The Rogers Centre has mysteriously become baseball’s home run capital

The Rogers Centre has mysteriously become baseball’s home run capital

(Image: Mike Babcock)

Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista’s sudden fondness for pitcher R.A. Dickey’s pants is only the second weirdest thing to happen this baseball season. The Rogers Centre has emerged as a home run factory with a league-leading 121 already hit at the park (the average for all the MLB stadiums is 82). Some pundits say removing glass panes at the old Windows Restaurant created a magical wind flow that carries balls over the fence, a theory endorsed by television analyst Gregg Zaun and scorned by Bautista and at least one baseball-obsessed physicist. Another camp is pinning the surge on gusts from new condo towers nearby—though that doesn’t explain all the bombs hit when the roof is closed. Even more mysterious is that only 50 of the Jays’ current home run count of 108 came in their batter-friendly home park. [CBC]