I was looking at article that talked about HR in Texas the past few years. The numbers were lower this past season which can be explained by several factors but I found this:
Texas Rangers Home Runs in 2013
From the eye test, the usual jetstream in Arlington disappeared in 2013. What did the data say?
That’s pretty clear. From 2010-2012, the results of all home runs hit in the Ballpark in Arlington are nearly identical. Then, in 2013, it looks like a different ballpark, with both speed off the bat and distance dropping about 1%.
Obviously, the key isn’t that home run distance fell by five feet in 2013 at the Ballpark, it’s that we can project this assumption to speculate that all fly balls were about 1% shorter in 2013. Thus, a lot of warning track outs in 2013 would have flown over the fence in previous years, as we can see by the lower home run totals.
But wait, you say, the Rangers lost Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli, of course the numbers would go down. To see if that is really the driving factor, we can look at the same data, but split it based on home runs hit by Texas players and non-Texas players.
Below you will see Texas players on the left, and Texas opponents on the right:
As you can see, both sides of the battle were equally affected by the loss of the jetstream in Arlington in 2013.
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Last offseason, the Rangers made construction changes to the area behind home plate to modify the Cuervo Club, now the Capital One Club. In this Fox Sports article on the Ballpark changes, it was speculated that the changes, which were intended to better circulate air in the Ballpark, may reduce the jetstream but “How the construction will impact the jetstream won't be known until games are played.” Well, now the games have been played and it seems obvious that we can call the jetstream dead. In physics terms, the jetstream is a wind and drag coefficient modifier that has now been more controlled."
It is what it is but maybe Texas is not going to help Fielder as much as some might think..or maybe its just fluff.
