Man, what a time to be a Kansas Citian.
As you may have heard by now, the Kansas City Royals are your 2015 World Series Champions. In my 24 years of existence on this planet, I never envisioned myself typing the previous sentence.
Do I need to say it again?
THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS ARE YOUR 2015 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!
Words can’t truly explain what this means to the city, but it’s my job to do so, right?
When the Royals reached the World Series last year, it was the first time the franchise has seen October baseball since 1985, which so happens to be the last time Kansas City took the crown.
Back in the 80’s, Kansas City was known as a prominent organization, led by hall of famer George Brett. Similar to the 2015 version, the 1985 Royals redeemed themselves after losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1981 World Series.
The only difference is those Royals from 30 years ago didn’t come immediately back to the fall classic.
“They’d beat us,” said George Brett, the face of the Royals’ last great moment. “I really believe they’re a better team. They have more depth throughout the lineup, they have better speed, defensively they’re better. We could beat them in some positions, but they’re a better ballclub. It’s great to be associated with them. It’s great to have them as friends.”
Over the past six years, the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants (three times), Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals have all worn the crown. The common theme with those franchises is a winning tradition, something Kansas City hasn’t been accustom to.
During the 30-year drought, Kansas City endured 21 losing seasons, with four of those being 100+ loss seasons. The typical answer when discussing the Royals failures would be the lack of a salary cap in baseball.
Seriously, how could the small market Royals compete with the high rollers in New York, Boston and etc?
It all begins and ends with general manager Dayton Moore.
Moore arrived in Kansas City back in 2006 and while his plan wasn’t clear at first, Kansas City fans now can see the vision he had nearly a decade ago. This franchise has built one of the best farm systems in baseball, which is clear to see once you look at all of the young talent on the roster.
Eric Hosmer was one of those young gems back in the 2008 MLB Draft, as he was selected third overall.
“It’s the best,” Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “We came back and won a world championship. Words can’t even describe how awesome this feels right now. Couldn’t have done it with a better group of guys. We battled since Day 1, Minor Leagues a lot of us, and this is an unbelievable feeling.”
Not only does this championship define the heart and passion of this team, it also symbolizes what Kansas City is all about.
Lorenzo Cain summed it up perfectly.
“Never die, never quit attitude. I mean this entire clubhouse, front office, fans, they’re all amazing. I say just that never quit attitude. We continue to push no matter if it’s not in our favor, continue to fight as a team.”
If you talk to people that grew up in Kansas City, they’ll tell you how tough minded you must be. It doesn’t matter if you’re from a suburb like Lee’s Summit or if you’re from the inner city. Every single day, there’s going to be somebody or a certain situation that tests your character as a person, which is part of the reason the crime rate has skyrocketed in Kansas City lately.
However, with the Royals being on top of the world, at least for one night or one week, the city has a reason to come together.
Who cares is you can’t name 10 players on the team or if you don’t know what a sacrifice fly means, because this moment is bigger than baseball. Instead of just having hoop dreams, kids in the community are starting to partake in baseball, which is such a beautiful thing.
I speak for the entire city when I say this, Thank you, Royals!
