NEW YORK
The phone rings back in Kansas City, and Bill Pecota has a pretty good idea why a reporter might be calling. It is late October, and the Royals are two victories from a World Series championship, and, yes, this is about the system, of course — the baseball projection model that bears his name. This is about the mathematical formula that did not believe in the Kansas City Royals.
Back in late January — nine months before the Royals would win another American League pennant — the respected projection system PECOTA, named for the former utility player, predicted that the Royals would finish 72-90.