Something great and unique about the sport of baseball is that nearly every ballpark can be different. The dimensions of the actual diamond are standard, but after that, teams can pretty much design their home as they see fit. They can stretch their center-field wall out 550 feet, they can construct a giant wall in left field, they can build seemingly endless foul territory down the first- or third-base lines.
Max
Nowadays, Monument Park is located beyond the center-field wall at Yankee Stadium. But for years -- from the 1930s to the '70s -- the first three monuments were on the field. Batters rarely reached that distance, especially back then, but when they did, it caused some issues.
As an ode to Crosley Field's funky sloped outfield in the mid part of the 20th century, Astros executive Tal Smith urged his team to erect a 30-degree slope in the center field of the new Minute Maid Park. And they did. From 2000-to 2016, there was a 90-foot-wide hill leading up to the outfield fence. It made for some, um, interesting photographs. The hill was flattened after the 2016 season to allow for more seating and concession options.
Renovations to Briggs (later called Tiger) Stadium in the 1930s brought the right-field fence in by 42 feet, but new owner Walter O. Briggs also wanted to add more seats. He wanted more people inside to see his World Series-contending team. So, he had a new set of seats constructed in the second deck of the right field, jutting out 10 feet above the outfield grass.
The deepest center field ever
The ballpark that ate baseballs
Just three years after the Metrodome opened, Yankees manager Billy Martin said: "This place stinks. It's a shame a great guy like Hubert H. Humphrey had to be named after it." That's a little harsh from a guy that seemed to always be a little harsh, but the Twins' home from 1982-2009 definitely had its oddities.