Alderson: Citi Field fences might change

Citi Field, only 3 years old, will be getting a facelift for 2012 in an effort to make the ballpark more hitter-friendly, and as a result, better for the Mets, Sandy Alderson said after Tuesday night's 11-6 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

"We're taking a very serious look at it, and done some analyses," Alderson said. "I would think sometime in October at the latest, we'll make a decision as to what exactly we're going to do. I did say that if we do something, it won't be subtle."

As currently constructed, Citi Field, which averages 1.32 home runs per game, has the third-lowest rate among National League stadiums. Only the Giants' AT&T Park (1.01) and Padres' Petco Park (1.23) have allowed fewer.

That hasn't been a secret. But Alderson suggested that now is the appropriate time to make changes because the Mets have three years of data to draw from. Alderson took it a step further by saying Citi's percentage of home runs to balls put in play is "about 1.9 percent," adding that the major-league average is 2.5 percent and the percentage for Yankee Stadium is 3.6.

"I think we're looking at two things," Alderson said. "The possibility of making the ballpark more fair as between pitchers and hitters. Those are the kinds of things that we look at and consider whether we ought to alter the dimensions somewhat to make it a little more balanced.

"The second is that to some extent, it's a question of entertainment. The hardcore baseball fan I think enjoys the 2-1 and the 3-2 games. We're appealing to a little broader segment, and I think offense is appealing. Offense sells."

Not just to fans, either. The Mets themselves -- most notably David Wright, Jason Bay and Ike Davis -- have grown bolder in their criticism of the ballpark's spacious dimensions. Davis is almost exclusively a pull hitter to rightfield, and Wright and Bay have been frequent victims of the 16-foot wall in left, and they've been more open lately in showing their frustration. The GM has noticed.

"We're not looking necessarily to gain an advantage with respect to home runs versus visitors' home runs," Alderson said. "But at the same time, I think there is some sense that the park is a little more overwhelming to a team that spends half its time there as opposed to a team that comes in for three games and doesn't really have to alter an approach, or think about it too much and leaves."

So what can the Mets do to alter the dimensions? Perhaps the easiest, and most cost-efficient fix would be to lower the orange home-run line in left from 16 feet to 8, effectively cutting it in half. But Alderson suggested the Mets could even take that a step further by constructing an additional fence in front of the concrete retaining wall already in place.

"I think aesthetics are an important consideration, as well," Alderson said. "You don't want to make the ballpark jury-rigged. Citi Field is a terrific-looking park and you want to make sure that architecturally, it's not compromised. But at the same time, it's a functional ballpark and I think there are ways that if we do decide to make the changes, there are ways that those changes could blend with existing structure."

Alderson mentioned Detroit's Comerica Park as an example of a stadium that was altered soon after its construction to make the dimensions more hitter-friendly. At Comerica, the Tigers pulled in the leftfield wall and moved the bullpens to cut down the outfield space. During his time as the Padres' CEO, Alderson took part in making slight changes to Petco, which had its right-centerfield fence moved in roughly 15 to 20 feet.

The modifications to Citi Field, however, promise to be more significant and could involve the entire ballpark, not just the leftfield wall.

"I would say those were subtle changes," Alderson said of Petco. "I'd say that what we're considering here would be less subtle, but we have a range of possibilities."