Following up with the previous post, which mentions the smaller foul area around the park, check out the distance between first base and the photographers pit.
Below is a closeup.
This is a really minor thing, and neither a negative nor a positive detail, but it’s something that caught my attention. Mostly what I’m wondering is how many times will Carlos Delgado be stampeding into photo lenses and TV cameras chasing after popups. The wall in front of the pit and bordering the fans is a fairly short height, which means a player could both reach over but also get upended. It may take some getting used to.
Only two batters into last night’s game and I was already disliking the foul grounds at Citi. Dustin Pedroia lifted a pop up along the first base foul line that blooped in for a double. Running for the ball, Luis Castillo’s momentum carried him into the wall behind first base, and then proceded to flip him over the short wall and into a concrete pit. Why is there a concrete pit along the right field stands? What purpose does this serve? It’s not the photo well, because that sits next to the dugout, and this play occurred further down the right field line. I can see at least a half dozen players ending up on their backs in that pit during the course of the season, with a few season-ending injuries to be handed out among them. I just wish I knew what this concrete pit was there for. Right now it appears to be no more than a death trap.