As the first privately financed ballpark in Major League Baseball since Dodger Stadium (1962) and opened in 2000 under the SBC Park name, the San Francisco Giants’ new home was a crown jewel of sorts.
Among the stadium’s features that gave it its persona are the bullpens down the left- and right-field foul lines. Myth has it the architects intended for the bullpens to be in center field but forgot to build them as the stadium was being constructed.
So they have remained part of the play on the field, similar to the setup at Wrigley Field until renovations the bullpens were moved for the 2017 season.
On Friday, the Dodgers — specifically Chris Taylor — got an up-close look at what havoc the mounds can play in foul territory. Chris Taylor appeared to have a read on a fly ball but tripped on the slope and fell to his feet.
Taylor couldn’t make the play but more importantly avoided injury. Brandon Belt wound up drawing a leadoff walk that led to a two-run sixth inning for the Giants.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t blame his club’s 2-1 loss on the sequence but noted an impact on how the inning and game unfolded, via SportsNet LA:
“Yeah, absolutely. That’s an 0-2 pitch there and if you rewind a couple months ago, I think Duggar got hurt on the ball down the right-field line with that mound. Obviously, (Taylor) not familiar so much with that mound. It absolutely changed the inning. You’re talking about pitches thrown and things like that. It completely changed the complexion of that inning. Absolutely.”
Roberts additionally went on to question the layout at Oracle Park, specifically the danger it poses to players:
“It’s kind of one of those things that, I don’t want to get too much into it but, oversight seems to come to mind. But it is what it is. I know that putting players in harms way and dictating a game, more the harms way piece of it, it’s a liability. But you’ve got to make due.”
In April, Steven Duggar dealt with residual wrist soreness after tripping on the bullpen mound in right field. As the fences have been adjusted at Oracle Park in effort to create a better environment for Giants batters, there aren’t yet plans for the bullpens.
However, former Dodgers general manager and current Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi indicated the possibility will be reviewed.
