A Pitcher's Park? Don't Tell Griffey

True or false: Mariner slugger Ken Griffey Jr. has hit more home runs at the Kingdome this season than at Safeco Field.

False.

Mariner hitters, who lead the majors in home runs with 231, have hit more home runs than their opponents in the 39 games played at Safeco.

False again.

The Mariners' new home has been a springboard to a much-improved home record.

Well, that's sorta true.

Indeed, the Mariners have won one more game in their new playground (21-18) than they did at the Kingdome (20-19). It amounts to a $517 million victory.

Those are some of the statistical quirks that can be drawn in comparing the two home parks. The Mariners have now played 39 games in each ballpark, so comparisons can be made on an equal basis. Beyond the anomalies, what you find is they are not equal.

"To me, it's (Safeco) the best park for pitchers that I've ever seen," shortstop Alex Rodriguez said. "I'm sure Yankee Stadium in the 1930s with those gaps would have something to say about that. But here the ball just hangs up in the air."

Fly balls have been held within the park by the wind and heavy marine air -no question, many more than the Kingdome. But that's the vagaries of playing outdoors, made even more statistically dramatic coming immediately from the homer-friendly ballpark across Royal Brougham Way. The Mariners hit 75 home runs in the 39 games at the Kingdome and just 44 at Safeco. Opponent numbers are down as well: 59 at the Kingdome and 44 at Safeco.

But Griffey has not suffered. He has hit 14 at Safeco compared to 13 at the Kingdome. Rodriguez has hit 13 at Safeco compared to seven at the Kingdome, although he played fewer games there because of injuries. The big boys can bash anywhere.

"That's the way it should be," pitcher Jamie Moyer said. "If you hit the ball well, you should be rewarded. Take the ego out of it. A home run is a home run whether it's in the front row or 25th row. You still get to trot around the bases."

For those atypical home-run hitters, it's a challenge, which again is perhaps the way it should be. David Bell, for example, hit 10 home runs at the Kingdome, but he has just two at Safeco in the same number of games.

"Guys hit it to right (opposite) field in the Kingdome and it's against the wall or over it," Manager Lou Piniella said. "In this park, it doesn't play. That's a fly ball to the warning track. It's more like Dodger Stadium. You're not going to get the cheap home run. You have to hit the ball."

Just like most outdoor parks, strikeouts and fly outs are generally non-productive.

"That's why (line-drive hitter) Edgar (Martinez) has flourished here," Piniella said.

Martinez has made a run at his third batting title because Safeco has accommodated his stroke. He's hitting .390 at Safeco, as opposed to .324 at the Kingdome. But like most hitters, he doesn't like the place, mainly because his power numbers have been reduced (10 home runs to two), and it takes a major effort to see the ball during day games.

"It's not a hitter's heaven," Martinez said this week. "Hitters will not be crazy about staying here, but, to me, if the team is good, that becomes secondary."

The players say some kind of adjustment needs to be made in the hitting background because of the sun glare coming off the center-field scoreboard. Also, the club, which is tracking the flights of all fly balls, might consider adjusting the fences next season to appease the hitters.

"I think the fences are fine," Rodriguez said. "In fact, move them back if that's what will bring even more pitchers here. It doesn't make a difference. You know as a player your stats are going to suffer here, but if that leads to victories, we can play without fences."

That might be somewhat disingenuous since Rodriguez has complained about the atmospheric and spacial conditions, but it's a fact that the park has improved the pitching. On both sides.

The Mariner ERA went from 6.67 at the Kingdome to 4.07 at Safeco. Opponent batting average has had the widest disparity, .324 to .253. But the Mariner batting average is down from .297 to .251 in the transition, so the opposing pitchers are getting outs as well.

"On the whole, the pitching staff has pitched well in the second half, whether that's here or on the road," Moyer said. "I don't think you can argue with that."

The Mariner road ERA dropped from 5.43 to 4.91 in the second half.

"(But) I do think the ballpark comes into play," he said. "Pitches that tied someone up might get out in the Kingdome, but not here."

Raw numbers do not reflect everything.

The Mariner offense has declined in the second half overall, even on the road, so the park is not necessarily responsible. Also, data have not been entered from the cold, windy early season months, which may make it a totally different park. No one knows yet.

"You can interpret those numbers any way you want. You can go in a lot of different directions," Moyer said. "Look at some teams coming in here. It doesn't make a difference for Kansas City (Royals hit .350 in three games here this week).

"To a certain extent, yeah, the ballpark works in our favor. But pitchers have had success there (in the Kingdome), too. Like anywhere, you have to keep the ball down, whether that's here, the Kingdome, Wrigley, Colorado, Baltimore or Philadelphia."

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. SAFECO VS. DOME.

. Yardstick .

. The Mariners have played 39 games at Safeco Field, the same number they played at the Kingdome this season. Comparing their performance at the two stadiums:

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Kingdome Safeco Field . OVERALL . Record 20-19 21-18 . Attendance (avg.) 28,213 43,162 . TEAM HITTING . Runs scored 268 176 . Hits 404 318 . Home runs 75 44 . Stolen bases 25 38 . Batting avg. .297 .251 . TEAM PITCHING . Hits allowed 472 339 . Home runs 59 44 . Walks 167 153 . Strikeouts 240 260 . Earned-run av 6.67 4.07 .

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. Cracking The Safe .

. Believe it or not, Ken Griffey Jr. is hitting home runs at a better clip at Safeco than he did at the Kingdome in any of the past four seasons. A quick recap:

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AB HR AB/HR . 1996 Kingdome 270 26 10.4 . 1997 Kingdome 289 27 10.7 . 1998 Kingdome 315 30 10.5 . 1999 Kingdome 144 13 11.1 . 1999 Safeco Field 141 14 10.1 .

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M'S INSIDE AND OUT.

The Mariners have played 39 games at Safeco Field, 39 at the Kingdome this season. The numbers favor the pitchers at Safeco:

Kingdome Safeco . Hitting . Average .297 .251 . Runs 268 176 . Hits 404 318 . Doubles 83 54 . Triples 4 2 . Home runs 75 44 . RBI 260 169 .

. Pitching . ERA 6.67 4.08 . Strikeouts 240 260 . Walks 167 153 . Saves 9 10 . Complete games 0 5 . HR allowed 59 44 . Opp avg. .324 .253 .

. Fielding . Errors 23 21 .

. Miscellaneous . Combined 5 runs or fewer 1 (1-0) 12 (6-6) . One-run decisions 3 (2-1) 12 (7-5) . Sellouts 1 26 . Avg. time of game 3:04 3:02 . Comeback wins 9 11 . Last at-bat wins 4-1 8-2 . Vs. RH starter 17-14 16-13 . Vs. LH starter 3-5 5-5 .

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. KEY HITTERS (HR / BA) . David Bell 9 / .283 2 / .245 . Jay Buhner # 2 / .260 3 / .160 . Russ Davis 10 / .273 2 / .305 . Ken Griffey Jr. 13 / .299 14 / .291 . Brian Hunter 0 / .263 0 / .135 . Edgar Martinez 9 / .324 2 / .390 . Alex Rodriguez # 7 / .299 13 /.281 . Dan Wilson 2 / .364 1 / .222 . Rest of team 23 / .296 7 / .219 .

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. KEY PITCHERS (W-L / ERA) . Freddy Garcia 6-4 / 5.54 4-1 / 2.08 . John Halama 3-1 / 2.77 2-4 / 4.97 . Jose Mesa 0-1 / 12.06 2-2 / 4.70 . Jamie Moyer 4-3 / 5.59 4-2 / 2.52 . Rest of team 7-10 / 7.69 9-9 / 4.93 .

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# injuries limited Rodriguez to 23 games at Kingdome, Buhner 16.