The Royals announced via press release today that they will be shortening the Kauffman Stadium outfield fences as well as moving them in for the start of the 2026 season.
The Royals’ analytics department has performed an analysis over the last three years that has shown that bringing the fences in would have benefited the Royals more than their opponents. They expect this move to increase the value of flyballs hit
at Kauffman from the bottom into the middle of the league.
The press release included the new dimensions:
The wall will come in 8 to 10 feet starting near each foul pole – the gaps will go from 387 feet to 379 – and taper back toward centerfield, which will remain 410 feet. The height of the wall will also change, from 10 feet tall in most places to 8 ½ feet. About 150 seats will be added in left field and about 80 new drinkrail seats in right.
So Kyle Isbel will still have his work cut out for him in center field, but the corner outfielders should have a somewhat easier time doing their jobs. This should also increase home runs for a team that has traditionally been near the bottom of the sport in that category, even though Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez each hit more than 30 last year. Salvador Perez was cited in an article on FanGraphs yesterday as having the largest gap in baseball between his expected home runs and actual bombs.
Kauffman Stadium already sits at one of the highest elevations in the sport, lower only than Colorado, Arizona, and Atlanta’s ballparks. So, expect to see more home runs hit in Kauffman this year. Although the team believes this move could further increase extra-base hits generally in Kauffman, even as it was already one of the most favorable stadiums in the sport for doubles and triples due to its expansive size.
Despite the laws of supply and demand, no ticket price decrease has been announced by the team at this time.
