Baltimore Orioles Adjust Dimensions at Camden Yards, Move in Left Field Wall

Right-handed hitters struggled to hit home runs at Camden Yards over the past few seasons, so the Baltimore Orioles are moving the left field wall closer to its original distance.

Oct 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles fans wave rally towels before game two of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the Kansas City Royals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

"Walltimore" is no more.

The Baltimore Orioles announced Friday that they would be adjusting the dimensions of Camden Yards ahead of the 2025 regular season. The left field wall is the focus of the changes, just three years after it was pushed back to its current distance.

From 1992 to 2021, Camden Yards was one of the most hitter-friendly parks in MLB. The team then moved the left field wall back to 384 feet and 398 feet at its deepest points, and righties saw their power numbers dip as a result.

Now, the 13-foot wall will be shortened to 8 feet in some places and 6 feet, 11 inches in others. The deepest points will be 374 and 376 feet, and the wall will make a 120-degree cut into the previous field of play.

General manager Mike Elias broke down the reasoning behind the adjustments in a press conference Friday.

"Our hope is, by pulling the dimensions in a little bit ... that we will be able to get closer to what our initial goal was: a neutral playing environment that assists a balanced style of play at a park that was overly homer-friendly prior to our changes in 2022," Elias said. "It is now a little overly skewed given what we did back then."

Orioles GM Mike Elias announced that they are changing the dimensions of the left field wall at Camden Yards.

Here is a rendering of the proposed changes ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/V30TN2e25m

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 15, 2024

According to Statcast, there were 138 fewer home runs at Camden Yards between 2022 and 2024 than there would have been with the prior dimensions.

Ryan Mountcastle, who lost out on 11 home runs over the past three seasons as a result of the adjusted left field wall, will surely be glad to see the fence pulled in. Adley Rutschman, Jorge Mateo and Anthony Santander – who became a free agent earlier this month – each got robbed of seven.

"The feedback consistently was that the extremity of the disparity in the park was a little bit more of a topic of conversation than we had bargained for. We didn’t like the degree to which this had become a distraction in many ways," Elias said. "I know that the pitchers enjoyed it. But for our hitters, for our right-handed hitters in particular – for our left-handed hitters, too – aspects of this were a little severe."

No new seats will be added to the left field bleachers, although there will be a platform for "Mr. Splash" installed in the gap between the new and old wall next to the bullpens. Mr. Splash is the team's chief hydration officer who sprays Section 86 – "The Bird Bath" – with a hose.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon.