Numlock Sunday: Eben Novy-Williams on Moneywall and how teams find an edge

By Walt Hickey

Welcome to the Numlock Sunday edition.

This week, I spoke to the brilliant Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, who also writes the great newsletter Club Sportico. Here’s a recent story of his I included in the newsletter:

The Kansas City Royals announced a change is projected to be worth an additional 1.5 wins next season: the club is moving the outfield walls in left and right field and lowering the fence by 18 inches in most places. The Royals are specifically altering the layout of the field to favor their offense at home. Kauffman Stadium is unfriendly to hitters, and the dimensions of the outfield have turned homeruns into caught balls. In the past, the Royals have attempted to build the team to suit the unique home field, signing contact hitters and favoring speed for the second-largest outfield in the sport. With the change, the small-market Royals no longer need to have such rigid personnel targets.

Sportico is a favorite of mine, the business and stats of sports is a f…