First look at Comerica Park's new outfield walls for Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers' new outfield wall and dimensions at Comerica Park were finally unveiled Thursday.
The changes, announced in January, were on display starting with the Tigers' home opener against the Boston Red Sox. The goal of the project, which broke ground Feb. 1, was to improve the offensive conditions without changing the profile of the ballpark.
"We feel great about the finished product," Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Thursday. "We made a commitment to elevating the player and fan experience. I think this project achieves both. I'm really proud of all the work that went into it from a lot of people."
The center-field fence was moved in 10 feet, now 412 feet from home plate. There is a 10-foot gap between the old wall and the new wall.
The empty space will not be filled in.
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The height of the walls were lowered in center field (from 8½ feet to 7 feet) and right field (from 8½ feet to 7 feet). A new wall in right-center field was constructed in front of the old wall, lowering the height from 13 feet to 7 feet, and creating a double wall visual. A yellow line at the top of the new wall indicates any ball hit above it will be a home run.
The ballpark lost the first row of seats in right field, roughly 50 total, because of the alterations. The Tigers added a row of flowers above the right-field wall, and because the first row has been removed, fan interference won't be an issue.
The new wall was reconstructed with material and padding that enhances player safety, and Comerica Park no longer has an out-of-town scoreboard.
Here's what the wall looked like before the changes.
Harris specifically praised Tigers assistant general manager Sam Menzin, Tigers vice president of ballpark operations Chris Lawrence and Ilitch Sports and Entertainment senior vice president of business operations strategy Ryan Gustafson for their leadership in executing the alterations.
Harris also talked the influence of owner Christopher Ilitch.
"From ownership on down, we're committed to giving our players every resource they need to perform on the field," Harris said. "We've talked about it all offseason. I think this project demonstrates how serious we are about elevating that player experience."
Laser measurements of the outfield wall, as part of the research process before the alterations, measured the old center-field wall at 422 feet. The new distance of 412 feet leaves Comerica Park as the second-deepest ballpark to center in the majors, behind only Coors Field (415).
The league-average distance in center is 402 feet.
"When I get out there and start taking some balls off the bat, I think it's going to feel more comfortable out there," said catcher Eric Haase, who also plays left field. "Just the fact that it's not 425 (feet) out there. Hopefully, more homers are hit."
The previous dimensions at Comerica Park, long viewed as pitcher-friendly, were labeled as 345 feet in left field, 370 feet in left-center, 420 feet in center, 365 to right-center and 330 feet to right from 2003-22.
The Tigers renovated the indoor area in the bullpens, and changed the sight lines for relief pitchers to watch games.
The Tigers also renovated the clubhouse for the players, and for the fans, they installed 472 new LED light fixtures (capable of in-game light shows after home runs) and tweaked the food options around the ballpark.
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"We feel like we did a lot in a short period of time," Harris said. "We're going to continue to address things as they come up and make sure that our players have every resource they need to perform."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
