The Royals announced they’re moving in the outfield fence in both corners (link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the decision before the club announcement. The dead center field wall will remain 410 feet from home plate, though the team is slightly reducing the wall height throughout the outfield. The corners are each being pulled in by nine feet, while they’re bringing in the center field alleys by 10 feet apiece.
General manager J.J. Picollo said it’s a calculated effort on the team’s part to improve their offense. “During the course of the season, we just started doing some research, running some numbers and trying to figure out how much this really impacts our offense. Consequently, how would it affect our pitching staff? Ultimately, we concluded that we would be a better team offensively,” Picollo told Rogers. “With our current pitching staff, the changes in the dimensions wouldn’t impact [pitching] negatively as much as it impacts our offense positively.”
Kauffman Stadium has a reputation as one of the harder parks in which to hit. Statcast’s Park Factor data has actually graded it as a decent hitter’s park over the past three years. It’s in a lopsided way, however. The spacious outfield has made the park more favorable for total hits, especially doubles and triples, but it’s a tough venue for power bats. Only Pittsburgh’s PNC Park and San Francisco’s Oracle Park have suppressed home runs more than Kauffman since 2023. Hitters at Kauffman Stadium have homered on 9.7% of their fly-balls. The MLB average is a couple points higher (11.8%).
It grades as the toughest park for left-handed home run power. The change in dimensions should be a nice boost for a team that has lefty-hitting Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen as two of their most important young bats. Left-handed hitting first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino is coming off a 32-homer season (14 of which came at home) that led the team.
There’s a “chicken or the egg” element to the park factor data. Kauffman has played unfavorably to home run hitters, so the Royals have tended to build their teams around contact-oriented bats and emphasized outfield defense. The Royals are aware of that, of course, and the ballpark changes aren’t a decision they made on a whim. Those interested in the topic are encouraged to read the full columns from Rogers and Passan, as both reporters speak with assistant GM Daniel Mack about the various factors (e.g. temperature, altitude, batted ball data, the stadium’s batter’s eye) that went into the decision.
Picollo and Mack each said they hope the park will play more neutral for home runs than exceedingly hitter friendly. They indicated they feel that could allow their hitters to be more comfortable adjusting between homestands and road trips without feeling they need to overhaul their approach.
“You don’t want to make the park so offensive that it hurts your pitchers,” Mack told Rogers. “But one of the things we know is that our fly balls, particularly in parts of this park — the run value per fly ball is significantly less than the league. … When they play at Kauffman, they don’t have to play one specific way, and then when they go to another ballpark, even if it’s way on the other extreme, all of a sudden, they’re thinking about, ‘Do I have to do something different offensively there in order to be successful versus what I do at Kauffman?’ (We’re) trying to find that fairness and consistency across the board.”
