Buffalo’s Sahlen Field brings a new experience for Astros

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Blue Jays haven’t been in their new home long, so the first thing Astros manager Dusty Baker did when he arrived at Sahlen Field on Friday was a little bit of housekeeping.

The Blue Jays are still prohibited from playing in Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic and thus spent the first part of this season playing in Florida before moving June 1 to Sahlen Field, which also served as their home throughout the 2020 season.

The Astros, however, did not face the Blue Jays in 2020 and have never played at the ballpark, which normally houses the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. While a handful of active Astros have played at Sahlen Field at some point during their minor league careers — Jake Odorizzi, Ryan Pressly, Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley and Joe Smith — the majority have not.

So Baker did his due diligence Friday, patrolling the outfield and scouting everything from shadows to angles.

“I marked out the steps and talked to (left fielder Chas) McCormick and especially the younger guys about how far they had to go to the warning track, like how big the warning track is,” he said. “So I stepped it out. I think it’s like six walking steps so running it would probably be four to five, and it’s a pretty big warning track. But the dimensions are very hitter-friendly. It’s in good shape. The field’s in great shape. Also I was looking to see if there was a sun peel, I didn’t see one at this hour. … My coaches hit some in the corners to see if the ball runs or bounces back out for the infielders to go and get it. So just try learn as much about the stadium as you can.”

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Sahlen Field can seat 16,600 people, making it the largest-capacity Triple-A ballpark in the country. According to the MiLB website, the dimensions are 325 feet to left field, 404 feet to center field and 325 feet to right field.

The last time Baker was in Buffalo, he was a member of the visiting Triple-A Richmond Braves in town to play the Buffalo Bisons at since-demolished War Memorial Stadium. The year was 1969.

Baker recalled the harsh northeast weather that once canceled three series in a row in Buffalo. He also recalled the limited sense he got for the local culture.

“I used to go in there to these new towns and look in the phone book and see what the predominant (ethnicity) was, what the predominant churches were, to try and get a beat on where I was,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve never seen names I couldn’t pronounce with as many consonants in it. I was trying to figure out how to pronounce the names and that’s what I remember about coming in here.”

The Astros play a three-game series against the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field, the first of a nine-game, three-city road trip that includes stops in Boston and Minnesota.