Why all that room behind home plate?

Maybe they built the original stands far back from home plate to protect fans and because they didn't have the brains to invent the screen that all parks have had for that purpose for ... 80 years? But why continue that practice. The new Yankee Stadium has 60 feet behind home plate. It's immediate predecessor had 80 feet. Why not build the stands 15 feet away? Is there something entertaining about watching the ball roll away from players? Or could it be that baseball people (fans, players, management) have less than zero imagination? Yeah, I think that's it.