Home Field Advantage

[RaysTheRoof]

Do people here think that home field advantage counts for much in baseball?

I think it does more so in other sports like football, but much less so in many American sports, though I don't really follow most US sports.

For example the Kansas City Royals right now are 0-10 at home, but are 6-4 on the road. Texas are an almost perfect 8-1 on the road, but have now lost 4 home games. Even over a full season, the 2011 World Series Champs Cardinals had exactly the same home record last year as their road record, 45-36, so they actually gained nothing by playing at home over what they gained on the road.

Just wonder what you think, thanks.

[ToffeeYankee]

Unless I'm missing something, it appears that your justification dispels your theory.

However, I do think it counts. For starters, the players are at home and don't have to travel as far to get to their home stadium (well, unless there is some intra-city play). Then they have the backing of the home fans, which can give them a confidence boost. I mean it's only small thinks if you think about it, but it could make a difference.

[RaysTheRoof]

My theory is that it doesn't count for all that much, not that it does. Like with the Cardinals last year, they won as many games away from home as they did at home, so statistically at least home field advantage gave them no actual advantage in the W/L column, they were just as strong regardless of where they played. Though it is just a theory, and baseball is one of those games where you can just about prove or disprove anything if you dig deep enough into the data, so my theory is probably doomed to failure anyway

[Leemarlin87]

In football (soccer) I think its quite a big advantage, for some more then others, for example playing at Old Trafford is in the opponents mind before the game, where as say the DW dosn't hold that advantage and there home stadium isn't really a fortress to them in the same sense.

Small grounds have the same effect, see Coventry, Southampton or even Leicester and Derby who when in the premier league had the small grounds which the big teams didn't like playing in and upsets occurred regularly, they move into new stadiums and that home advnatge went as the stadiums all became the same and the got relegated within a few years of moving.

Its a hard one to really say though as more then anything its the travelling that really affects players I think

Think it does matter but in all sports its a bigger advantage for some then others

[StewartB]

Whilst the above covers all the intangibles, there is of course the obvious tangible advantage too: the home team bats in the bottom half of each inning.

Only the home team can get that walk-off hit. If the away team scores, the home team always get the chance to come back in the bottom half of the frame.

[royalblue]

Seems like something a little statistical analysis could figure out. According to my elementary counting method:

Home team in playoffs:
2011: 22-15 .595
2010: 13-19 .406
2009: 19-11 .633
2008: 18-14 .563
2007: 17-11 .607
Total: 89-70 .560


Somebody with more time than me can go back further, but over the last 5 years the home team wins 56% of the time.

[Perure]

For me and my team home field is a big advantage, that is general for most teams in Swedish baseball, there are not two fields that play alike really, ours is very big and some others are really small...

[ChiSox Scott]

Baseball, IMO, has the potential for greater home field advantages than any other sport. Short of altering the basepaths or the shape of the mound, the home team is allowed to groom the field to their liking. Got a fast team? Let the grass grow long. Have good bunters? Slope the infield foul lines so the ball rolls fair. You can move the walls in like the Mets have done this season. That got them 3 home runs the other day that would have been extra base hits last year. It can also be done on a game by game basis. Groundskeepers will soak the area in front of home plate if the home team is sending a sinkerballer to the mound.

I think where you'll find evidence of home field advantage is in a team's record in 1 or 2-run games. The advantages of a tailored field aren't enought to prevent getting soundly beaten, but may provide enough leverage to prevail in a close game.

[davidjohn]

NO, there is no home advantage in baseball. only crowd support not win the game.