Sun Life Stadium - the Strikeout King

If you have a desire to see strikeouts, Sun Life Stadium is the place for you.  And no, it is not just because the Marlins play there, it is because stadium conditions, for whatever reasons, favors strikeouts.

Jeff Sullivan did the work.

Sun Life Stadium increases strikeouts by about 11% - 11% for right-handed hitters, and 12% for left-handed hitters.

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The average hitter in the Majors strikes out 17.5% of the time at home and 18.8% of the time on the road. Marlin hitters, though, have struck out 22.3% of the time at home and 19.0% of the time on the road, while their pitchers have generated 21.4% strikeouts at home and 16.2% strikeouts on the road.

So the Marlins hitters strikeout significantly higher at home than the major league average but when on the road the rate drops to the major league average.  Whereas the pitchers are above average in strikeouts at home but fall below it on the road.  When something like this happens it is known as a ballpark effect.  For example, some parks are easier to hit home runs in, while others prove to be more difficult.  In this case, Sun Life Stadium is where the strike outs flow freely.

Any guesses as to why this takes place?  Is it a bad hitting back drop?  The low football lights in the stadium?  Is it so hot and humid that is hard to bat when sweat is burning your eyes?

Sun Life Stadium has many peculiar features to it and now another is known, it is the home of the Strikeouts.

(read the article, Jeff goes into even more detail.)