MLB News: Statcast Introduces Exciting New Feature for 2025

While baseball has existed for more than 100 years, there are still frequent changes in the way the game is played on the field, for better or for worse.

As technology has rapidly advanced through the 1990s and into this century, the way that front teams and fans view the sport has greatly changed as well, with a plethora of new metrics to help better understand why things happen on the diamond the way they do. Over the last 10 seasons, Statcast has brought us advanced metrics on pitchers, hitters, fielders, and even baserunners, covering measurements from exit velocity, launch angle, sprint speed, spin rate of pitches, and outs above average.

For the 2025 campaign, a new metric will be introduced that has been undergoing testing across the 2023 and 2024 seasons: Weather Applied Metrics, or, Wind Effect. This metric is capable of measuring the effect that the wind has on a baseball in flight, tracking how much distance was added or taken away because of the wind.

Over the last two years, the innovators of this new system have found that Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, has had the most balls in play affected by the wind, with 69 total home runs created or prevented. Kauffman Stadium is already one of the hardest parks to hit for power in, and of those 69 home runs, only two were created by the wind.

Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, ranks fourth among stadiums with the most home runs created or prevented, with 28 created and 27 prevented for a total of 55.

The new metric has made it possible to dig down and find which batters have been aided the most and hurt the most by the wind, with San Diego Padres' veteran Xander Bogaerts having three more home runs added to his total thanks to the wind. Recent Mets' designated hitter J.D. Martinez was hurt the most by the wind, missing out on a whopping 10 home runs thanks to someone leaving the door open and letting in a draft.

There are many among the baseball community that are against the influx of new metrics, and they are not for everyone. But they do provide a better understanding of how this beautiful sport works on the inside and out, helping teams better build their rosters for success.

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