forum' started by Andy T., May 15, 2007.

  1. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    Sorry, I'm not buying this reason at all. Anything inherent in the stadium itself was to the detriment or advantage of both teams. For example, the walls didn't move depending on who was at bat.

    The biggest difference between the Metrodome and other stadiums was the crowd noise. While I'm sure it was/is deafening at times, crowd noise just doesn't impact baseball as much as it does other sports like football and basketball.

    There's no doubt that it's a fluky thing that the Twins won both their World Series titles the way they did, but that's all it was, a fluke. The sample size of postseason games you're using is just too small to make such a claim of heavy home field advantage.

    Besides all that, your OP cited Joe Morgan as an expert. :smilewinkgrin:
     
  2. PastorSBC1303

    PastorSBC1303 Active Member

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    I cannot believe such a silly notion has gone on for 5 pages. But I gotta hand it to Andy, when he has his mind made up about something far be it from any facts or information to sway him :)
     
  3. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    The Metrodome is Andy's White Whale, I think. :laugh:
     
  4. Andy T.

    Andy T. Active Member

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    The walls didn't move, but the air sure did. It is common knowledge that the stadium management turned on the fans blowing out when the Twins were up.
    Thank you for conceding my main argument. :thumbs:
     
  5. Andy T.

    Andy T. Active Member

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    Maybe I will start a countdown for the destruction of the Metrodome. Meanwhile, expect periodic diatribes from me for the next 3 years until that date. Or if the Tigers win a World Series or two in the next few years, then my contempt will be satisfied to a degree. I have to admit, a lot of this stems from 1987 - Detroit was the best team that year, without a doubt. A World Series win that year, and they would forever be known as the team of the 80's. It was my senior year of high school, and nothing would have been better than to have them win that year. But no, the fluky Twins and their wretched stadium had to mess it up.
     
  6. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    Huh?

    I thought this was your main argument.

    You can't change your argument in the middle of a thread that you started! Good grief. :laugh:

    Aha! The truth comes out. I thought you might have been a Cardinals fan, but I should have known better since you didn't mention 1985. I agree that the Tigers were the better team during the regular season, winning something like 97 or 98 games. As I recall, the Twinkies won 2 of 3 games at Tiger Stadium.

    Actually looking forward to them, Andy! :wavey:

    You must hate it that the Tigers lost the World Series last year to a team that could only muster 83 wins.

    :BangHead:

    The '06 Cardinals had to be the absolute worst team to win the World Series. Ever.

    Until your next diatribe against the Metrodome, I'll be patiently waiting for Bible-Believing Bill to join the thread and take exception to my comment about the Cardinals. :smilewinkgrin:
     
  7. PastorSBC1303

    PastorSBC1303 Active Member

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    I am sure the Cardinals won last year over the Tigers because there was not enough foul room at Busch Stadium, or the hot dog vendors were not polite enough or something along those lines :)

    I am glad to see the real truth came out as well! Andy, get over it man, 1987 was FOREVER ago. :)
     
  8. PastorSBC1303

    PastorSBC1303 Active Member

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    There you go again, actually bringing facts into the discussion ccr. I thought we had this discussion already :laugh:
     
  9. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    I know! I keep letting facts get in the way of discussions.

    Note to self: Keep pesky facts out of discussions.
     
  10. EdSutton

    EdSutton New Member

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    Personally, I'm convinced there had to be some sort of conspiracy inoloving the Metrodome that kept several teams with better records out of the playoffs while allowing the Cardinals at 83-78 to even participate, let alone winn the League and World Series. In fact, Busch Stadium was do you think a detriment to the Cards, last year, by only allowing them to only go 49-31 at home, the second largets differential in the NL, second only to the NY Mets who were 50-31 at home. ?? :rolleyes:

    If Atlanta had 1/2 the homefield advantage of the Cards, in 2006, they would have won their division for the 15th time consecutively, instead of having the string stopped at 14, and kept the Cards from appearing at all in the playoffs, let alone the W/S.

    FTR, in 2007 so far, the Twins are .500 on the road, and are three games below .500 at home, so I don't guess it always works out that way, hunh??

    And the largest home field advantage over the years, by far, has been Yankee Stadium for the Bronx Bombers, but I guess that "fact" sneaked by, as well. +25 in 2005, +19 in 2006, and +1 so far this year when the future of Joe Torre is already being questioned, because the team has not lived up to some expectations.

    Check all the records, not just some that are "cherry picked" when your so beloved Tigers, or White sox, or whomever haven't won in the last few years! Just 'cause you hate the "sack"!

    And FTR, the only time, to my knowledge the fences moved, in a game, was with a minor league team under the tutilage of the either the incomparable Bill Veeck, or the also incomparable Frankie Lane (don't remember exactly which one, without looking it up), when they came in for his team when batting and moved out for the visitors. That ended after one day, when the league passed a rule against that in 'emergency' meeting.

    Ed
     
  11. TomVols

    TomVols New Member

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    Ed Sutton: where are you getting the numbers for the home field advantage?

    As for the Braves last year, they were sub .500 and what, 18 games behind the Mets? They would've needed four home field advantages per game for them to win the series. :)
     
    #51 TomVols, May 17, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: May 17, 2007
  12. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    Well, here's the thing about Andy's argument. It's not whether the Metrodome provides a bigger advantage to the Twins or not, but if the advantage it provides the Twins is bigger than the advantage another team gains because of their stadium. For example, Fenway Park gives an advantage to the Red Sox. But, is Fenway more of an advantage to Boston than the Metrodome is to Minnesota?

    It's a more difficult argument to back up.
     
  13. TomVols

    TomVols New Member

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    And I'm no fan of criticizing a team for their fan support giving them a home field advantage. That's what is supposed to happen. :thumbs:
     
  14. EdSutton

    EdSutton New Member

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    Sorry, I forgot they were not still in the same division as the Reds, Cardinals, and Astros, where they once were. Shows how much I follow baseball after the strikes. I just hate biased numbers, and 'cherry-picking' and skewing facts for any reason, even when I may agree with a premise. I watched the All-star game, maybe part of two regular games all season, a few playoff games, and the World Series, about all I watch any more. I used to have my radio set to pick up the Braves and/or with another button, the Reds every night. Great, then, to fall asleep by! No more!

    Ed
     
    #54 EdSutton, May 17, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: May 17, 2007
  15. Andy T.

    Andy T. Active Member

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    That's only because the Tigers had to start the series at the Slime-a-dome and they went down 0-2. That shows you how behind the times MLB was at that time - give the 85-win team home field advantage over the 98-win team. So after going down 0-2, the Tigers were deflated. In addition, the Tigers played a brutal stretch of games at the end of the season against the Blue Jays in order to just clinch the division. Playing in the toughest division in baseball took its toll, and then to be demerited by having to play on the road in the ALCS certainly didn't validate their hard-fought accomplishments. If that series had started in Detroit, it would have gone a lot differently. The Tigers in 6 or 7.
    Actually, I disagree. That award goes to the '87 Twins hands down. The '06 Cardinals were pretty much the same team as '04 and '05, which both won over 100 games. They were plagued with injuries in '06. They were more comparable to a 90-95 win team than 83.
     
    #55 Andy T., May 18, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: May 18, 2007
  16. Andy T.

    Andy T. Active Member

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    Actually, I make no excuses for last year. The Tigers just played awful. And as I stated above, the '06 Cardinals were much better than their 83 wins indicated. That said, I think the Tigers were the better team last year; they just choked in the Series.
     
    #56 Andy T., May 18, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: May 18, 2007
  17. Andy T.

    Andy T. Active Member

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    That was a long time ago, wasn't it? That means I am closing in on my 20th high school reunion! Yikes!
     
  18. Andy T.

    Andy T. Active Member

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    Exactly. And I have already conceded that their advantage has diminished some in the last several years for the reasons I gave above. But I think it is absolutely true that they had the biggest home field advantage of any team during the late 80's and early-to-mid 90's.

    And Ed mentions the Yankees home field records, which shows that they have a big advantage at home. I would certainly expect that. However, their advantage has more to with mystique than anything else, not wacky unnatural playing conditions like the Metrodome has. So I have no problem with the Yankees' home field advantage, while I do have a problem with the Twins'. And FTR, I hate the Yankees way more than I do the Twins. (How sweet it was to beat them in the play-offs last year! Whenever I pass by a dude with a Yankees hat - and there are way too many here in Central Ohio - I always make sure to mildly tip my Tigers hat in their direction. And I've only been beat up three times! :laugh: )
     
  19. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    Mystique? You attribute the Yankees home-field advantage to mystique? :rolleyes:

    I think the fact that the Yankees have a roster full of great players has 1,000,000 times more to do with their home field advantage than it does any sort of "mystique".
     
  20. Andy T.

    Andy T. Active Member

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    No, I contribute mytsique to the fact that they have a better home record than away, and that such disparity is greater than other teams. The fact that they are also a good team is beside the point. I was only considering the disparity between home field advantage compared to other teams.
     
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