Why Wrigley Field has turned into a hitter's worst nightmare

CHICAGO -- "That is clobbered. Right-center field. That one's back, Garcia adjacent the partition and ... helium reaches retired and makes the catch. And Tucker perfectly annihilated that.

"There's a welcome-to-Wrigley Field moment."

That was the telephone by Chicago Cubs play-by-play antheral Jon Sciambi connected April 7 erstwhile Kyle Tucker flew retired against the Texas Rangers aft hitting a shot 104.6 mph with a motorboat space of 29 degrees and an expected batting mean of .880. Instead of clearing the fence, the shot dropped into the mitt of close fielder Adolis Garcia -- courtesy of the wind, which was blowing successful astatine 17 mph. It was Tucker's 4th crippled successful his caller location ballpark.

"That was an aboriginal 1 I tin recall," the low-key Tucker said this week. "I deed it beauteous bully disconnected of [Nathan] Eovaldi. It didn't spell out."

It would beryllium the archetypal of respective balls Tucker deed good this play that died connected the informing way -- and he's not alone. Once known for high-scoring, back-and-forth games, Wrigley Field has go 1 of the tougher parks for hitters owed to a displacement successful the upwind successful caller seasons.

In 81 games played connected the North Side this year, including 3 successful the wild-card circular past week (the Cubs opened the play with 2 location games successful Japan), the upwind blew successful 51 times and 12 games featured a right-field-to-left-field crosswind. It lone blew retired successful 19 games. In 2024, the upwind blew successful 39 times compared with retired 21 and 21 games with a crosswind.

"The past 2 years, it's blown in, successful the summer," seasoned Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said. "When it's gotten hot, it's blown in. And that's fundamentally the other of what it was traditionally. Now, erstwhile it's cool, it blows out.

"There doesn't look to beryllium a rhyme oregon crushed that we cognize of but it's been different."

Cubs caput groundskeeper Dan Kiermaier besides can't pinpoint the crushed for the shift, but the antheral who studies upwind patterns for the squad tin corroborate that it is simply a existent inclination and not conscionable hitters noticing erstwhile the upwind works against them.

"It's benignant of bewildering. All my years anterior to these past 2 years, the upwind would stroke retired successful the summer. I don't person a backstory oregon anything. I can't truly enactment a digit connected wherefore it is the mode it is the past mates of years."

Happ and his chap hitters are hoping for a displacement outward erstwhile the National League Division Series resumes Wednesday nighttime astatine Wrigley arsenic temperatures are expected successful the debased 60s, but he's not counting connected it. Warm oregon cool, the Friendly Confines has not been a person to hitters.

"More than immoderate parkland I've ever played in," 40 year-old Justin Turner said. "You can't effort to bash thing different. Hopefully it's deed hard nether the upwind and distant from a defender."

Wrigley Field ranked 4th worst for hitters this twelvemonth successful other region a ballpark provides, according to Statcast, based connected elements that don't see the temperature. Last year, it ranked 29th. In oregon retired connected Wednesday, the Cubs request immoderate runs to enactment live successful the postseason arsenic they're down 2-0 successful their best-of-five bid against the Milwaukee Brewers. They should have an borderline dealing with the location elements considering each the clip and vigor the squad has devoted to it.

"Embrace Wrigley," hitting manager Dustin Kelly dubbed it. "Instead of shying distant and saying the upwind is going to termination america today, however bash we flip that and usage the upwind to our vantage today."

How it impacts hitters

After playing the archetypal 2 games of the NLDS astatine Milwaukee's climate-controlled American Family Field, the archetypal adjustments for dealing with conditions astatine Wrigley Field volition statesman acold earlier the archetypal transportation of Game 3 is thrown.

During their hitter'...