Royals breaking Kauffman Stadium HR record might be key to success in 2026
This home run record could be what gets the Royals into the postseason once more.
(Getty Images) Royals breaking Kauffman Stadium HR record might be key to success in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Kansas City Royals , coming into the 2026 MLB season, will have a bit of a different outlook for the year.
While the roster is a bit different, that's not the biggest change from 2025 to 2026. Instead, the Kauffman Stadium dimensions are changing, with the outfield fences moving in a bit, which is the bigger change from last year. That change should lead to more home runs, which might lead to the key to the year for the Royals.
ESPN's Bradford Doolittle identified that the Royals' home run record at home in Kauffman Stadium, with the shallower fences beginning this season, could help make the difference and get Kansas City back into the postseason. Kauffman Stadium change could lead to Royals postseason berth "... the Royals have been out-homered at the K 409 to 375 during that span (past five seasons)," Doolittle writes.
"Now the fences have been moved in, under the theory that the tinkering will benefit the royals more than their opponents. It seems like Kansas City has a good shot at breaking that record of 88 home homers. " Seeing the Royals record more than 88 home runs this upcoming season would break the previous Kauffman Stadium record made by the Royals on their home turf, set back in 2017 and 2023.