We looked at this back in May, but the sample size was way too small for us to take the results seriously...
The table at right is sorted in "ascending order" of the differential (DIFF) in HR/G in '22 as opposed to '21--because that is the most dramatic difference to be found in the numbers.
You may recall HR/G were out of control in 2019 (1.38) but receded a bit in 2021 (1.22). That decline has continued this year (currently at 1.08), though no one is really talking about it. (As we told you previously, once MLB's aggregate batting average upticked above .240, any and all misgivings about offense/offensive levels get put into the media's version of a humidor.)
The data here is still rather astounding, still showing some highly dramatic changes in HR/G (though not so much with OPS...where convergence is really to be expected). Just look at how the changes at Camden Yards have affected offense--homers cut in half, overall offense down close to 20%.
Then again, it's good to return to baseball's version of normality and have Coors Field be the game's top dog for overall offense. HR/G and OPS are both up in Denver this year.
Other teams with dramatic downturns in their home parks: the A's and the renamed Guardians, both with a downturn in HR/G in excess of 40%. (In the case of the A's, of course, much of it could be due to the fire sale that cost them the middle of their batting order this season. In other words, they may be responsible for the lion's share of the decline.)
All in all, 23 of the 30 parks are producing fewer HR/G in 2022 than they did in 2021. Only six parks are producing more offense (as measured by OPS): T-Mobile in Seattle, Rogers Centre in Toronto, Coors, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, American Family Field in Milwaukee, and the poetically named loanDepot Park in Miami.
And, of course, the Pirates, an ever-perverse franchise, is currently showing the oddest result of all--the greatest percentage increase in HR/G coupled with a loss of overall offense.
We'll take another look at season's end...
