Royals’ Seth Lugo can pinpoint exact moment the old dimensions at The K saved him
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Seth Lugo says he wishes for a worse memory when it comes to bad pitches.
- Royals moved Kauffman fences this season; Lugo and GM J.J. Picollo analyzed impacts.
- Lugo pinpoints Stanton’s 2024 ALDS double as a would‑be home run under new dimensions.
Royals pitcher Seth Lugo famously has a 10-pitch arsenal, but here is something he would like to change about himself.
“Honestly,” Lugo said at Saturday’s Royals Rally, “I wish my memory was a lot worse. It’s a lot easier to pitch with a bad memory.”
This isn’t something Lugo just throws out in casual conversations.
That came up when Lugo was talking about the Royals’ decision to move in the fences at Kauffman Stadium this season. Hitters, naturally, are excited about the alteration.
Lugo is not against the change, especially after a conversation he had with Royals general manager J.J. Picollo.
“Me and J.J. spoke a little bit about some of my metrics and how much we think it would have affected my last two seasons. And we’re pretty confident,” Lugo said. “I didn’t do any digging myself, but he gave me some information, some stats, and just from my knowledge, I can think of maybe one hit, a double, that would have been a home run if the fences were in.
“So that’s over 350 or so innings. That’s not bad. So it’s not something that I’m going to have any control over. But like I said, just keep the balls out of the gaps, keep to the big part of the field, or keep it on the ground. That’s our game plan, anyway. So it shouldn’t make much of a difference from what we’re trying to do anyways.”
Did you catch that? Lugo can recall one hit that would have been a home run. The Star’s Sam McDowell asked if Lugo actually remembered that specific moment.
“It was in the playoffs,” Lugo said. “Stanton’s double off the wall.”
That’s Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees slugger who doubled off Lugo in Game 3 of the 2024 ALDS.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 11:04 AM.
