MLB Stadiums’ Biggest Quirks

NBC managed to squeeze in some football around the three-hour episode of "Cribs" on Sunday night as they took us around Cowboy's Stadium for the game between the Cowboys and Giants, and all eyes were on the very much in-play 60-yard HDTV that hangs over much of the field of play.

It turned out to be much ado about nothing. As Cris Collinsworth pointed out during the game, no punts came within 10 feet of Jerry Jones' monument to excess.

The low-riding Jumbotron has become a huge story over the past month because it serves as quite possibly the only in-play obstacle any NFL stadium has had since the goalposts were moved out of the back of the end zone in 1974.

And while an in-play obstacle is a new fad in the NFL (I'd be willing to bet a whole lot of money that owners around the league took note of the headlines that Jones' TV got and we'll see plenty more 85-foot high TVs pop up in new stadiums across the league throughout the next few years), it's nothing new in baseball.

As long as there have been baseball stadiums, there have been obstacles within these stadiums to overcome. Whether it's bullpens in foul territory, flag poles in center field, statues in left field (lest we forget, Monument Park at the old Yankee Stadium was in the field of play until the mid-'70s), and even fans that were allowed to sit in foul and fair territory until the as late as the mid-'50s, in-play obstacles, for better or worse, have always been a part of the game.

Baseball purists will tell you that these obstacles are "just part of what makes baseball great." Anyone with any common sense will tell you that they're just plain weird.

But regardless of which side of the argument you fall on, there's no denying that baseball boasts by far the quirkiest fields of any of the major sports.

Here's a look at some of the most bizarre in-play obstacles in Major League Baseball today:

Tal's Hill in Center Field at Minute Maid Park in Houston

Named after team president Tal Smith, Tal's Hill is exactly what it sounds like: a 90-foot wide, 30-degree slope in dead center field of the park.

Built as an homage to early 20th century baseball fields like Crosley Field that had hills in the outfield, mostly because it was too costly to remove them, Tal's Hill has been openly ridiculed by players and fans alike since the park opened in 2000.

As if the potential for blowing out an ACL on the hill didn't create enough dangerous intrigue in center field, the Astros also decided to put a 125-foot flagpole right on top of the hill in an attempt to add dislocated shoulders and broken noses to the list of unnecessary risks associated with tracking down a fly ball.

Despite an online petition started by fans to have the hill removed, Tal's Hill remains in play at Minute Maid Park, and the Astros say they have no plans to remove the hill any time soon.

The Catwalks at Tropicana Field in Tampa

It breaks down like this: there are four catwalks near the top of the dome that function as part of the support system for the dome itself, as well as provide support for the lighting and speaker systems for the stadium.

The catwalks are labeled A, B, C, and D. There are yellow lines that distinguish where foul territory ends and fair territory begins on said catwalks. Any batted ball that strikes Catwalk A or Catwalk B on the fair territory side of the yellow line is in play, essentially leading to a big game of "500" in the outfield after a ball hits Catwalk A or Catwalk B, in attempt to record an out. If a ball comes to rest in either Catwalk A or Catwalk B, it is ruled a ground rule double. If a batted ball strikes Catwalk C or Catwalk D, regardless of where the ball ends up, it is ruled a home run.

Got all that? Neither does anyone else.

If you happen to be one of the 500 people in attendance at a Rays game and a ball strikes one of the catwalks, head for the concession stands and grab yourself a cold one. Chances are, by the time you get back to your seats, the umpiring crew will still be explaining their ruling to the visiting manager.

The Green Monster in Boston

When Fenway Park was built in 1912, The Wall, as it was known then (it wasn't pained green until 1947), was more functional than decorative. Due to limited space on the land that Fenway Park was built on, The Wall served two purposes: to block the view of non-paying fans at street-level, and to limit the number of "cheap" home runs due to the fact that the wall sits so close to home plate in comparison to other major league parks.

At 37-feet high, the Green Monster is the highest outfield fence in all of Major League Baseball. Balls have been known to take awkward caroms off the hard plastic wall, and a seemingly functionless ladder at the left-center field corner of the wall adds to the general quirkiness of the Monster.

Nearly a century after it was built, the Green Monster now serves yet another function, this time as a cash cow for the Red Sox , with Green Monster tickets going for as much as $200 per seat (and much higher on eBay, especially if the Yankees are in town.).

The Ivy at Wrigley Field

Though the ivy serves as one of the most breathtaking backdrops in all of sports, what lies behind the several inches of Boston Ivy is sheer terror: a solid brick wall. As in, no matter how hard Milton Bradley huffs and puffs, that boy isn't coming down.

Not only does the ivy serve as an obstacle for the players, with several balls per season getting tangled in it resulting in ground rule doubles, but the wall itself serves as one of the true occupational hazards in sports.

There have been several instances of players injuring themselves slamming into the brick wall, which is about as forgiving as Lou Pinella.

No one know for sure why owner Bill Veeck decided to cover the walls with ivy back in 1937, but then again, no one knows why Bill Veeck did a lot of things (Disco Demolition night, anyone?).

All we know is that, much like the entertainment at a bachelor party, the ivy-covered walls are as beautiful as they are dangerous.

But as far as baseball stadium quirks go, I'll take ivy over a catwalk any day.