Tal Smith, if I remember correctly, was a big part of the Astros' unlikely resurgence in the late 70s and in 1980. He won Executive of the Year after the 1980 season and was fired days later. I know he was around way longer than he needed to be, and his influence was awful in this century, but dude was a huge part of Astros' history from over 30 years ago. I don't have a problem with anything being named after him. At least it's not "Spec's Hill".
I'm probably a minority on this, but I love the hill and the flagpole. Probably because I grew up reading accounts and looking at pictures of great ballparks that no longer exist, and the hill and flagpole are some kind of romantic nod to great ballparks of an era gone by when baseball really was "America's pastime". I can understand why others don't dig it, but I do.
I heard that they are going to tear down the hill and put the mechanical bull from Gilleys in it's place. With the revenue generated from naming rights for the bull, personal saddle licenses, ride fees and from the advertising on the safety helmets and vests the riders have to rent, we can certainly count on a free agent to be named wayyyyy later.
i like the hill and the flagpole because they have provided some of my more clear baseball memories... from Michael Bourn making amazing plays on the hill to Richie Sexson pinging one off of the pole. it keeps us original, leave it!
I have no problem with it but it is so far away that is almost useless. I wouldn't mind at all if the actually moved it in a little closer.
Hate it. HATE it. Oh, and by the way... hate it. Why not make a gosh darn pee wee golf course set of obstacles out there while they are at it.
Very interesting responses. When I went to FanFest last year and when Reid Ryan was speaking, he said they were exploring what to do with Tal's Hill. I was surprised when he said that when they polled the fans, it was almost right down the middle 50/50 for those who liked it and those who didn't. It looks like this board is divided about the same. I don't necessarily dislike it, but I do think that real estate could be used much more efficiently (seems to me a great revenue-generating area).
It is in exceptionally good shape and could easily last another 30-40 year with limited improvements. I have been blessed to have been to almost every other ballpark and MMP is in the top 15%, it has really aged well. The only ball parks that are clearly better IMO are AT&T in San Francisco, Wrigley and Camden. There are a lot of other nice parks... Dodgers stadium and Kauffman stadium both are very nice, even without the antiquated charm. Also, anyone that goes to Chicago and has the time should take the time to see a White Sox game. The stadium is actually very nice.
I love watching 400 foot homers to dead centerfield. Those are flyballs here. I say raise and widen the hill. Allow fans access to sit there. Put the CF fence in front of it at about 400' with an 8-10 foot wall. The flagpole can stay as well but be behind the wall. They can keep it "Tal's Hill", and charge a decent price to sit there.