Okay, folks, buckle up. Been seein’ a lotta talk online about Wrigley Field’s wind and how it supposedly wins or loses games. Figured, hell, I ain’t sittin’ on the couch guessin’ – let’s go poke the bear myself. Grabbed my notebook, a cheap little handheld anemometer (fancy word for wind meter, cost me maybe twenty bucks off the interwebs), some snacks, and headed out to catch a buncha Cubbies games this season. Wanted to see with my own eyes what that wind really does.
Step One: Just Showin’ Up & Payin’ Attention
Didn’t overcomplicate the start. Went to games – day games, night games, sunny days, cloudy ones. Sat all over that old park. Bleachers, behind home plate, way up in the upper deck. First thing? Just watched. Looked at the flags flyin’ on the roof. Noticed how the hot dog wrappers blew around. Honestly? People make it sound like the wind always blows out, helpin’ hitters hit bombs. That ain’t even close to true.
Saw days where that flag was stiff as a board, pointin’ straight out towards centerfield – the famous “wind blowing out” you hear about on TV. Felt it pushin’ at ya. Saw other days, though? Dead calm. Nothin’. Air was heavy. Then there were days the wind was howlin’ straight in from the lake, right into the batter’s face. Brutal for hitters. You could practically see the balls dying.
Step Two: Gettin’ My Hands Dirty (Well, Windy)
Okay, time for my fancy gadget. During games, started takin’ readings. Not every single pitch, that’s nuts. But multiple times an inning, especially when somethin’ big was happenin’. Wrote down:
- Where I was sittin’ (Section, Row, Facing direction)
- What the flag was doin’ (Flapping lazy, whippin’ around, straight out, straight in)
- The cheap wind meter’s speed (usually in miles per hour)
- The direction it told me (Compass points)
- What the heck just happened in the game? Big fly ball? Ground ball single? Strikeout?
Also started checkin’ the stadium’s official scoreboard sign. Y’know, the one that shows the wind speed and direction? Kept tabs on what it said vs. what I felt/saw.
Step Three: Hittin’ Snags & Real Life
Got rained out one time – total wash. Another time, my cheap wind meter’s battery died in the bottom of the 5th like a chump. Had to eyeball it the rest of the game. Wind is sneaky, too. It ain’t steady. It gusts. It swirls inside the stadium. That simple reading on the scoreboard? Might say “6 MPH Out,” but where I was sitting? Maybe a weird gust made it feel different.
Saw balls that everyone in the park knew were gone when they left the bat… just die out near the warning track on those wind-blowing-in days. Saw lazy fly balls that had no business goin’ anywhere… catch a ride on a big gust out and sneak over the wall for a homer. Couldn’t predict it just from the damn scoreboard.
The Big “A-Ha!” (More Like a “Huh…”)
So, people ask, does the wind direction change baseball games? Hell yes, it absolutely does. But here’s the kicker – it ain’t simple, and it ain’t always the way you think.
That “wind blowing out” setup everyone talks about? Sure, sometimes it leads to a home run derby. But I saw plenty of those days where nothing happened because pitchers pitched smarter, kept the ball down. And that “wind blowing in” everyone thinks kills offense? Yeah, it kills homers… but it actually helps offense sometimes! How? Line drives and hard ground balls – the wind holdin’ up flies means those shots skip through the infield quicker for singles and doubles.
My main takeaway? Watchin’ the flag or the scoreboard gives you a clue, but it ain’t fate. The wind is a player in the game – wild, unpredictable, messin’ with pitchers, hitters, and outfielders. A stiff wind blowing out doesn’t guarantee homers any more than wind blowing in guarantees a pitcher’s duel. Seen too much proof contradicting that.
Why Bother, Then?
Honestly? Just wanted to know. Everyone has an opinion, right? Figured grab my cheap wind meter, spend some afternoons in the sunshine (and freezing my butt off during one makeup game), and just see. Ended up learning the most from the times the wind did somethin’ unexpected – reminding me you can’t capture every little gust or swirl. That’s baseball at Wrigley. Chaotic beauty.
So next time you hear someone say “Wind’s blowing out at Wrigley, gonna be a slugfest!” – nod. But remember, it ain’t that easy. Seen too many broken bats and warning track fly-outs on “wind out” days to buy it wholesale. Sometimes the wind shows up to party. Sometimes it just sits there. And sometimes it plays favorites. Best you can do is watch it blow and see what happens. That’s the messy truth.
