Royally Speaking

So ESPN made a big deal about the New York Yankees being eliminated from the playoffs last night.  And yes, from the standpoint of them being so high profile, it is a big deal.  As a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, and a fan of all Boston sports teams, it is my sworn duty to despise everything New York.  Truthfully, however, the Yankees weren’t my focus in recent days.  The Sox are securely in the playoffs, and if all goes well they will finish with the best record in the American League. Of course, Oakland is nipping at their heels, so  to ensure that record the BoSox basically have to win 2 out of 3 against the Yanks to accomplish this feat.  But even that isn’t foremost in my mind, the Wild Card race is.  For as happy as I am that Tito Francona has the Indians close to the playoffs, and how much I fear those Tampa Bay Rays and the mad scientist Joe Maddon, I am melancholy for the other team most recently booted from contention, the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals are a franchise I have had an eye on since I became aware of baseball in the late 70’s.  Our beloved Red Sox had started a decline that began with Bucky “Bleepin’” Dent’s home run off of embedded Yankee Mike “Taco” Torrez in the one game playoff October 2, 1978 that won those Yankees the AL East.  Anyone who has read this far needs no further explanation, but suffice it to say there were some dark times for Sox fans in the next several years.  However, waiting for those Yankees in the American League Championship Series were the Kansas City Royals, who were in the midst of quite a run as bridesmaids in the AL, having lost to the Yankees the previous 2 season in the ALCS.  I was not aware of this run at the time, as I was only 7, but that team sparked my interest.  George Brett, Frank White, Willie Wilson and others “played the game right” (obviously a lot of these opinions are being remembered from my youth through an adult lens), and they had a heck of a pitching staff to boot.  But once again, the Royals were no match for the Yanks, and once again stepped aside while the Yankees went on to face the Dodgers in the seconds consecutive NY/LA World Series.

After one season of finishing in second place, the Royals went back to the ALCS in 1980 to once again face the Yankees. In a stunning reversal of fortune, the Royals swept them 3-0 (the ALCS used to be best of 5) behind the bats of (series MVP) Frank White and George Brett, and excellent pitching, including their closer Dan Quisenberry, who may have been Mariano if it hadn’t been for injuries several  years later.  His submarine delivery baffled hitters as he saved Game 2 for Dennis Leonard and won Game 3 by entering in the SIXTH inning and allowing 2 runs to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead, only to complete the game and see his team win with a 7^th inning 3 run rally. Unfortunately for the Royals, another team of destiny, the Philadelphia Phillies, was waiting for them and they lost four games to two.  As a subplot to the ALCS, the New York Yankees fired their manager Dick Howser.  This meant nothing at the time, but it soon would.

The Royals would return to the World Series in 1985 to face their intrastate rivals the St. Louis Cardinals.  Led by Dick Howser, who was brought in after the 1981 season, the same basic core of position players from previous season, and dynamic young pitcher Bret Saberhagen, the Royals won the World Championship 4 games to 3.  Unfortunately, this series will always be remembered for Don Denkinger’s Game 6 call at first base where Royal Jorge Orta was ruled safe when replays showed he was clearly out.  Regardless, the Royals were champions after years of heartbreak.  Unfortunately, this would be the only time the club would scale that high.  Injuries (Quiz, Saberhagen, etc), age (Brett, White and Wilson) and just general attrition would take effect and the Royals would never be the same.  Dick Howser tragically passed away in June of 1987, and while he was not technically the manger, the club and he were still very close.  There were glimpses of hope since-they finished 2^nd in their division in 1987 and 1989, and there were a couple over .500 years in the early 90’s.  But basically, the last two decades of KC baseball have been depressing.

The 2013 season was interesting, even though many pundits would not have predicted that at the beginning of the season.  In the offseason, the Royals traded highly-regarded prospect Wil Myers to the Tampa Bay Rays for one of their top pitchers James Shields.  The Rays determined they could trade Shields because they had terrific pitchers in David Price, Matt Moore and Alex Cobb, among others.  This, coupled with the fact that Shields’ contract was in its final year, made him an expendable piece.  From the Royals standpoint, they looked at their team and decided this may be the year to go for it, even though they may have been the only ones to think that way.   Well, Wil Myers was called up in June for the Rays, and proceeded to become a key component in their lineup as they continue to march into yet another postseason.  So through that lens, one may say the trade was a mistake, but something happened along the way-the Royals were pretty competitive, and battled right to this last week of the season before finally being eliminated from contention in the last few days.  James Sheilds had a pretty solid year, going 12-9 with a 3.21 ERA as of this writing, and generally offering leadership to a young team.  The Royals have a solid foundation with Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon & Salvador Perez having strong years, and, if Shields comes back, a solid veteran rotation along with Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie.

Here’s hoping this time next year, the Royals are the new Pirates.  Now the Pirates, that’s a story to tell…