MLB park comparison
Yankee Stadium vs Citi Field: Same Sky, Different Ballpark
By OverUnderWeather Research Desk
New York has two ballparks eight miles apart, sharing the same weather system — and producing different baseball. We lined up 808 games since 2021 at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. The air is the same; the fences are not. Yankee Stadium averages nearly half a home run more per game, every single season.
The short answer
71.5°F vs 71.4°F average game-time temperature, 8.5 mph wind at both. The climate is a wash.
2.74 HR per game at Yankee Stadium vs 2.25 at Citi Field (t ≈ 4.1, clearly significant).
8.70 vs 8.33 runs per game — the gap does not clear significance (t ≈ 1.2).
+0.31 vs the closing total in the Bronx, +0.45 in Queens. The park effect is priced in.
Why this pair is the cleanest comparison in baseball
Most park comparisons are tangled up in weather: Coors Field has altitude, San Francisco has the marine layer, Chicago has the wind. Yankee Stadium and Citi Field strip that variable away. Both are open-air parks in the same city, playing through the same springs, heat waves and Octobers. In our data the average game-time temperature differs by a tenth of a degree and the average wind by a tenth of a mile per hour.
So when one park produces 21% more home runs per game than the other across 808 games, the explanation has to live inside the walls — the dimensions, the sightlines, and the way each building shapes the air that does move through it.
Season by season
| Season | Yankee Stadium (runs / HR) | Citi Field (runs / HR) | HR gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8.41 / 2.70 | 7.25 / 2.10 | +0.60 |
| 2022 | 8.44 / 2.56 | 7.93 / 1.84 | +0.72 |
| 2023 | 8.41 / 2.85 | 8.53 / 2.54 | +0.31 |
| 2024 | 9.21 / 2.79 | 8.84 / 2.40 | +0.39 |
| 2025 | 9.05 / 2.78 | 9.14 / 2.39 | +0.39 |
The home-run gap shows up in all five seasons — the smallest was +0.31 per game in 2023, the largest +0.72 in 2022. Runs tell a looser story: Citi Field actually outscored Yankee Stadium in 2023 and 2025. Home runs are the park effect; total scoring drifts with the rosters.
The buildings, not the sky
Yankee Stadium's right-field line is 314 feet — one of the shortest porches in the majors — and left-handed hitters have aimed at it since the building opened in 2009. Citi Field goes 330 feet down the right-field line with deeper power alleys, and it has played as a pitcher's park since its own fences were brought in before the 2012 season.
Wind is the one weather variable that can differ between the two, because each bowl channels the same regional wind differently. On any given night, check the actual forecast at each park rather than assuming "New York weather" covers both: Yankee Stadium weather and Citi Field weather.
Does the market price it in?
Yes. Across games with a closing total, Yankee Stadium finished +0.31 runs over the number and Citi Field +0.45 — both slightly over, neither meaningfully different from the other or from zero. Oddsmakers set totals park-by-park, so the short porch is already in the price.
Where this comparison is useful is game-day context: a fly-ball pitcher with a lefty-heavy lineup behind him is a different bet in the Bronx than in Queens, and a warm, humid July night lifts carry at both parks equally — as our temperature guide shows.
Related MLB weather guides
Method and sources
All regular-season games at Yankee Stadium (405) and Citi Field (403) from our MLB game conditions data, 2021–2025. Game-time temperature and wind are measured at each park's own coordinates. Differences tested with Welch's t-test; results with |t| under 1.96 are reported as not significant. Home-run gap: +0.48 per game (t ≈ 4.1, p < 0.001, Cohen's d ≈ 0.29). Runs gap: +0.37 (t ≈ 1.2, not significant). Closing totals available for 794 of 808 games. Raw averages, not adjusted for team strength or starting pitchers. Data queried 12 October 2026. By the OverUnderWeather Research Desk.
Where this is applied
These findings feed the game-time read on every MLB venue page, using the same sample-size and significance rules published here.
OverUnderWeather Research Desk
Independent data analysis on public sports and weather records. Studies match historical game outcomes to archived game-window weather, apply pre-set sample and significance rules, and publish null results when that is what the data show. Editorial policy and corrections log.
Cite this research
Free to republish with a visible credit and a link to this page. Ready-made citations below — click to copy.
Frequently asked
Which scores more, Yankee Stadium or Citi Field?
Yankee Stadium, mainly through home runs. Since 2021 it averages 2.74 home runs per game versus 2.25 at Citi Field — a gap of about half a homer per game that is clearly statistically significant (t ≈ 4.1). Total runs are closer: 8.70 versus 8.33, a difference that does not clear the significance bar (t ≈ 1.2).
Is the weather different at the two parks?
Barely. They sit about eight miles apart in the same city, and our game-time data shows it: 71.5°F average at Yankee Stadium versus 71.4°F at Citi Field, with average wind of 8.5 mph at both. That makes the pair a natural control — the scoring gap is about the buildings, not the climate.
Why does Yankee Stadium produce more home runs?
The short right-field porch is the famous reason: 314 feet down the line, one of the shortest in MLB. Citi Field's right field is 330 feet with deeper gaps overall. Left-handed pull hitters gain the most in the Bronx; at Citi Field, fly balls that would be cheap homers at Yankee Stadium tend to stay in play.
Does the home-run gap repeat every year?
Yes. Yankee Stadium produced more home runs per game than Citi Field in all five seasons we checked (2021–2025), ranging from +0.31 per game in 2023 to +0.72 in 2022. Runs, by contrast, flipped: Citi Field actually outscored Yankee Stadium in 2023 and 2025.
Does the betting market price in the difference?
Yes. Games at Yankee Stadium finished an average of +0.31 runs over the closing total and Citi Field +0.45 — both slightly over, with no meaningful gap between them. Totals are already set park-by-park, so knowing Yankee Stadium plays smaller is not, by itself, an edge.
Which park is better to visit?
That depends on what you want. Yankee Stadium is the newer of the two rebuilt classics and leans into monument-park history; Citi Field is widely praised for its food and sightlines. On the field, expect more balls leaving the yard in the Bronx and a more pitcher-friendly night in Queens.