Orioles to Modify Left-Field Wall at Camden Yards for 2025 Season

On Friday, Orioles general manager Mike Elias announced that the team will adjust the left-field wall at Camden Yards ahead of the 2025 season. This change aims to correct issues stemming from the decision to push the wall back before the 2022 campaign. Elias described the latest decision as an effort to find a "happier medium," acknowledging that the new wall won’t be as shallow as the original configuration but also not as deep as the current setup.

The redesigned wall will still start at the previous 333-foot mark, just right of the left-field foul pole, and move back at an angle to the 373-foot crevice. However, beyond that point, the wall will be pulled in at varying distances between 9 and 20 feet. Instead of the former 384 and 398-foot depths, the deepest parts will now be 374 and 376 feet. Additionally, the wall’s height will be reduced from 13 feet to 8 feet in some areas and 6 feet, 11 inches in others.

No seating will be affected, and no new seats will be added between the two walls. The only new structure occupying that gap will be a raised platform for “Mr. Splash,” the Orioles’ chief hydration officer, who sprays fans in Section 86 with a hose as part of the “Bird Bath” area.

“Our hope is that by pulling the dimensions in a little bit—some areas as much as 20 feet, others more like 11 feet, and as little as 9 feet—we will achieve a neutral playing environment. This will support a balanced style of play at a park that was overly homer-friendly before our changes in 2022. It’s now a little overly skewed given what we did back then,” Elias explained.

Camden Yards was known as a hitters’ paradise from its opening in 1992 until the original dimensions were changed in 2021. No MLB ballpark saw more home runs than the 1,140 hit at Camden from 2017-21. Statcast data reveals that 196 home runs hit at Camden Yards from 2018-21 would not have cleared the fences with the dimensions used from 2022 through 2024.

While the Orioles sought a more pitcher-friendly ballpark, the results were more extreme than anticipated. Statcast reports that 138 home runs were lost over the past three seasons—72 by Orioles players and 65 by opponents. Many fly balls hit to left field at Camden Yards during this period would have been home runs in every other MLB ballpark, with social media often highlighting those that would have cleared the fence at 29 of the 30 parks—everywhere except Baltimore.

​As the Orioles look to achieve a more balanced playing environment, fans can anticipate a different dynamic at Camden Yards in the 2025 season.