Broken Bat - Help: Home Field Advantage

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Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#35463	06/13/2016 7:16:31 pm
the gizmo Joined: 02/07/2013 Posts: 574 Inactive	they alternate every season between East and West

#35465	06/13/2016 9:04:39 pm
admin Joined: 01/27/2010 Posts: 4985 Administrator	If you build you team/ballpark to suit the other, then you will have a home field advantage. Steve

#35466	06/13/2016 9:35:22 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9596 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I always build my stadium so that it doesn't suit my team. That way I get a road advantage.

#35467	06/13/2016 10:46:29 pm
dsz071 Joined: 09/12/2015 Posts: 334 Inactive	Wait, what? I'm confused.

#35468	06/13/2016 10:53:40 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9596 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I was just kidding. Although my road record is better.

#35473	06/14/2016 7:25:37 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I'm in the same boat Rock, I am just above .500 at home. On the road my team is around .666 though. My ballpark is symmetrical and overall should be more of a pitcher's park than hitter's.

#35617	06/16/2016 2:02:16 pm
Crazy Li Joined: 01/25/2015 Posts: 879 Inactive	Yes, there is home field advantage. It's actually more pronounced in baseball than most other sports. Your advantage is batting last. Therefore you always have a chance to come back but your opponents may not. The home team can have a walk-off victory. I'd say that's a pretty significant advantage. In every other sport I know of, "home field advantage" is psychological. You have your fans behind you, cheering you on and booing the other guys. It's effect is as impossible to measure as "team chemistry". There are things we believe to exist but are impossible to quantify. I mean you could look at the Seattle Seahawks and their Night-and-Day difference between home and away games was the past few seasons... and you can attribute that to having one of the noisiest crowds in football throwing off communication from the other team... but at the end of the day, and players can lock down, focus, and let their talent win the game. I've played a baseball sim that did attempt to account for the psychological effects of playing at home, giving home teams a small boost. It wasn't bad though because it wasn't noticeably significant. I had many seasons where my road record was better than my home record despite that... but if all things were equal... like the same exact ballpark from both teams, the same exact lineup every match (including starting pitcher), over the course of enough sims, you would win more home games than road games under that system. I can't say for sure if that's good or bad.

#35619	06/16/2016 2:15:59 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Yes, there is home field advantage. It's actually more pronounced in baseball than most other sports. I can't find the article with the proof, but I think you're backwards. Baseball has almost no home field advantage. Football has a huge advantage, while others tend to be much smaller. Your statements about being able to come from behind and walk-off at home are curious ones. The only advantage is that you know exactly what you have to do in the ninth and beyond. Visiting teams have the same knowledge in the ninth even if the home team still gets to bat. Home teams gain that advantage in extra innings, but that isn't a very big deal, especially since there aren't many extra inning games. The last time I saw numbers I'm pretty sure the breakdown was: NFL home field WPCT 58% MLB home field WPCT 54%

#35795	06/19/2016 5:48:58 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	My World Champion Kansas City Royals destroyed the Detroit Tigers last night improving their home record to 24-8. They are the exception to many rules, including the one that says playing baseball at home doesn't provide a significant advantage. Right now their home WPCT - away WPCT is a mind-blowing 38.9%, which I heard would shatter the all-time greatest difference (although I have not verified this). To put that in perspective, the second highest difference belongs to the Baltimore Orioles at 20.9%. There are two other teams at 16% and it drops to 13% after them. Compare that to the NFL last season. For 2015 there were 9 teams who were at 25% or greater for home - away WPCT. All this is really just an excuse for me to brag about my beloved World Champion Kansas City Royals. I say that beautiful phrase as many times as I can because I understand there will be a day when I can no longer claim it. Hopefully that day comes in 2018.

#35920	06/21/2016 8:37:31 am
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2237 New York Lancers V.4	Last year in V7 I went 52-28 at home and was promoted to IV.4. Given I was a heavy-hitting team with average pitching heading up a level to a league with much better pitching, I figured making my ballpark smaller would even the playing field, resulting in plenty of 12-10 scorelines, or something. Instead I went 37-43 at home, which includes losing my last eight straight at home, and I was demoted by just one win. My power hitters numbers were all slightly down facing better opposition, but opposing batters took to my bandbox with relish - and despite that my team ERA fell from 4.26 last season to 4.17 this year. I guess you could argue that I gave myself a home disadvantage. Live and learn.