are each unique. Major League Baseball's official rules simply state that fields built after 1958 must have a minimum distance of 325 feet from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 feet to center. Because of this, there are all sorts of variations in parks, from different lengths to the fences to uneven playing surfaces to massive amounts of foul territory to quirks such as trains in the outfield.
Aside from the minimum distance requirements to the fences (which are not always strictly enforced), anything goes. At present, most existing parks have generally standardized lengths to the fences, though no two stadiums are alike. In the past, especially before the rules became more restrictive, the dimensions varied widely, typically due to geographic constraints. The Polo Grounds in New York City , where the New York Giants played, was well known for having a very short right field "porch" which was only 258 feet from home plate. Left field was not much better, at about 280, with an upper deck overhang. In contrast, the deepest part of center field in the batchtub-shaped Polo Grounds was nearly 500 feet from home plate. Fence heights also vary, from 3 to 4 feet all the way up to Fenway Park 's " Green Monster ", which is 37 feet high. In ballparks of the past, some in-play scoreboards and high fences reached 50 to 60 feet, whereas a few outfields were even lined with hedges rather than normal fences or walls. The Metrodome , the current home of the Minnesota Twins , has a 23 foot right field "fence" which is actually a relatively thin blue plastic sheet covering folded-up football seats. It is often called the "Baggie" or the "Hefty bag".
In the early 1970s, so called multi-purpose stadiums were very popular. Stadiums such as Riverfront Stadium , Busch Stadium , Three Rivers Stadium and Veterans Stadium had symmetrical dimensions and were very similar looking. They were designed to house several sports, including baseball, soccer, football and others. Eventually, these parks became unfashionable. This was partially because they tended to be built not for baseball but for other sports, so they became known as eyesores. Also, they seated so many people (50,000+) that many (especially Cleveland's Municipal Stadium ) looked empty during baseball games, as baseball doesn't draw as many people per game as most of the other sports the multi-purpose stadiums housed. Additionally, many of the seats in multi-purpose stadiums did not point towards the field, because the parks were not designed solely for baseball.
With the opening of Camden Yards in 1992, stadiums started to go back to quirky dimensions and features; the 325/400 foot rule mentioned above has been rarely enforced during this time. Since Camden Yards opened, 2/3rds of all major league teams have opened new ballparks, each of which contain unique features. Also, each of them were made to be baseball-only. This means that they were built with baseball fans in mind, so every seat is pointed towards the field.
- Minute Maid Park ( Houston Astros ) - A train filled with giant oranges runs forward and back along the left outfield when home runs are hit. Also, center field features An Uphill Incline much like old Crosley Field in Cincinnati and the former Duffy's Cliff at Fenway Park in Boston. Finally, it is the only park in major league baseball with a Flagpole in play, a feature borrowed from the old Tiger Stadium in Detroit. First baseman Richie Sexson , then of the Milwaukee Brewers is the only player to have hit the flagpole during a game.
- AT&T Park ( San Francisco Giants ) - San Francisco Bay is right outside of the right field fence. The area is called McCovey Cove (named for former Giants slugger Willie McCovey ), and is often filled with boaters hoping to catch baseballs hit out of the park, just as fans used to empty the right field bleachers at Candlestick Park and gather on the flat ground when McCovey would come to bat. There is a special scoreboard near the right field wall that counts how many fair balls have been hit into the bay during game play by the San Francisco Giants (called "Splash Hits").
- Wrigley Field ( Chicago Cubs ) - The brick wall surrounding the outfield is covered with Ivy , a perennial that leafs out in early-mid May and drops its leaves in early October. The rest of the year, the vines are bare. From time to time, a batted ball will become lodged in the vines, or even its bare branches, and become a ground-rule double. The park's close proximity to Lake Michigan affects the wind currents from day to day or even hour to hour. When the wind is blowing ''in'', the park becomes a "pitcher's park" despite its cozy power alleys. When the wind is blowing ''out'', it can be "Bombs Away!" The lack of a second deck in the outfield seating further lets Mother Nature have its way with the wind. It also allows residents of the flats across the streets to get relatively unobstructed views of the field, and some owners have even installed small grandstands on top of their buildings. Wrigley Field was the last MLB park to install field lights; the first night home game for the Cubs took place in 1988.
- Yankee Stadium ( New York Yankees ) - Outside of the fences in right field, there are monuments to Yankee greats, including Babe Ruth , Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio . Before 1973, the stone monuments were actually in the field of play. It was built with left-handed slugger Babe Ruth in mind, with a short "porch" in right field that today measures 314 feet from home plate.
- Fenway Park ( Boston Red Sox ) - The aforementioned 37-foot Green Monster — which includes a field-level scoreboard and an elevated ladder — leads to unpredicatable ricochets, as do the oddly-angled boundaries in right and center field. Fenway used to have a mound of dirt in left field that caused an outfielder to have to run uphill. It was called "Duffy's Cliff" after left fielder Duffy Lewis. Fenway's right field is also notable, with "Pesky's Pole" (named for former Red Sock, Johnny Pesky) just 302 feet from home plate, but then the fence runs virtually straight away from home to 380 in deep right.
- Jacobs Field ( Cleveland Indians ) - Cleveland has a 19-foot left field wall, known as "The Little Green Monster," complete with a digital scoreboard embedded in the wall, installed in 2004 .
- Metrodome ( Minnesota Twins ) - In addition to the blue wall in right, the Metrodome also has a giant plastic milk bottle just outside of the right field wall.
- PETCO Park ( San Diego Padres ) - A challenging factor in the design of this stadium was the presence of a historic structure, the Western Metal Supply Company Building, on the proposed ballpark site. Instead of being demolished, the building was integrated into the stadium. In fact, its southeast corner serves as the left field foul pole.
- Miller Park ( Milwaukee Brewers ) - In the left field corner houses "Bernie's Dugout", which is the home of the Brewers mascot, Bernie Brewer . At the beginning of the game and after every Home Run (and win) by the home team, fireworks go off and Bernie slides down his slide. He also hangs "K"s to signify strikeouts. In 2006, a picnic area was added in right field.
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