Scrolling through your Twitter feed this postseason, you have noticed a popular hashtag explaining the Kansas City Royals, the “team of destiny.”
Although the Royals, who won just 89 games in the regular season, came up short of a memorable championship season, this was no reason for the team to hang their heads.
No one in the country would have predicted them to even be considered to be a playoff team at the beginning of the year, let alone a World Series contender.
“This was the proudest moment of life,” manager of the Royals, Ned Yost said. He also added that the way the team played fearless and inspired was tremendous to watch this postseason.
The most heartwarming thing, perhaps, would be the Royals fans coming out of hibernation after a 29 year drought.
“On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of support through the postseason, it’s got to be 14,” Yost said explaining how ecstatic he was to see the Kansas City fans support.
“The way the Royals played in the playoffs was fun to watch,” senior Matt Owens said. “They ran the base paths very well and played exceptional defense.”
Unfortunately, the boys in blue ran into arguably the best postseason performance ever, by a pitcher. Madison Bumgarner, the World Series MVP, torched batters and effectively pitched his way into history. He went 2-0 in the Series with a five inning save in game seven while slinging a 0.43 ERA.
In the postseason, the Royals have done the unthinkable of team with no experience. They started off as a wild card team that made the playoffs to play in a “win or go home” game. After coming back twice to tie the game, they revived to win the game in walk-off fashion against the Oakland Athletics.
The next challenge, for the Royals, was the NLDS against the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels (98-64) were the best team in baseball and had proven it all year with their highly talented team. The Royals helped the Angels to a quick exit after winning three straight games to move the series to Baltimore.
The ALCS was a replica of the ALDS in a matter of the Royals having no problem finishing the series quickly. The crown took the first two games in Baltimore, only to come home and sweep the Birds to clinch their first World Series birth since the 1985 season.
“I think this is a huge learning curve for the Royals for seasons to come,” senior Matt Grove said. “This experience is huge for the organization and they are on the right path to success.”