Does "home field advantage" really play a role in the World Series?

[TZ]

I'm trying to remember a series when this was a factor. Maybe the Twins victory in 1991? Really to me, in baseball, home field advantage is not a big thing. There are a lot of teams (some of whom are pretty good--I'm looking at you Philadelphia) who actually have better road records.
What say you?

[cboy4]

1. Since most of the better teams have, well, better home records .. it's

logical that home field advantage is helpful in the postseason.

Who knows what would have happened had Game 7 in 2002 been in San Francisco instead of Anaheim.

So yes, I think home field is important, taking all things into account.

Thanks Charlie Manuel .. you buffoon

[Auggie]

2. Depends on a few factors

I don't think it does in a short series, particularly when two of the best teams in baseball play each other in equal settings.
However, certain ballpark configurations and how the ball can carry may favor one roster over the other. Some players excel in cool weather, some in warm. Dome versus open air. That sort of thing.

On edit: And midges. I forgot about midges.

[TZ]

4. I forgot about the midges...

:rofl:

[inthebrain]

3. It does and it doesn't

It has a negative impact on east coast teams when they have to travel out west. There was a study don't years ago on Circadian rhythms and what ball players go through.

[cboy4]

5. Oh brother

More East Coast bias whining.

[Auggie]

7. Here's the study:

Major League Baseball Teams With Greater Circadian Advantage Are More Likely To Succeed

ScienceDaily (June 10, 2008) — The magnitude of circadian advantage influences the outcome of Major League Baseball (MLB) games in that teams with greater circadian advantage are more likely to win, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 10 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

Using the convention that for every time zone crossed, synchronization requires one day, teams were assigned a daily number indicating the number of days away the team was from resynchronization. Positive values indicate eastward travel, negative values westward, and a value of zero indicate synchronization with the current time zone.

Approximately 79.1 percent of the games analyzed (19,084 of 24,133 games) were played between teams at equal circadian times. The remaining 5,046 games featured teams with different circadian times. In these games, the team with the circadian advantage won 2,621 games (51.9 percent). However, 3,681 of these 5,046 games were also played with a home field advantage. In isolating games in which the away team held the circadian advantage (1,365 games), the away team won 619 games (45.3 percent).

"The magnitude of circadian advantage influenced success. When teams held a one-hour circadian advantage, winning percentage was 0.517, and winning percentage with a two-hour advantage was 0.517. When teams held a three-hour circadian advantage, winning percentage increased to 0.603," said W. Christopher Winter, MD, of Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, lead author of the study.

LINK: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080610072050.htm

[cboy4]

9. Inthebrain should try a red eye flight from California to New York some time.

There's a reason why all of the stars -- who've flown overnight from LA to NY -- mention they're tired on Letterman.

[El Supremo]

6. Jet lag is worse when you fly east.

You lose hours rather than gain.

[cboy4]

8. +1

Obviously the OP is not experienced with the jet lag effects of flying from the Pacific and Mountain time zones (when applicable in Arizona), to the east.

[TZ]

10. I am actually.

However, my OBSERVATIONS (just that) is that jet lag fatigue plays a much bigger role in football than baseball.

[cboy4]

11. And you should know .. I mean, think about all of those years you spent

playing in the NFL compared to your limited time in the National League.

[TZ]

12. Dude

Just look at the Arizona Cardinals last year. They end up in the SB but did not win ONE game in the East. Please name the last WS contender that never won on an East coast trip that year