Well, it was a magnificent season. I started out with so much hope that I could write 162 game summaries. I was very wrong, obviously. It didn't even last a month before my spirits were broken. That pretty much summarizes the first half of last season. I came in with the expectation that the offense, after a dismal 2013 season that followed a pretty good 2012 campaign would return to their 2012 numbers, or at least close to it. That did not happen. The Royals were, in fact, so bad that they once again fired their hitting coach. This time they replaced him with Dale Sveum. I never looked at the final numbers, but it certainly seemed like the offense was able to perform better under Sveum than they ever did under Pedro Grifol. No matter what the cause was, the important thing to remember is that everything changed. I was almost ready to give up on the Royals when they went on their first big streak to catch the Tigers. When they finally took over the division lead, I was so incredibly giddy that I spent a good fifteen minutes giggling to myself as I my girlfriend and I exited the movie theater where we had been while the game was going. Then they sucked again, which threatened to kill my spirit once more. But this is baseball. You can either win seven out of ten by winning two out of three in a series a few times and three out of four in another or you can just win seven in a row. The Royals, it seemed, were the type of team who did the latter. They would go on a big streak and then lose a single game and then win five or six more and then lose seven out of ten to fall back to the mean. But late in the season something changed. The team that had been so nervous in big situations stopped being afraid. They became what we, or at least I, had always imagined that they could be. They became a team that competed every single night. They had a pitching staff that could bring it every single night and a team that excelled at preventing runs and taking advantage of the other team's mistakes. I guess you could say that the team found their identity. They were not a team that was going to take a walk, get a single and then blast one to take control of the game. Not to say this didn't happen sometimes, but it was not the norm. The Royals became a team that swung at almost everything and then made you work to get them out. They may have gotten lucky more times than I can think of, but the idea of making the other team get you out is truly one of the greatest in baseball. Giving away free outs, like striking out, which the Royals did less than anybody, is a good way to lose. No, this team wanted to run. They wanted to put pressure on you to make that easy play a little less than routine and hope that you rushed your throw or misplayed the carom of the ball, allowing them to press their advantage. That was this team's mantra. Do all the little things right, like base running and defense, and wait for the other team to make the mistake's that you systematically avoid. The shocking thing is that this became a viable system. They started winning series 2-1 and 3-1 consistently instead of performing at the extremes. They were just a legitimately good baseball team. As the season wound down, it became clear that they were very likely to make the playoffs. When the A's faded down the stretch, we even got the opportunity to host the AL Wild Card Game. I had the privilege of attending the first playoff baseball game in Kansas City since 1985.
My girlfriend bought me quarter-season tickets for Christmas last year. At the time, I was hesitant about the idea because my work schedule necessitated that I work alternating evening and day shifts in two week increments. I figured that many of the games would be happening on days that I had work, but I discovered that I was wrong. Out of sheer luck, all the days but one fell on days that I either did not have work or was working the day shift. With this in mind, I decided to keep the tickets. Nine months later, another decision needed to be made. With the Royals still in playoff contention, the team sent out an email that season ticket holders needed to reserve their playoff tickets or else they would have to buy single game tickets like everyone else. The investment was substantial as our two seats cost nearly $2,500 for all the way through the World Series. We decided that we should do it anyway, since the Royals would probably lose in one of the earlier rounds and we would get a discount. It would be silly to miss what was clearly a generational event because we were too afraid to spend a little money. Besides, we thought, it's not like they are going to make the World Series and that is where the tickets get really expensive.
So we go to the game. It is September 30, 2014. I will never forget this because there were lots of people wearing Royals October gear and I kept thinking to myself that if we don't win this game then there won't be a single Royals game in October. I had reason to worry. The game pitted James Shields, the de facto ace of the Royals pitching staff, against Jon Lester, who had experienced more postseason success than any other active pitcher. We still figured we had a good chance, but things didn't go as planned. Shields just didn't seem to have it. He had poor control and wasn't getting many swings and misses, ballooning his pitch count and letting men on base. The first inning started with Coco Crisp, a former Royal, reaching base on a walk. It looked like the Royals may get out of the inning unscathed, but Brandon Moss quickly put that belief to rest, and silenced the raucous crowd, by sending a long, no-doubt home run into the September night. The crowd was shaken, but when the Royals scored one run in the bottom of the first, we knew that it wasn't over yet. There was still a lot of game to be played and we would only need one more run to tie it up. Shields was able to keep the A's down for the next two innings and when the Royals scored three in the third inning, the 42,000+ at Kauffman Stadium could all taste the promise of the ensuing series against the Angels. The dream was alive.
But, as I got up and walked to get a drink in the 6th inning, Shields began to struggle. Men reached base. Two of them. His night was done and Ned Yost opted to bring in the 23 year old rookie phenom, Yordano Ventura, to pitch his first ever relief appearance. He gave up a home run. The crowd was deflated as three A's crossed the plate and the despair grew as two more Athletics were able to score in the inning. With a 7-3 deficit, the game now seemed out of reach. But we were not done. The Royals had worked too hard to get to this point. Though they flailed through the sixth and seventh innings, they were not done. The eighth inning was a triumph as three Royals scored, bringing the deficit to a mere run. The ninth inning brought up Josh Willingham, who used his only post-season hit to reach first base, where he was replaced by Jarrod Dyson. Dyson was advanced to second by a bunt and then stole third base by a very narrow margin before Nori Aoki hit a deep fly to right that was able to score Dyson from third easily. By now, everyone in the crowd believed that the Royals were going to win this game. No Royals team we had ever seen had fought in this manner to win a game where they seemed so far out of it. It was truly amazing. I considered it a privilege, win or lose, to be at a game where the teams both played their hearts out.
The game kept going until the 12th when the A's regained the lead following a hit and a wild pitch from the Royals. The game looked like it may finally end in disaster for the Royals, but Eric Hosmer would not let it. Hosmer had looked like a batting god all game. He had been taking bad pitches and absolutely crushing the good ones. This was no exception. Hosmer made sharp contact with this violent swing and for more than a second, I was convinced that the ball was gone. It wasn't but it hit the top of the wall and bounced off awkwardly, allowing Hosmer to reach third base. He was quickly pushed home by a bouncing Christian Colon single. Alex Gordon followed, and I was certain that he would end the game, but he merely popped out. Next up was Salvador Perez, who had experienced a miserable night at the plate and had really struggled the entire second half of the season. With Perez batting, Colon stole second, putting the winning run in scoring position for what would be the most dramatic hit of the Royals season. Perez, always willing to swing at anything, swung at a pitch far off the outside of the plate and somehow managed to rip it down the third base line. Josh Donaldson, the A's third baseman, had a chance at fielding the ball, but as soon as it passed his glove I knew that the Royals were heading to the ALDS. Christian Colon trotted home and the celebration escalated into insanity. I headed home happy that I had seen the best baseball game in my life. As I was driving, I realized that the Royals had waiting until after midnight to win. They really were a team that excelled in October.
The rest of the postseason was like a whirlwind. There was essentially no moment that I felt like the Royals were going to lose a series until the World Series. Though they eventually lost to the Giants, thanks to the herculean efforts of one Madison Bumgarner who I will forever loathe, the Royals brought immense joy to this community for a magical month that I wished could go on forever.
I love the Royals and I loved last season, but baseball isn't about living in the past. Baseball is about moving into the future. Though I thought last season was magical, next season could be just as great. The young core of talent is still on the team and they could play even better next year. Though Butler, Shields and Aoki are gone, we will find replacements. Butler was signed by the A's and replaced on the Royals by Kendrys Morales, who is actually pretty comparable. At this point, my major worry is that the team is being too passive this offseason. There have been rumors of the Royals being connected to free agents that I would love them to sign, but nothing has come of them. I worry that the Royals are going to sit and do nothing, but I don't truly believe that is the case. I believe that a trade will be made at some point and that I will be sad to see someone go and hopeful that the new acquisition will be able to prove their worth. I hope everything works out. I want next season to be amazing too.
No comments:
Post a Comment