The Mets announcers were in high dudgeon the last two nights over the hill in Minute Maid Field — comparing it to a mini golf obstacle — after Timo Perez almost got hurt chasing a fly ball up the hill. Ted Robinson compared it to the old Crosley Field in Cincinnati, which had a slight incline in center. But the better analogy is to Duffy’s Cliff. As MLB’s Red Sox site explains:
What was Duffy’s Cliff?
From 1912 to 1933, there was a 10-foot-high mound that formed an incline in front of the left field wall at Fenway park, extending from the left-field foul pole to the centerfield flag pole. As a result of the mound, a left fielder in Fenway Park had to play the entire territory running uphill. Boston’s first star left fielder, Duffy Lewis, mastered the skill so well that the area became known as Duffy’s Cliff.
In 1934, Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey arranged to flatten the ground in left field so that Duffy’s Cliff no longer existed and became part of the lore of Fenway Park.
Out on Cape Cod when I was in college we met an old man who remembered Duffy’s Cliff; he said it was really quite a hill to have to scale on the fly. Must’ve been quite a sight.
3 thoughts on “Duffy’s Cliff”
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Legend has it that the Polo Grounds had a pretty significant downgrade from the infield towards the outfield walls.
Coaches sitting in the dugout could only see the their outfielders from the belt up.
I actually like the hill out there. Adds a little personality to the field. I remember watching an ESPN game Phillies @ Houston, and they had Randy Wolf miced. Craig Biggio was running down a deep fly out there, and Wolf saw him get to the hill and started yelling “Fall on the hill! Fall on the hill!”
Biggio fell on the hill, and (I think it was) Placido Polanco got a triple.
Biggio fell on the hill again last week in a game.
Maybe we should call it Biggio’s Bane Bluff.
A doubleheader was played at the polo groundnew york,on may ,12,1962 between new york mets and milwaukee braves .I would to see the stats and box score
I would like to have the box scores for the doubleheader played between the new york mets &Milwaukee braves at the polo grounds may,12 1962—-I was in attendance that day -Thank you–