is there really a home-field advantage in baseball?

blueedwards · Mar 3, 2005

clearly, there is a home-field advantage built in to the line in every sport. my feeling is that some sports enjoy a huge home-field advantage (college hoops for example). in other sports (like football) there is an advantage but, much less than in college hoops or even the nba.

i really don't see a clear home-field advantage in baseball. statistics would probably show that there is one but, i don't think it is a very big advantage if at all.

the only exceptions i can think of would be (1) if you have a bunch of speedy, slap-hitters and you play in a huge stadium...that is a home field advantage or (2) like in colorado, if you have homerun hitters and you play in a place where balls fly out of the yard with regularity...and the team is used to the effects of the thin air...that is a home field advantage.

but, in general, i dont see it.

Rainbow · Mar 3, 2005

I think like a team has alot of speed and they play there games on turf, I think thats a big edge, also for example the pitcher for the Padres, his name is Lawrence, big edge when he is at home because he pitches on natural grass and he"s a ground ball pitcher, on turf ground balls take crazy hops.

thepig · Mar 3, 2005

Blue, the home field advantage is a real physical advantage in that the home team gets to bat last. It may not seem like it, but this is a very big advantage.

Godspeed, Thepig.

blueedwards · Mar 3, 2005

thepig said:
Blue, the home field advantage is a real physical advantage in that the home team gets to bat last. It may not seem like it, but this is a very big advantage.

Godspeed, Thepig.

i've thought about this before. i don't see how this is a big deal.

baseball is the one sport that i played all the way through high school and i'm not convinced that it was an advantage to bat last.

ppeter · Mar 3, 2005

I would think subtle things like lighting, knowing where the lines and walls are without having to look, psychological edge with the crowd and wind behavior and travel fatigue all add up to a good home advantage in bases, besides batting last.

Huge homefield edge in college foots if the crowd is big enough it can drown out audibles and cause offsides penalties. Players more likely to play through pain and weather discomfort with tens of thousands of voices cheering for them.

I would think the least home edge is basketball. There are no offensive audibles or calls for a crowd to drown out. Many basketball players feed off hatred and elevate their performance in front of a hostile crowd.

thepig · Mar 3, 2005

It is the same reason in college football overtime you always want to go last, you know what you have to do to win or continue the game. The 9th inning of a game is a full 11% of the game, 35% of MLB games are decided by 1 run, how can batting last not be an advantage?

Godspeed, Thepig.

Rainbow · Mar 3, 2005

ppeter said:
I would think subtle things like lighting, knowing where the lines and walls are without having to look, psychological edge with the crowd and wind behavior and travel fatigue all add up to a good home advantage in bases, besides batting last.

Huge homefield edge in college foots if the crowd is big enough it can drown out audibles and cause offsides penalties. Players more likely to play through pain and weather discomfort with tens of thousands of voices cheering for them.

I would think the least home edge is basketball. There are no offensive audibles or calls for a crowd to drown out. Many basketball players feed off hatred and elevate their performance in front of a hostile crowd.

BASKETBALL WOW.

blueedwards · Mar 3, 2005

ppeter you raise some good points about foul territory and lighting (especially in a place like minnesota). i personally don't think the crowd is a factor nearly as much in baseball as it is in football or basketball though.

however, i disagree with you big time on the basketball home field advantage. i think college hoops is where you see the biggest disparity between how a team plays at home vs. on the road.

Igetp2s · Mar 3, 2005

Last year home teams were 1299-1199 a 53.5% winning percentage.

That is quite significantly above 50%

wilheim · Mar 3, 2005

Absolutely there is a homefield advantage in baseball. Take the Red Sox as an example they went 55-26 at home and 43-38 on the road. The Yankees were a similar 57-24 at home and 44-37 on the road last year. Another notable was Texas going 51-30 at home and a losing 38-43 on the road,

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/standings/archive/2004

wil.

blueedwards · Mar 3, 2005

Igetp2s said:
Last year home teams were 1299-1199 a 53.5% winning percentage.

That is quite significantly above 50%

yeah, i figured the stats would show something like that. the real question is, do the lines on the games accurately reflect this percentage? are the books over-valuing the home-field advantage?

blueedwards · Mar 3, 2005

wilheim said:
Absolutely there is a homefield advantage in baseball. Take the Red Sox as an example they went 55-26 at home and 43-38 on the road. The Yankees were a similar 57-24 at home and 44-37 on the road last year. Another notable was Texas going 51-30 at home and a losing 38-43 on the road,

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/standings/archive/2004

wil.

yeah but, don't you sometimes see teams that play better on the road than at home? igetp2s posted 53.5%...that is a much smaller percentage than the two teams you listed.

you never see a baseketball team with a better road record than home record.

wilheim · Mar 3, 2005

St Louis amazingly went 53-28 at home and 52-29 on the road. Oakland was another homer going 52-29 at Home and 39-42 on the road. The AL west was a homer division with Angels, A's, Rangers, and Mariners going 186-139 at home combined and 149-174 on the road combined (including 47 road wins by the Angels). Throw out the Angels and the AL West was a pathetic 102 and 140 on the road. You have to pick your spots. Natrually the sooner a capper identifies strong home or road teams the better he will do against the bookmakers who will adjust numbers as the season wears on according to how well any particular team does under a number of circumstances, home and away being important but just part of the process of making a line.

wil.

daringly · Mar 3, 2005

Of course there's a HFA in baseball. Players are better rested from travelling less. Home teams, on average, bat about 8 points higher at home than on the road (and 11 higher vs flyball pitchers, 2 higher in day games, and 20 higher vs opposite-handed pitchers

).

blueedwards · Mar 3, 2005

daringly said:
Of course there's a HFA in baseball. Players are better rested from travelling less. Home teams, on average, bat about 8 points higher at home than on the road (and 11 higher vs flyball pitchers, 2 higher in day games, and 20 higher vs opposite-handed pitchers ).

now, that is some helpful info. thanks darling.

BAUS · Mar 3, 2005

Of course. MLB teams build their lineups to suit their home park.

BAUS

ppeter · Mar 3, 2005

blue edwards said:
ppeter you raise some good points about foul territory and lighting (especially in a place like minnesota). i personally don't think the crowd is a factor nearly as much in baseball as it is in football or basketball though.

however, i disagree with you big time on the basketball home field advantage. i think college hoops is where you see the biggest disparity between how a team plays at home vs. on the road.

Blue, I don't disagree with you on your observations that teams play much better at home than on the road in ncaa hoops, take my Hawaii Rainbows, for example. They have a winning record but I think they have only won one road game all year. Travel fatigue? Most definately, as they have to fly thousands of miles to get to the nearest away venue. However, I have never understood the logic, other than the travel fatigue. It is like Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers" said at the championship game: "their rim is 10 feet high, just like ours back in Hickory."

WildBill · Mar 3, 2005

I cant believe this was really asked and even harder to believe some of the answers. Baseball every year has more home wins than road wins. Historically the numbers have been around 54%. That translates into about -117. So a 35 cent price swing in general terms. Most games have about 30 cents built in for home teams, but since we speak of odds it isn't always apparent.

And how can anyone say basketball has less advantage in light of some of the stunning record differentials??? Good teams often are only a few games over 500 on the road, but something like 31-10 at home in the NBA. In college the difference can be even higher. Go out sometime if you can to a stadium and walk as close to the court as you can. Look upwards and see the background shooters look into. For its first couple years Staples was an under paradise until players adjusted, it has a strange background. To know that background is a huge home advantage along with all the other factors.

blueedwards · Mar 3, 2005

ppeter said:
Blue, I don't disagree with you on your observations that teams play much better at home than on the road in ncaa hoops, take my Hawaii Rainbows, for example. They have a winning record but I think they have only won one road game all year. Travel fatigue? Most definately, as they have to fly thousands of miles to get to the nearest away venue. However, I have never understood the logic, other than the travel fatigue. It is like Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers" said at the championship game: "their rim is 10 feet high, just like ours back in Hickory."

when talking about hawaii...of course travel is a factor. but, what about duke v. carolina? the travel there is what...15 minutes? in college hoops the crowd seems like it is a bigger factor than just about any other sport. this probably influences the refs and the calls they make. there is also something comforting about shooting on rims that you practice on all week.

blueedwards · Mar 3, 2005

BAUS said:
Of course. MLB teams build their lineups to suit their home park.

BAUS

you would think so...unless you're the yankees and you over-spend for right handed power like a-rod and sheffield.

is there really a home-field advantage in baseball?

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