The Princess and St. Pete Pitcher’s Mound

Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images On Wednesday night, for the second time in two days, the pitcher’s mound at Tropicana Field became the star of the World Series. Jacob Misiorowski, he of the 6-foot-7 frame and 7-foot-6 extension, was having trouble finding purchase with his front foot when he finished his absurdly long stride. On Tuesday night, Cam Booser, whose extension is not far from average, had suffered similar difficulties in the 11th inning of Game 4, so on back-to-back nights, we the baseball viewing public were treated to the sight of emergency mound repairs, replete with tamps and buckets of clay. After Tuesday night’s difficulties, the broadcast made sure to be prepared to talk about the mound during Game 5, which the Brewers won, 4-1, to secure their first World Series in franchise history. One mound story came ready-made: Some players believe the pitching mound to be higher at Tropicana Field than at other ballparks. This is an easy thing to check. I’m going to run the numbers, but let’s start at the beginning. You might have heard that assertion before. Alex Speier wrote about it in the Boston Globe in 2021. He noted that certain pitchers were credited with more extension at the Trop than in other ballparks, though he also raised the possibility that the difference was the result of some sort of calibration error, as 2021 was the first full season after Statcast switched tracking systems from Trackman to Hawk-Eye. Just last year, Chris Bassitt told The Athletic that Tampa Bay’s higher mound somehow increases his spin rate. Clearly, this narrative has taken hold around the league. None of us knows how often Major League Baseball is sending somebody out to measure each mound with a ruler, a protractor, and a plumb bob to make sure that each mound adheres perfectly to the rulebook specifications.FanGraphs Playoff Coverage Is for MembersYou must be a Member in order to read our postseason coverage. You can read our announcement here, but it's not the only reason you should consider becoming a Member. Membership includes:✓Ad-free browsing✓Unlimited FanGraphs & RotoGraphs articles✓Historical & platoon projections✓Leaderboard & player-page stat heatmaps✓One-click data exports✓Customizable player-page dashboards✓Dark & Classic site modes✓Weekly Members-only mailbag✓FanGraphs Walk-Off, your year in review✓Optional homepage photo removal✓Gift articles to non-Members✓Full postseason coverage