Errors in the Outfield

The debate over the dimensions at RFK Stadium continues but recent measurements support the theory that the ballpark favors pitchers. (John McDonnell - The Washington Post)

Guillen has been vocal on the subject in recent weeks, and remained unconvinced by the surveyor's numbers.

"That's not right," Guillen said. "It's farther down the lines, and it's definitely farther in center field."

Though Guillen has said on several occasions that he would like to finish his career in Washington, he admits to being frustrated by his home park. The numbers show why: He has 18 homers on the road, one at RFK Stadium.

"I know myself," Guillen said. "I know my power. You guys know if I'm in a different stadium, I have 28, maybe 30 home runs."

Nationals President Tony Tavares has attended every home game, and has watched what Guillen and his teammates are seeing. In fact, Tavares and Bowden had a conversation during RFK's renovation over the winter, when the Nationals were preparing to move from Montreal.

"I told Jim I could tweak it, slightly, to be a pitcher's park or a hitter's park," Tavares said.

"And I told him," Bowden said, "that to bring the fences in with our team I didn't think made any sense, because I thought we're going to have to win with pitching and defense. We also had hitters who didn't have to hit home runs to produce runs."

Dunn said that he believes the mismarked distances -- in the "alleys," as the gaps between the center fielder and the left and right fielders are called -- were an "honest mistake."

"When I came to work here, I saw the dimensions, they told me what they were, and I didn't think, 'Well, I better go measure them to make sure,' " Dunn said yesterday. "You just trust that they're accurate.

"But then I started reading this stuff, and I wanted to make sure myself. I wanted someone on our staff to walk it off themselves."

So earlier this week, on the same day the Post reporters measured the field, Dunn walked off the distance himself, using a rolling measuring device. He didn't have confidence in the results, "so I got every measuring tape I could find." Finally, he decided to call Turner Construction, the contractor that installed the fences, to survey the distances again.

Tavares said he has marked six balls hit by Guillen that he believes would have been home runs in any other park.