Fenway Park: the shallow and short of one of MLB's tiniest fields

Many fans know that Fenway Park is one of the smallest arenas in Major League Baseball, with a nighttime capacity of 37,493 and a daytime one of 37,065. Only the home diamonds of the Marlins, the A's and the Rays are tinier (the biggest, Dodger Stadium, holds approximately 56,000). At nine acres, too, Fenway is one of the slenderer footprints in baseball, with perhaps only the 8.5-acre Target Field in Minnesota smaller.

Even Red Sox diehards, however, may not know Fenway's true shallowness; or the sheer skimpiness of the outfield wall (don't let the Green Monster fool you); or the other ways America's oldest pro ballpark falls short.

· Shallowest Right-Field Line. Fenway Park has the shallowest outfield wall in Major League Baseball: 302 feet down the right-field line.
· Shallowest Light-Field Line. Fenway again, this time with 310 feet to the Green Monster.
· Shallowest Outfield. See above bullet points. It's pretty much the same stat, but you know how that one fan you know argues.
· Shortest Distance to Center Field. To dead center, it's 390 feet. And, yet, Fenway is not considered particularly fertile ground for home-run hitters.
· Shortest Outfield Wall. Yes, there's the Green Monster. The more than 37-foot left-field behemoth is the tallest outfield wall in MLB. But! Over on the right side, near the bullpens, the wall dips to as low as three feet. Seriously. Have a look next time.

Because spring will arrive and you will get that chance.
· Fenway Facts and Figures [Red Sox]
· Cool Infographic Shows Fenway Park Has Shallowest MLB Outfield [NESN]
· Our Micro Week 2015 archive [Curbed Boston]