RIP ‘Topes Slope: The Last Outfield Hill in MLB

And just like that, the last remaining outfield hill in professional baseball has been leveled out and removed! Gianmarco Castronovo shares the somber details of the end of an era in MLB history:

On September 28, 2022, history was made in professional baseball. But sports writer Gianmarco Castronovo would consider this note to be more of a moment of closure than a historic memory to behold. That’s because following their game on the 28th, the Albuquerque Isotopes said a fond farewell to the hill in their center field: Isotopes Hill. Affectionately nicknamed ‘Topes Slope by both players and fans of the team, the field oddity was beloved… sort of. For the most part, as far as the average sports fan can see it, the occasional outfield hill was an iconic signature of different fields. Although not every team’s home sports the oddity, each hill maintained its own unique and individual unofficial names. Just ask the biggest fan you know! Much like the Boston Red Sox’s Green Monster, these marks in the park are what make “home” stand out for both players and fans. But today, that note for the Isotopes is no more.

The removal of the Isotopes’ Slope marks the final demolition of an outfield hill on a professional baseball field. That’s right: no more of those center field hills exist! Six years prior to this event, the Houston Astros played their last game with Tal’s Hill. Many other teams followed suit after the MLB decided to do away with the design oddity. It is now a facility standard that such hill structures do not exist, across all fields in the sport. Gianmarco Castronovo has discovered that the decision was largely made out of safety concerns. There is a potential for a player to injure himself on an outfield hill, due to the awkward and uneven surface area. While the Isotopes GM John Traub isn’t aware of any career-ending injuries that have occurred on an outfield hill, he can understand the MLB’s desire for safety and uniformity across their fields.