Possible changes coming to the Astros' Minute Maid Park

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

With new ownership and the move to the AL there are other changes afoot.

One change being considered is the removal of Tal's Hill in deep, deep, deep (the deepest in MLB in fact) center field. Out there in no man's land is a hill and at the top of that hill is the Old Glory flag pole which is in play. I've seen some great plays out there. At one point Michael Bourne went back for a mammoth fly ball, fell back wards, and made the catch while flat on his back, out there over 400 feet from home plate. The flag pole has never been hit, but quite a few center fielders have had to contend with the hill.

Some folks think it's time for it to go, if for no other reason, safety concerns.

Not in play is the train way up above left-center field. It doesn't do much. If there's a home run it toots it's horn and moves forward a few feet, and is then backed up to where it was. The engineer waves to the distant fans and serves as a sort of cheer leader to those who notice him way up there. There are discussions about removing the train. It really has not a thing to do with "Astros" which is supposed to cause people to think of "Astronauts" rather than antique trains.

New uniforms are coming for sure. I'd be glad to see their rainbows come back - one of the most unique uniforms in MLB history.

[Gina Stevenson]

Talking about the colorful uniforms, that it sounds like are returning, I recall the old stadium having colorful tiers that matched the colors in those old uniforms ... they were much more comfortable than the old, old seats in the Tiger Stadium in Detroit (have never seen the new one, having last been at a Tigers game decades ago now.

[Benjamin Burch]

With new ownership and the move to the AL there are other changes afoot.

One change being considered is the removal of Tal's Hill in deep, deep, deep (the deepest in MLB in fact) center field. Out there in no man's land is a hill and at the top of that hill is the Old Glory flag pole which is in play. I've seen some great plays out there. At one point Michael Bourne went back for a mammoth fly ball, fell back wards, and made the catch while flat on his back, out there over 400 feet from home plate. The flag pole has never been hit, but quite a few center fielders have had to contend with the hill.

Some folks think it's time for it to go, if for no other reason, safety concerns.

Not in play is the train way up above left-center field. It doesn't do much. If there's a home run it toots it's horn and moves forward a few feet, and is then backed up to where it was. The engineer waves to the distant fans and serves as a sort of cheer leader to those who notice him way up there. There are discussions about removing the train. It really has not a thing to do with "Astros" which is supposed to cause people to think of "Astronauts" rather than antique trains.

New uniforms are coming for sure. I'd be glad to see their rainbows come back - one of the most unique uniforms in MLB history.

I don't care much about the train. Wouldn't mind seeing it go. The wall is really the beauty of the stadium.

As far as the hill goes, I say keep the hill and ditch the pole. It's one of my favorite parts of any park in baseball. The pole is just dangerous to players, it needs to go.

[Ryan Scott]

If I remember correctly, the train was originally designed to look like it was closing the roof. It's probably not a necessity.

The hill is cool and I think more parks should have unique outfield features (like the Green Monster or Wrigley's Ivy) to make the experience a bit different for visiting players.