Chris Woodward called Yankee Stadium a “little league park” after Gleyber Torres’ walk-off home run cleared the short porch in the opening game of Sunday’s doubleheader, and after the second game, which saw the Rangers benefit from the short right field, the manager walked back his comments.
“It was a joke,” Woodward said. “Listen, I love this place. This is like one of the cathedrals in all of sports. Everybody knows it’s a short porch in right field. It was more of a joke than anything. We hit one of our own in this game, so I guess karma’s funny that way. But no, I love this place. It’s a beautiful ballpark.”
Torres’ home run would have been out of 26 of 30 ballparks, while Eli White’s home run in the second game traveled 342 feet and would have only been out in two stadiums. He had said Torres’ home run would have been an out in 99 percent of other parks.
Perhaps Woodward was joking all along, or seeing the short porch benefit his own team immediately after his comments put him in a better mood about it. But he is far from the only manager or player to bring up a gripe about Yankee Stadium’s dimensions in right field.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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