The 10 best moments from the Kansas City Royals championship run
The Kansas City Royals are back on top of the baseball world. With a 7-2 victory against the New York Mets in Game 5, Kansas City earned it’s second World Series championship in the franchise’s 47-year history. The other, of course, came against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985.
The 2015 Royals were a team defined by their resolve, resilience and an unrelenting style that no other team could equal. A style that made every opponent match their level of energy, intensity and execution. No team could maintain that pace day in and day out, and eventually the Royals wore everyone out on their way to a championship.
[Related: Royals win the World Series with another epic comeback against the Mets]
When things looked bleak in the ALDS, they bounced back, winning Games 4 and 5 to eliminate the Houston Astros. When it looked like the Toronto Blue Jays might push them to the limit in the ALCS, they stepped up, finishing them off in six games. And when it looked like the Mets might take the World Series back to Kansas City, the Royals refused to stay down and instead celebrated at Citi Field.
The Royals showed no fear and played with little regard for the consequences. They aimed to make opponents think, work and earn every victory. If they failed in their mission, they did it all over again the next play, the next inning and the next game. It was up to everyone else to keep up, and no one could. Along the way, that led to some very exciting moments and some very intense games. Here’s our look back at the very best.
Talk about unlikely heroes. Colon had not appeared in any of Kansas CIty’s previous 15 postseason games, yet he got the call with the go-ahead run at third base in Game 5 of the World Series. With the game in the 12th inning, Ned Yost’s bench was running pretty thin, but like most of the buttons he pushed during the postseason, it worked. Colon stepped up, looking like a cool, calm and collected veteran, and came through, lacing an RBI single to left field. When pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson touched home, Kansas City had the run it needed to win the World Series.
ERIC HOSMER CHALLENGES LUCAS DUDA
Several plays during the postseason exemplified the Royals style, but none were more important than Eric Hosmer’s 90-foot dash in World Series Game 5. With the Royals down by one, he challenged the Mets infield by racing home on Salvador Perez’s ground out to third base. If he’s thrown out at home, the Royals lose and go home for Game 6. He wasn’t, as Lucas Duda’s throw sailed wide, and the Royals later celebrated a championship.
BLUE JAYS BLUNDER OPENS THE DOOR
In Game 2 of the ALCS, Kansas City’s offense looked completely over matched by Toronto Blue Jays left-hander David Price. Leading up to the seventh inning, Price had retired 18 consecutive batters following Alcides Escobar’s leadoff single. But that all changed in an instant when Ryan Goins and Jose Bautista allowed Ben Zobrist’s harmless pop fly to fall between them. The Jays were holding a 3-0 lead at the time, but the theme here is simple: Any crack in the door, any sliver of hope, the Royals turn it into a victory. The Royals scored five times in the inning and ultimately took a 2-0 series lead.
JOHNNY CUETO’S OUTING IN ALDS GAME 5
General manager Dayton Moore acquired Cueto to be his ace at the trade deadline. It didn’t play out that way during the regular season. Overall, the postseason was hit-or-miss as well, but Cueto really hit it big in ALDS Game 5. With the Royals facing a do-or-die game against the Houston Astros. Cueto took command, retiring 19 in a row at one point. He allowed two runs over eight inning as the Royals won the game 7-2. Cueto would also throw a complete game in World Series Game 2, so his postseason hits were big ones.
LORENZO CAIN’S RACE TO THE WORLD SERIES
It was the play that clinched the Royals return to the World Series. With ALCS Game 6 tied in the eighth inning, Cain raced all the way around from first base on Eric Hosmer’s single. It was about hustle and instincts as Cain and third base coach Mike Jirschele teamed up to put pressure on Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista. They anticipated what Bautista would do with the throw, and they were right. As the ball came in to second base, Cain was home free.
ROYALS RALLY IN WORLD SERIES GAME 4
Just when it looked like the Mets would even the World Series in Game 4, Daniel Murphy completely whiffed on Eric Hosmer’s eighth-inning ground ball allowing the tying run to score and the floodgates to open. The Royals went from down one and looking at two outs in the inning, to scoring three runs and securing a huge victory.
ALCIDES ESCOBAR’S INSIDE-THE-PARK HOMER
Escobar made swinging at the game’s first pitch and having success into an art form during the postseason. That’s why Mets’ right-hander Noah Syndergaard came up and in to start Game 3, to knock him off the plate and off his game. Matt Harvey didn’t do that in Game 1 of the World Series, and it cost him. Escobar got the ball in play, and with a fortunate bounce in the outfield, raced all the way around for an inside-the-park home run.
WADE DAVIS PICKS OFF CARLOS GOMEZ
Davis’ first pickoff in two years came at a good time. In happened in the ninth inning of ALDS Game 2 with Kansas City holding a slim 5-4 lead. Carlos Gomez was pinch-running at first base as the tying when Davis skipped a throw over that Eric Hosmer scooped and in the same motion tagged Gomez. It was a weird play all around, as the bad throw threw everyone off, including umpire Mike Everitt. The play was reviewed and his safe call overturned, allowing the Royals to pick up postseason win No. 1.
CHRIS YOUNG PROVIDES RELIEF IN WORLD SERIES GAME 1
The Royals had a wide range of contributors in the postseason. Chris Young, who later started Game 4 of the World Series, was called on in relief during a wild Game 1. Young pitched three innings of hitless relief in extra frames, providing a boost and allowing Kansas City’s offense to finally break through in the 14th inning.
EDINSON VOLQUEZ RETURNS
We can’t imagine the rollercoaster of emotions Edinson Volquez went through this week. After pitching the Royals to victory in Game 1, Volquez learned that his father had died. He returned home for the funeral, and then rejoined the Royals for Game 5. He pitched very well again, limiting the Mets to two runs over six innings. He kept his team in it, and his teammates did what they do best in the late innings.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
