October 28, 2014. Kansas City. Game Seven of the World Series. Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Tying run, 90 feet away at third base. This is what every kid fantasizes about in their backyard and in the 2014 Fall Classic, the Kansas City Royals were living that fantasy. But when the ball was popped up in foul territory and Pablo Sandoval secured it in his glove, the Royals watched as the San Francisco Giants poured out from their dugout and celebrated their third World Series title in the last five years (they previously won it in 2010 & 2012). For the Royals, this was as close as they came to ending a 30-year period of frustration and doubt. Since their last World Series win in 1985 (when the beat the Cardinals in seven games), the Royals stumbled and failed to make the playoffs again. They were 90 feet from tying the game and possibly winning it all but once again they fell short. As Coach Ned Yost and the players watched the Giants celebrate, one thought on their minds was: "We'll be back."
When the Royals went to spring training in March, their mission was to return to the Fall Classic and leave with the World Series trophy in tow. That mission kicked off on Opening Day. From that first game on, Kansas City came roaring through the gates and they never looked back. By the time October had arrived, the Royals finished with a 95-67 record and the AL Central Division title, their first division title since 1985 (in 2014 they were a Wildcard Team). This was a team that had 724 runs scored and 139 home runs in the regular season. Their bullpen and starting pitchers were even more impressive, with over one thousand strikeouts in total. This was not the team that snick in the postseason the year before. This was a dominate team that would not die.
They proved this in the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) when they played the upstart Houston Astros who were making their first postseason appearance (this time as an American League Team) since 2005. The Royals' hopes for another shot at the World Series were greatly dimmed because in Game Four of the best-of-five series, they found themselves down late by a score of 6-2 in the top half of the 8th inning and facing elimination. But with the bases loaded, Lorenzo Cain kick-started the offense with a single to left; the Royal's rally train took off. A costly error by the Astros allowed the Royals to tie the game. Three more runs later and the Royals won the game 9-6, forcing a do-or-die Game Five in which, behind Johnny Cueto's pitching arm, they won and moved on to the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
In the ALCS, the Royals met another jump-start team, the Toronto Blue Jays, who were looking for their first chance at a World Series Title in 22 years (last winning it in 1993 against the Phillies). The best-of-seven series went back in forth with the Royals going into Game Six with a 3-2 series lead. In the bottom of the eighth of this game, Lorenzo Cain found himself on first base with the game tied at three and Eric Hosmer up at the plate. When Hosmer lined the ball down the right field line, Cain turned on the jets and raced all the way home to score the leading run. Three outs later, the Royals clinched their second straight American League Pennant and second straight World Series berth.
The team they faced for the World Series title was a team no one thought would be competing for it this year: The New York Mets. The Mets were facing their own period of frustration. Their last World Series victory came in 1986 against the Red Sox (thank you Bill Buckner) but since then, they had faced failure after failure. 2015 was different: The Mets captured their first division title since 2006 and made it passed the Dodgers and the Cubs (sorry Back To the Future fans) to get here. The Mets were powered by hitters Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson, but what made them so dangerous was their pitching rotation, which featured the big league names of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGromm and Noah Syndergaard.
The Mets may have had the pitching but the Royals had that and the hitting. They took the first two games from New York and after losing Game Three to the Mets, the Royals responded by taking Game Four on Halloween night with a three-run eighth inning rally. They could taste it: they were just one win away from that coveted title they so desperately craved.
Game Five got off to a rocky start. Royals pitcher Edinson Volquez went into the game with a heavy heart, having just lost his father the previous week. Curtis Granderson took the first pitch out of the park with a lead-off home run. As the Mets took a 2-0 lead and heading into the ninth inning, Mets pitcher Matt Harvey insisted he go in and wrap things up. But when he gave up a lead-off walk to Lorenzo Cain and then a double to Eric Hosmer, which allowed Cain to score, Harvey was taken out of the game and replaced by Familia. The Royals went on to tie the game at two. The decision to let Harvey back in the game is one that now haunts the Mets.
In the top of the twelfth Christian Colon made his first postseason appearance at the plate and it would be one to remember. His RBI single gave the Royals a 3-2 lead and kick-started what would be a five-run twelfth inning for the Royals. They went into the bottom of the twelfth with a 7-2 lead on the Mets. Four batters later and a pitch on the inside corner ignited a celebration Kansas City had not seen for thirty years. In 2014, the Royals were very close but came up short but this time it was the New York Mets watching from their dugout as the Royals reeled in the 2015 World Series title. The frustrations of the past and the failures of the many seasons before were finally obsolete. It took time but finally the Royals were going home as champions.
It's been real, baseball fans! See you next Spring!
