2014 Kansas City Royals: Bringing Back Excitement

2014 Kansas City Royals: Bringing Back Excitement

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2014 Kansas City Royals: Bringing Back Excitement

Not since 1985 had the Kansas City Royals organization experienced such an emotional roller coaster that would take them so far into the baseball postseason. For many years between 1985 and 2014 the Royals sat in the bottom of the standings, being a perennial losing and underachieving team. However, 2014 was the year when the Royals finally turned the corner and brought back excitement to a small market that loved baseball.

In 2014 the Royals went 89-73, finishing 1 game behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central division, but finishing 1 game ahead of the Oakland Athletics for the 1st Wild Card spot. The Royals went 6-13 against the Tigers and 5-2 against the Athletics in head-to-head play.

Center fielder Lorenzo Cain batted .301 with 142 hits, 29 doubles and 28 stolen bases. Shortstop Alcides Escobar batted .285 with 165 hits, 34 doubles and 31 stolen bases. Right fielder Nori Aoki batted .285 with 140 hits, 22 doubles, 6 triples and 17 stolen bases. Designated Hitter Billy Butler batted .271 with 9 home runs, 149 hits and 32 doubles. First baseman Eric Hosmer batted .270 with 9 home runs, 136 hits and 35 doubles.

Left fielder Alex Gordon had 19 home runs and 74 RBI’s off 150 hits, 34 doubles and 12 stolen bases. Catcher Salvador Perez had 17 home runs and 70 RBI’s off 150 hits and 28 doubles. Reserve center fielder Jarrod Dyson had 70 hits and 36 stolen bases in 120 games. Second baseman Omar Infante had 133 hits, 21 doubles and 9 stolen bases. Third baseman Mike Moustakas had 15 home runs, 97 hits and 21 doubles.

The pitching staff clearly served as the anchor of this team as they consistently got opposing batters out. Starting pitcher “Big Game” James Shields went 14-8 with 180 strikeouts and a 3.21 ERA, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Jeremy Guthrie went 13-11 with 124 strikeouts and 1 complete game. Jason Vargas went 11-10 with 128 strikeouts and a 3.71 ERA, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Yordano Ventura went 14-10 with 159 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA. Danny Duffy had 113 strikeouts and a 2.53 ERA.

Closer Greg Holland had 46 saves, 90 strikeouts and a 1.44 ERA. Relief pitcher Wade Davis went 9-2 with 3 saves, 109 strikeouts and a 1.00 ERA. Kelvin Herrera went 4-3 with a 1.41 ERA. Aaron Crow went 6-1 with 3 saves.

In the month of June the Royals had great success with a 10-game winning streak as they defeated the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians twice at home, and then defeated the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers 3 times on the road. From June 19 to July 20, the Royals would go through a slump as they went 9-17. It was after their game on July 20 when first base coach Rusty Kuntz found many Royals players playing the hit mobile game Clash of Clans instead of focusing on their recent loss. After a much needed team meeting, the Royals would go 25-9 from that point until August 27.

On September 30 at their home ballpark of Kauffman Stadium, the Royals played a fantastic and memorable American League Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics. In the top of the 1st inning designated hitter Brandon Moss put Oakland on the board first with a walloping 2-run home run shot. In the bottom of the 1st Billy Butler had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 3rd Lorenzo Cain had an RBI double, and Eric Hosmer followed with an RBI single.

In the top of the 6th Moss gave Oakland new life by clobbering a 3-run home run, and then catcher Dereck Norris and center fielder Coco Crisp both had RBI singles. In the bottom of the 8th Cain and Butler had their own RBI singles, and then a wild pitch scored Hosmer. In the bottom of the 9th Nori Aoki had a sacrifice fly to keep the game going. In the top of the 12th pinch hitting first baseman Alberto Callaspo had an RBI single, but Kansas City would never stay quiet as pinch hitter Christian Colon had an RBI triple in the bottom of the 12th, and then Salvador Perez had the walk-off RBI single. The Royals won 9-8 in thrilling fashion.

From here on the Royals would go on a run, starting with a 3-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the American League Division Series. In Game 1 on October 2 at Angels Stadium of Anaheim the Royals won 3-2. In the top of the 3rd inning Alcides Escobar had an RBI double, and in the bottom of the 3rd catcher Chris Ianetta hit a solo home run. In the top of the 5th Omar Infante had a sacrifice fly, and in the bottom of the 5th third baseman David Freese hit a solo home run. The tie would be broken by Mike Moustakas in the top of the 11th with a solo home run.

In Game 2 on October 3 the Royals won 4-1. Yordano Ventura pitched 7 innings and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk and 1 run, but recorded 5 strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd inning Gordon had an RBI single, and in the bottom of the 6th first baseman Albert Pujols had an RBI single. In the top of the 11th Hosmer smacked a 2-run home run, and Perez followed with an infield RBI single.

The Royals completed the sweep with an 8-3 win in Game 3 on October 5 at Kauffman Stadium. In the top of the 1st inning center fielder Mike Trout hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 1st Gordon had a 3-run double. In the bottom of the 3rd Hosmer clubbed a 2-run home run, and Pujols then hit a solo home run in the top of the 4th. In the bottom of the 4th Moustakas hit a solo home run, and Cain had a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 6th Aoki had an RBI single, and left fielder Josh Hamilton’s RBI ground-out in the top of the 8th went for naught for the Angels.

The Royals then continued their run by sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series 4 games to none. In Game 1 on October 10 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Royals won 8-6. In the top of the 3rd inning Escobar hit a solo home run, and Gordon followed with a 3-run double. In the bottom of the 3rd center fielder Adam Jones had an RBI single. In the top of the 5th Butler had a sacrifice fly, and in the bottom of the 5th designated hitter Nelson Cruz had an RBI double, and third baseman Ryan Flaherty followed with a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 6th left fielder Alejandro De Aza had an infield RBI single. In the top of the 10th Gordon hit a solo home run and the Moustakas crushed a 2-run home run. Pinch hitting outfielder Delmon Young’s RBI single in the bottom of the 10th wasn’t enough for Baltimore.

In Game 2 on October 11 the Royals won 6-4. In the top of the 1st inning Hosmer had a 2-run single, and in the bottom of the 2nd catcher Caleb Joseph had a sacrifice fly. In the top of the 3rd Butler had an RBI double, and in the bottom of the 3rd Jones belted a 2-run home run. In the top of the 4th Moustakas hit a solo home run, and in the bottom of the 5th Cruz grounded into a force-out at second base to score De Aza. In the top of the 9th Escobar had an RBI double, and Cain followed with an RBI single.

In Game 3 on October 14 at Kauffman Stadium the Royals won 2-1. Jeremy Guthrie pitched 5 innings and gave up 3 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while recording 2 strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd inning shortstop J.J. Hardy had an RBI double. In the bottom of the 4th Gordon had an RBI ground-out, and in the bottom of the 6th Butler had a sacrifice fly.

In Game 4 on October 15 the Royals won 2-1 to claim their first American League pennant in 29 years. Jason Vargas pitched 5.1 innings and gave up 2 hits, 3 walks and 1 run, but he recorded 6 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1st inning Hosmer hit into a fielder’s choice to score Escobar, but a throwing error would end up scoring Aoki as well. Flaherty’s solo home run in the top of the 3rd couldn’t wake up Baltimore’s offense.

Lorenzo Cain would be named the ALCS Most Valuable Player, which would be a sign of things to come in Cain’s young baseball career. The Royals advanced to the 2014 World Series to face the National League Champion San Francisco Giants, and though they fell to San Francisco 4 games to 3, no baseball fan could deny the fact that the Royals were bringing back excitement to a fan base that desperately needed it. The Royals had become one of the biggest stories of interest in sports in 2014.