Will Pablo Sandoval or Hanley Ramirez Benefit Most from Fenway Park?

When Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez signed with the Boston Red Sox this winter, they didn't just agree to terms with a new club.

They agreed to come to a new stadium, Fenway Park, perhaps the most iconic in baseball (with apologies to a certain ivory-draped facility in the Windy City).

Fenway figures to offer more than history to Sandoval and Ramirez. It should give both hitters, each of whom spent last season in extreme pitchers' parks, an offensive boost. 

AT&T Park, the only MLB home Sandoval has ever known, and Dodger Stadium, where Ramirez toiled for the last two-plus seasons, are No. 25 and No. 27, respectively, on ESPN's list of hitter-friendly yards. Fenway is No. 5.

So now the question: Which player will benefit more from the change of scenery?

This isn't necessarily about who will have a better year overall; half the games are played on the road, remember.

But which of Boston's marquee offseason pickups will find 4 Yawkey Way most to his liking? And, by extension, who will the discerning Red Sox faithful embrace as the toast of Beantown?

Let's take a look.

Pablo Sandoval

Age: 28

Bats: Switch

2014 stat line: 157 G, .279 AVG, .324 OBP, .415 SLG, 16 HR, 111 OPS+

Career at Fenway: N/A

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Sandoval is a switch hitter, but has fared significantly better from the left side over the course of his career, particularly in the power department.

In 2,329 career at-bats as a left-hander against right-handed pitching, Sandoval has hit .304 with 88 home runs. In 883 at-bats as a right-hander, he's hit .270 with only 18 long balls.

Last season his splits were even starker: Sandoval hit .317 with 11 home runs from the left side and a paltry .199 with five home runs from the right side.

Which means, theoretically, he'll be taking aim at Fenway's more daunting right-field corner.

But a glance at Sandoval's spray chart over the last three seasons, per FanGraphs, shows he hits the ball to all fields. 

Fenway, as Cory DiBenedetto of Gammons Daily notes, has yielded the most doubles in MLB since 2008, a full 24 percent more than its nearest competitor, Arizona's Chase Field. Expect Sandoval to exploit the gaps and increase his extra base hits.

What about big flies?

Despite at-times prodigious pop (recall the three home runs he launched in a single World Series game in 2012), Sandoval has cracked the 20-home run plateau just twice in six-plus big league seasons. Look for him to do it again in 2015.

"I’m going to enjoy this ballpark," Sandoval told Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. "One of the things I was thinking about when I was making my decision was the ballpark."

Hanley Ramirez

Age: 31

Bats: Right

2014 stat line: 128 G, .283 AVG, .369 OBP, .448 SLG, 13 HR, 132 OPS+

Career at Fenway: 26 PA, 5 H, 4 R, 0 HR

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Where Sandoval slaps baseballs hither and yon, Ramirez is a more traditional pull hitter.

More than half of his home runs last year were hit to straightaway left, and only one went to the opposite field, per FanGraphs.

That means Ramirez will do battle regularly with Fenway's short left field porch and the infamous 37'2" Green Monster that lurks there. Like many right-handers with legitimate pop, he'll win his share.

Of course, Ramirez's biggest issue in recent years hasn't been what field he plays in, but staying on the field at all.

Ramirez missed 110 games over the past two seasons with a range of ailments, including hamstring and back injuries.

Now he's set to move from shortstop to the cozy confines of Fenway's left field, a less physically demanding position. Add the occasional designated-hitter day, and it's possible Ramirez will avoid the DL in 2015.

The Verdict

It's an open question whether either Sandoval or Ramirez will be worth the price tag at the end of their five-year pacts.

Ramirez is a perpetual injury risk (forget his reputation as a clubhouse malcontent), and concerns over Sandoval's weight have dogged him since he made his MLB debut.

For next year, we'll give a slight edge to Sandoval in terms of how much his numbers, and particularly extra-base hits, will balloon thanks to the East Coast sojourn. 

The good news for Sox fans? It's likely both players will enjoy solid seasons...and a notable Fenway bump. 

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference unless otherwise noted.