Google Earth

After a long rain delay in Yankee Stadium I recorded the rest of last night's game against the Twins and I'm watching it this morning, fast forwarding between each pitch, of course, to introduce some desperately needed pace.  Leading 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth Vernon Wells led off with a drive to right center that bounced to the wall and then bounced away from Twins center fielder 23 year old Aaron Hicks.

Hicks retrieved the ball about two steps closer to home plate than the front edge of the warning track and launched a high throw to third base.  Wells was running hard all the way but was clearly tagged out when he slid.  Yankee announcers Michael Kay and former Cy Young award winner David Cone were appropriately amazed, with Cone invoking the memories of super athlete Bo Jackson.  They speculated that the throw went about 300 feet in the air.

They were right on.  I simply used Google Earth for Windows to get an approximate measurement.  I wondered why they didn't do the same thing.

I've used Google Earth before to measure ball park distances.  For instance that's how I know that right center in Fenway park is closer to home than straight away right: about 375 to 380.  And that the 457 distance in original Yankee Stadium to left center would be well across the street over that spot on the green monster in Fenway.  Advantage Ted Williams over Joe DiMaggio.

By the way the radius of the circular dirt cutout around home plate is about 15 feet.  How about declaring a batter like Travis Hafner out if he wanders beyond that during a plate appearance?  Or maybe have one of those electric fences that keep dogs enclosed.  How about an electric fence around the batter's box.  Anything to keep the batters in the box and move the game along.