Editing Forbes Field (section)

=== Playing field evolution ===
[[File:Forbes flagpole.JPG|thumb|right|Forbes Field outfield wall and flagpole in its original location in Oakland]]
The stadium was widely considered the best in the league.<ref name="Buc64" />

Dreyfuss "hated cheap [[home run]]s and vowed he'd have none in his park", which led him to design a large playing field for Forbes Field.<ref name="Dia90" /> The original distances to the [[Baseball field#Outfield wall|outfield fence]]s in left, center, and right field were {{convert|360|ft|m}}, {{convert|462|ft|m}} and {{convert|376|ft|m}}, respectively.<ref name="Dia90" />

The left field foul pole initially intersected the bleacher section about two-thirds of the way toward where the bleacher corner touched the fence, at a distance of {{convert|301|ft|m}},[Pittsburgh ''Daily Post'', June 27, 1909, p.&nbsp;30], leaving a narrow slice which could benefit a strict pull hitter, but which soon proved bothersome to left fielders.

In the early spring of 1912, the diamond was shifted so that the left field foul line intersected the end of the left field fence rather than the bleacher section.[Pittsburgh ''Press'', March 3, 1912, p.&nbsp;20] By 1914, the left field distance was stated as {{convert|365|ft|m}},[Pittsburgh ''Press'', August 25, 1914, p.&nbsp;20] which eventually became the distance marked on the fence.

In 1921, the seating capacity was increased by the addition of several rows of new box seats.[Pittsburgh ''Press'', February 13, 1921, pp.&nbsp;15][Pittsburgh ''Daily Post'', February 13, 1921, p.&nbsp;18]

In 1925, seating capacity received a bigger bump when the right field grandstand was extended into the corner and into [[fair ball|fair territory]], replacing a section of wooden bleachers. Construction of the new stands began in late winter and opened in June 1925.

The change reduced the [[List of baseball jargon (F)#foul lines|foul line]] distance from {{convert|376|ft|m}} to {{convert|300|ft|m}} but increasing the near-right center distance to {{convert|375|ft|m}}.<ref name="Ball53">{{harvnb|Leventhal|2000|p=53|Ref=none}}</ref> Dreyfuss made no secret of his mixed feelings regarding this move, and in May 1930, in response to American League President [[E. S. Barnard]]'s proposed plan to stem the recent flood of sub-350-foot home runs, Dreyfuss readily complied by erecting a {{convert|28|ft|m|adj=on}} high screen.<ref>United News (March 20, 1930). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4bVhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v2gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4148%2C4489078 "Barnard Plans to Check 'Cheap' Homers; Proposes Screen for All Sectors Less Than 350 Feet"]. ''The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. "Three major league clubs already have taken to the screen idea, the Phillies and Cardinals erecting screens at their parks last season and the Pirates building one at Forbes Field this season." Retrieved April 20, 2018.</ref><ref>Davis, Ralph (March 22, 1950). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-UsbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L0sEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1703%2C6798287 "Plan to Cut Trick Homers is Sensible: Fandom Tires of Freak Four-Baggers, Which Have Robbed One of Game's Features of Its Most Pronounced Thrill"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. "President Barney Dreyfuss has always been opposed to freak homers. He hesitated for a long time about increasing his seating capacity by encroaching on his playing area. He finally did it, because everyone else was doing it. But he is said to have regretted the move after it was made, and now has offset it by ordering a screen in front of the right field stands." Retrieved April 20, 2018.</ref><ref>Wertenbach, Fred (May 24, 1930). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pRkhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OUsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6490%2C2008537&dq=robbed-new-screen "Bucs Beat Cubs; Ens Shifts Line-Up; Comorosky Going Back to Old Post"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. "Wilson was robbed of his thirteenth homer when his drive crashed into the new screen in right and went for a double in the sixth." Retrieved April 20, 2018.</ref>

Even at this long distance from home plate, the fence stood {{convert|12|ft|m}} in height in left and center fields, with the new right field wall reduced to {{convert|9.5|ft|m}} following the 1925 construction (later topped by the screen).<ref name=Ball52/> The [[Baseball field#Home base|backstop]] was set at {{convert|110|ft|m}} behind home plate, larger than the average of {{convert|60|ft|m}} in most stadiums of the time. Additional seating eventually cut down the plate-to-screen distance to a still larger-than-average {{convert|75|ft|m}}.<ref name=Dia90/>

With such a large outfield space, [[Triple (baseball)|triples]] and [[inside-the-park home run]]s were common. The Pirates hit a record eight triples in a single game, on May 30, 1925.<ref name=Ball53/> Conversely, the stadium was one of the most difficult to hit over-the-fence home runs.<ref name=Dia90/> The closeness of the right field line from 1925 onward was the only area that compromised Dreyfuss' original design concept. Even at that, the right field wall angled sharply out to {{convert|375|ft|m}}, a typical distance for a major league power alley. [[Babe Ruth]] hit the final three home runs of his career in Forbes Field on May 25, 1935; the third of these cleared the {{convert|89|ft|m|adj=on}} right field roof and was considered the longest home run in the park's history.<ref name=Dia90/>

The last major change to the outfield came in 1946, when the fence in left and center was replaced by a brick wall.[Pittsburgh ''Press'', December 2, 1945, p.&nbsp;36] The fence had been painted green, while the bricks were of a reddish color. Ivy was planted at the base of the new wall, restoring the green background enjoyed by batters.[Pittsburgh ''Sun-Telegraph'', April 21, 1946, p.&nbsp;21]

Although Forbes Field developed a reputation as a "pitcher-friendly" ballpark, there was never a [[no-hitter]] thrown in the more than 4,700&nbsp;games at the stadium.<ref name=FF226/><ref name=Bucs176/>

The field itself consisted of natural grass grown in [[Crestline, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Talented 1909 Pirates Started New Era of Baseball|first=Robert|last=Dvorchak|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09095/960753-63.stm|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=April 5, 2009|access-date=April 5, 2009}}</ref>
{{Quote box
 | quote  ="There wasn't much flubdubber. You just got a ballgame. If you didn't like it, you could stay home."
 | source = —Art McKennan, PA announcer<ref name=Bucs176/>
 | width  =25%
 | align  =left
 | style  =padding:8px;
}}

Until 1942, Forbes Field's batting cage, when not in use, was stored on the field, in front of the stands directly behind home plate,<ref>Thorn, John; Palmer, Pete (1993). [https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22batting+cage%22+%22behind+home+plate%22+%22forbes+field%22+intitle:Total+intitle:Baseball&num=10 ''Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball'']. New York, NY : HarperPerennial. p. 138.</ref> a bare-bones but viable solution rendered obsolete by the introduction that season of a new, considerably larger cage. During that season and part of 1943, the new cage resided in foul territory, down the right field line, near the Pirates' bullpen.<ref name="FFBC2RF">Biederman, Les. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M1IbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fkwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3574%2C3561874&dq=new-batting-cage-cost-contraption-huge-parked-front-bull-pen-ball-struck-stopped "The Scoreboard"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. April 20, 1942. Retrieved May 28, 2019.</ref> At some point prior to July 26, 1943, evidently prompted by numerous instances of the relocated cage continuing to impact balls in play,<ref name="FFBC2RF"/><ref>Biederman, Les. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bgkeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=q0wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6521%2C5513717&dq=fletcher-doubled-cage-right "Bucco Heintzelman Baffles Braves, 3-0; Ken Allows Boston Only Three Hits"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. July 19, 1942. Retrieved May 28, 2019.</ref><ref>Boyle, Havey. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qcMwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_GkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3802%2C2819616&dq=barrett-whipped-double-right-field-presence-batting-cage-near-bull-pen-second "Pirates Given Approval of Fans"]. ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. April 28, 1943. Retrieved May 28, 2019.</ref> the Pirates finally settled on what would become its permanent and, by far, best-remembered home: in fair territory, just to the left of the {{convert|457|ft|m|adj=on}} marker in deepest left-center.<ref>Balinger, Edward. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wegnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_WkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5410%2C6015176&dq=olmo-socked-fly-cage "Vaughan's Homer Beats Bucs, 10-6; Arky's Blow Comes With Bases Full; Olmo, DiMag Hit Homers"]. ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. July 27, 1943. Retrieved May 28, 2019.</ref> The open part of the cage faced the wall, its rear effectively serving as a convex fence,<ref name=Buc64/> somewhat akin to that surrounding the base of the light tower standing just to the left (as well as those surrounding the left field and right-center field towers). Unlike the batting cage and the flagpole just to its right, the light towers themselves—as opposed to the aforementioned fences—were not in play;<ref name=GBU102/> a batted ball striking any one of them, or landing inside the surrounding fence, was a home run.<ref>Hernon, Jack. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vQsNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N2oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4963%2C1515411&dq=kiner-down-inside-guard-around-light-tower "Kiner's 13th Brings Bucs Good Luck; Win in 12th by 5-4 After 7-6 Defeat"]. ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. June 12, 1950. Retrieved May 28, 2019.</ref><ref>Finch, Frank. [http://www.mediafire.com/view/4p57y5a2vmjt0az/.png "Are Dodgers Waking Up?"]. ''Los Angeles Times''. June 1, 1964. Retrieved May 28, 2019.</ref><ref>Biederman, Les. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=10sqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xE8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3546%2C3354468&dq=stargell-homer-left-field-light-tower "Bucs' Bats Boom for McBean; Early Punch Stampedes Giants, 10-0"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. April 22, 1968. Retrieved May 28, 2019.</ref><ref>Musick, Phil. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OM8yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DZYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5836%2C3394213&dq=stargell-put-one-against-light-tower-right-center "Bucs' Taylor More Than Just Talk; Carl's Hit Beats Padres, 4-3; Torrid Finish"]. ''The Pittsburgh Press''. July 25, 1969. Retrieved May 28, 2019.</ref>

In 1947, well after Dreyfuss' death, and upon the arrival of veteran slugger [[Hank Greenberg]], the [[bullpen]]s were moved from foul territory to the base of the scoreboard in left field and were fenced in, cutting {{convert|30|ft|m}} from the left field area, from {{convert|365|ft|m}} to {{convert|335|ft|m}} down the line and {{convert|406|ft|m}} to {{convert|376|ft|m}} in left-center field.<ref name=Dia91>{{harvnb|Gershman|1993|p=91|Ref=none}}</ref> These were not abnormal major league outfield distances, but the obvious attempt to take advantage of Greenberg's bat led the media to dub the area "Greenberg Gardens". Greenberg retired after the season, but by then [[Ralph Kiner]] was an established slugger with the Pirates, and the bullpen was redubbed "Kiner's Korner". Kiner was traded after the 1953 season, and the field was restored to its previous configuration in time for the 1954 season.

[[File:Forbes Field about 1963.jpg|thumb|right|Forbes Field circa 1963, as seen from the University of Pittsburgh's [[Cathedral of Learning]]]]

The final posted dimensions of the ballpark were left field line {{convert|365|ft|m}}, left-center field {{convert|406|ft|m}}, deepest left-center {{convert|457|ft|m}}, deep right-center {{convert|436|ft|m}}, right-center field {{convert|375|ft|m}}, and right field line {{convert|300|ft|m}}. The only marker in exact straightaway center field was the Barney Dreyfuss monument, which sat on the playing field just in front of the wall. Some sources stated {{convert|442|ft|m}} as the distance to straightaway center. Some sources also stated {{convert|408|ft|m}} as a right-center distance, to the unmarked point where the center field wall intersected the end of the double-deck stands.

Forbes Field's outfield fences / walls featured no advertising, except a {{convert|32|ft|m|adj=on}} [[United States Marine Corps]] billboard during the 1943&nbsp;season.<ref name=Bucs176/>

The infield developed a "rock-hard" surface throughout the stadium's history.<ref name=Bucs175/> During the final game of the [[1960 World Series]], Yankees [[shortstop]] [[Tony Kubek]] was struck in the throat with a ball that bounced at an unexpected angle off the hard dirt surface, breaking up a potentially rally-killing [[double play]] and causing Kubek to exit the game. Pittsburgh went on to win the game and the championship.<ref name=GBU102/> Groundskeepers burned gasoline on the mound to dry it off.<ref name=Bucs176>{{harvnb|McCollister|1998|p=176|Ref=none}}</ref>