Mike Plugh took a break from his Japanese Leagues previews to provide this evaluation of the Tokyo Dome and its effects on the season-opening series between the Red Sox and A’s.
The Red Sox and Athletics are set to open their season in Tokyo after logging a lot of frequent flier miles and playing a fast series of warmups against Japanese clubs. MLB has grown fond of these contests as the connection between Japan and the United States has grown more and more profitable. The site of the regular season ’s first two games is the “Big Egg”, also known as the Tokyo Dome. This facility is the home of the Yomiuri Giants and plays host to most of the important exhibitions and international competitions in which Japan participates, including the opening round of the World Baseball Classic. The Big Egg opened in 1988 and has been used as a multi-purpose facility for concerts, professional wrestling events, and was famously the site where Buster Douglas knocked out the previously indestructible “Iron” Mike Tyson.
As these games count in the standings, it’s important to look at the dimensions and tendencies of the Tokyo Dome to keep the results in their proper perspective. The centerfield fence is a fraction more than 400 feet from home plate and both left and right field lines extend to 328 feet. As such, the playing field is very similar to Tropicana Field in Tampa including the artificial surface and the qualities common to domed facilities. The ball does seem to travel more in the Tokyo Dome than it does in Tampa, so I would expect the park factor to be a bit more hitter friendly in the Japanese environment. Where the Tropicana roof is slanted, the Tokyo Dome is a fully inflated dome that provides a rather expansive atmosphere both on television and in person. The Japanese crowds are famously expressive and rarely cease to sing, chant, wave flags, and generally vocalize their support in unison. As much as any park factor we might like to analyze, this might be the greatest difference in the atmosphere that the teams will deal with in the two contests to come. Whether that difference is an advantage or a disadvantage will largely depend on the individual, but I suspect that the Red Sox will have the heavy fan contingent and are more accustomed to the rowdy crowds of Fenway.
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