Can We Please End This Nonsense About Citizens Bank Park Being A Bandbox?

The Marlins poll question for the day:

"How would you classify CBP?"

A. Bandbox
B. Cozy
C. Hitter Friendly."

To which my answer would be D. Neutral.

"Oooh, oooh, Justin, but didn't you hear John Smoltz and the Marlins announcers and everyone else in the mainstream media?! Citizens Bank Park is such a bandbox!"

I hate to break this to you, I am sorry, but your heroes in the mainstream media are wrong. Citizens Bank Park is not a bandbox.

I invite you to play around with ESPN's Park Factors chart and see this for yourself. Compare it to the likes of Coors Field, Rangers Ballpark, AT&T Park, Petco Park, and Dodgers Stadium. Feel free to go back a few years and look at the long term trends. This is not a 1-year aberration. Here is a further analysis of this from October 2010.

It may seem unbelievable, but it is true. Citizens Bank Park is a neutral Major League Baseball park. Believe it, Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton, it is true. CBP is neutral. Now go find another lie to feed your audience as fact.