Area of fair territory: 110,000 sq. ft.

Area of foul territory: Humongous

Fences: LF to RC - 8.5 feet

            RF - 17.5 feet

Elevation: 20 feet

Who Plays Here: San Diego Padres (NL); San Diego Chargers (NFL)
First Opened: August 20, 1967
First Padres game: April 8, 1969

Playing Surface: Santa Ana Bermuda grass
Capacity: 50,000 (1967); 44,790 (1973); 47,634 (1974); 47,491 (1976); 48,460 (1977); 51,362 (1979); 48,443 (1980); 51,362 (1981); 51,319 (1983); 58,671 (1984); 58,433 (1986); 59,022 (1990); 59,254 (1991); 59,700 (1992); 67,544 (1997, baseball).

Architect: Frank L. Hope and Associates
Construction: n/a
Owner: City of San Diego.
Cost: 27.75 million (1967).
Lease: Padres lease expires after the 1999 season.

History

   The San Diego Padres were born in 1969, and ever since they have been housed at Qualcomm.  Of course, back then it was known as San Diego Stadium.  The stadium was renamed in 1981 to honor the late San Diego Union sports writer Jack Murphy, who initiated the metamorphosis of San Diego from a navy outpost to a world sports center by first convincing hotel magnate Barron Hilton to move his Chargers Football Team from their home at the Los Angeles Coliseum to San Diego.  

   Murphy then led the charge to construct a world-class stadium in San Diego.  In 1965, a referendum to raise $27.75 million to build the stadium was supported by 72 percent of the voters in San Diego.  The local architect selected to design the stadium, Frank L. Hope and Associates, had never designed a stadium before.  Yet in 1969 San Diego Stadium became the only stadium to win the First Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects.  The Hope firm also received a commendation award from Governor Ronald Reagan.

   This is a premier multi-purpose facility, hosting a variety of concerts, soccer matches, and annual C.I.F. high school football championship.  It also serves as home of the San Diego Chargers.   In 1984, the Stadium was expanded to a capacity of nearly 61,000 and it also added 50 luxury suites. In 1997, the Stadium was renamed from San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium to Qualcomm Stadium after Qualcomm, a local San Diego Telecommunications Company, agreed to pay the City $18 million to complete a major expansion. Qualcomm has the naming rights until the year 2017. The 1997 expansion include the following: 10,500 seats were added bringing the total seating capacity to 71,500; 34 suites added for a total of 113; Club Level seating added with 4 lounges; upgraded food service; two new video screens and a practice facility for the Chargers. The Stadium is home to the San Diego Chargers of the NFL, the San Diego Padres of National League Baseball, and college football’s San Diego State University Aztecs. The Holiday Bowl, one of college football’s premier postseason bowl games, also takes place at the stadium each year.

   The Padres will be leaving the Q in 2002, when they are scheduled to move into their new stadium which was approved on November 4, 1998. The Q now seats 66,307 for baseball, and has drawn the single largest crowd in all of Major League Baseball in each of the last four seasons, including a record crowd of 65,427 for Game 4 of the World Series against New York.

Analysis

   The prototype for multi-purpose facilities, this is not really a ballpark.  The massive amount of foul territory behind the plate puts pop ups in play, and creates more than a few uninteresting outs that would go into the stands in almost any other park.  The park suppressed runs more effectively than any other ballpark in the majors from 1998 to 2001 - that's a little surprising, because the warm desert air should help the ball carry and the dimensions aren't huge.  In fact, with 370-foot alleys and a 405-foot shot to center, they are about average.

   So what gives?  Well, apparently the ball doesn't carry well here; a few years ago, the Q wasn't a terribly difficult park to homer out of, but the last three or four years have been brutal.  In addition, the park has always been tough on run production - if the ball stays in the park, it is more likely to get turned into an out than any other ballpark.  Perhaps it is a result of the park's poor visibility - hitters have trouble seeing the ball cleanly - or subpar lighting.

   Also, much to a batter's chagrin, the foul territory is huge - behind the plate and around the infield, no ballpark in the majors can match it.  Down the foul lines, the amount of foul area is much lower; in fact, at some points the stands jut out towards fair territory, obstructing the outfielders from making clean runs at the ball.

Defense: The fast infield plays almost as quick as artificial turf - without reducing the number of bad hops.  It's amazing that more errors aren't committed in the infield.  The outfield is fairly easy to play, with modest dimensions and good grass.  Left field at the Q is very difficult because of the sun, which during day games interferes with the left fielder's sightlines.  At night, the low light standards' glare interferes with all but the most towering fly balls.  The bullpens are in play, partially hidden from the home plate by a section of the stands that juts out into foul territory.

© 2001 STATS, Inc.

Who benefits: Pitchers, almost without exception but especially those who induce flyballs.  The ballpark also favors right-handed hitters, because in 1996 a 17.5-foot wall was erected in right.

     Power pitchers gain an edge due to the park's poor visibility.  Bobby Jones had a 4.20 ERA at home and 6.11 ERA on the road; Kevin Jarvis had a home ERA more than a run better than his road ERA.  The two non-power ptichers in the Padres rotation - Brian Tollberg and Brian Lawrence - did better on the road; Lawrence was 5-1 on the road, with a 2.78 ERA, but 0-4 at home with a 4.07 ERA, while Tollberg posted roughly even home-road numbers.

Who gets hurt: Hitters, basically.  Left-handed power hitters seem to have more trouble than righties in reaching the fences.  Ryan Klesko, for instance hit .242 at home and .326 on the road, though he split his 30 HR evenly between home and road games.  Phil Nevin and Mark Kotsay were the only regulars who didn't post significantly negative home-road splits: Klesko, Rickey Henderson, Ray Lankford, D'Angelo Jimenez, Mike Darr, Ben Davis and Wiki Gonzalez all hit worse at home than on the road.

Park Factors

Location

San Diego, CA. The left field side is at 9449 Friars Road; it faces north.  The third base side (W) borders Stadium Way and a quarry; the first base side (S) edges on the San Diego River, Camino del Rio North, and Interstate 8; finally, the right field (E) borders on Interstate 15.

Seating Chart

Dimensions - History

Left field: 330 (1969), 327 (1982)

Power alleys: 375 (1969), 370 (1982)

Center field: 420 (1969), 410 (1973), 420 (1978), 405 (1982)

Right field: 330 (1969), 327 (1982), 330 (1996)

Backstop: 80 (1969), 75 (1982).

Fences

Left field: 17.5 feet (concrete, 1969), 9 (line painted on concrete, 1973), 18 (concrete, 1974), 8.5 (canvas, 1982)

Center field: 17.5 feet (concrete, 1969), 10 (wood, 1973), 18 (concrete, 1978), 8.5 (canvas, 1982)

Right field: 17.5 (concrete, 1969), 9 (line painted on concrete, 1973), 18 (concrete, 1974), 8.5 (canvas, 1982)

Center field: 17.5 (concrete, 1969), 10 (wood, 1973), 18 (concrete, 1978), 8.5 (canvas, 1982), 

One section in right-center: 9 (canvas, 1982), 17.5 (concrete with scoreboard in front, 1996).

Fun Facts

• Lowest run factor in majors in 1998, 2001
• Lowest hit, batting average, RHB batting average, and double factors in NL in 2001
• Second lowest hit, batting average, and run factors in NL in 2000
• Lowest hit, batting average, and run factors in NL in 1998
• Lowest walk factor in NL in 2000

• The right-center scoreboard which stood directly behind the right-center seats was so hot that fans there felt the heat on their backs.
• The only park where the bullpen dirt area touches the foul lines
• The only park where a foul ball can be caught out of sight of all umpires and most players, in either bullpen near the foul poles.
• Site of Willie Mays’ 600th homer, on September 22, 1969, off Mike Corkins.
• Lou Brock became the majors’ all-time stolen base leader here on August 29, 1977.
• Orel Hershiser broke Don Drysdale’s record for most consecutive shutout innings (58) here on September 28, 1988.
• Pittsburgh’s Dock Ellis pitched Jack Murphy Stadium's only no-hitter on June 12, 1970.