Stadium, fans rock through Royals’ playoff win

As the final strike ignited the crowd’s roar, 12-year-old Brecken Obermueller lifted her arms high and screamed.

A crazed fan with a broom in standing-room-only somehow howled just one more time and began high-fiving 100 other spectators.

And with Beatles blasting “Kansas City” through stadium speakers, 82-year-old Verlyn St. Clair turned, smiled broadly and shook the hand of the guy next to him.

Was there anyplace in the world as happy as Kauffman Stadium at 10:16 p.m., the moment the underdog Royals won their fourth straight playoff game?

Maybe only the Power & Light District, where an elated throng of blue-clad fans danced and sprayed champagne.

“It's a brilliant day for the city,” said Jay Donahue of Lee’s Summit, who was a freshman in high school when the Royals won it all in 1985.

And now, starting Friday, the Royals advance to the American League Championship Series.

But for at least three fans Sunday night, just getting to the next series offered plenty of its own berserk, improbable, exhausting joy.

1st inning

Verlyn St. Clair, the 82-year-old, stands with everyone else and roars when Alex Gordon hits a double to left, scoring three runs.

“I told the boys I felt like tonight there’s going to be a lot of runs,” he says.

The boys would be his son, Steve, 61, who drove with him more than five hours from Smith Center, Kan., and his grandson, 32-year-old J.D. St. Clair of Belton.

2nd inning

Cody Freeman’s voice is already going out.

Just as it graveled out at the Wild Card Game last week, where Freeman, 25, occupied the same spot above Section 247, standing room only.

This time the St. Joseph man and three buddies brought painted brooms. He stretches up on his tiptoes to look on right field below. Fans already have been instructed not to stand on the picnic tables behind him.

“Yaaaah!” he yells, hopping with his broom, when pitcher James Shields wraps up a scoreless top of the second.

3rd inning

The stadium, on its feet, chants.

“I believe that we can win! I believe that we can win.”

Far out in right field, section 249, row GG, 12-year-old Brecken Obermueller is with them. She and her family have traveled three hours to be here from Lincoln, Kan.

Brecken, a massive Royals fan, is decked out: white Royals cap, white Royals hoodie, Royals T-shirt, blue rally towel spinning.

Her friends back home kid her about her obsession.

“They say, ‘You need to worry less about baseball. Baseball is not as important as life,’” Brecken says. “I say, ‘Yes, it is.’”

Besides, tonight is about a promise kept. Long ago, when Brecken was just a toddler, her parents, Mark and Lori, both 48, vowed to her that one day, if that day ever came, they would take her to a Royals game for her birthday.

But that day never came because she was born on Oct. 1 — postseason, someplace the Royals haven’t been for longer than her lifetime.

Brecken turns to her brother. “He’s going to hit it out of the park,” she tells him.

And there it goes — Eric Hosmer pounds a two-run homer. Royals up, 5-1.

4th inning

The crowd lets out a gasp and then a long sigh as the Angels’ Albert Pujols homers to left. Verlyn St. Clair shakes his head, too, from his seat about 25 rows back on the third base side — although he’s tickled when some fan expels Pujols’ homer ball like a piece of rotten fruit.

But Mike Moustakas’ solo home run in the Royals’ half of the inning sees St. Clair rising from his seat.

“How ’bout that!” he hollers. “We got one back.”

Two, ultimately. Royals 7-2.

5th inning

When Lorenzo Cain makes two diving catches to rob hits from back-to-back Angels, Freeman pumps his blue broom up and down like Quasimodo yanking on the bell rope.

Then he darts down the steps of Section 247, sweeping them all the way. The crowd loves rooting on the mad sweeper.

A boy about 8 jogs up the steps Freeman just swept.

“Nice broom,” the boy says.

“Nice brooooom!” Freeman bellows, brushing the boy’s sneakers. “Nice brooooom!”

The little lad’s eyes widen as he quickens his pace to the concessions.

“Cody,” friend Jessica Myers tells Freeman, “I think you scared that boy.”

6th inning

Brecken insists she’s not nervous.

Royals are up, but it’s hard to know if Shields is tiring. Two outs, two men on and a reliever up in the bullpen.

Crowd rises as one. Brecken, too.

With two strikes on Angels batter Chris Iannetta, Shields throws. Out!

“Big Game James always takes care of things,” Brecken says and, again, swears she isn’t nervous.

“OK,” she says, “maybe a little bit.”

7th inning

Six up and six down. Except for a light rain and a stirring rendition of “God Bless America,” Verlyn St. Clair has little to stir him from his seat.

But he’s just happy to be at a game he almost didn’t attend.

His wife of 62 years, Doris, has a form of dementia, and he is her full-time caretaker.

Verlyn was reluctant at first to come to the game, even when grandson J.D. said he’d buy the tickets, which ended up costing more than $400 apiece.

“Dad wouldn’t come without her,” his son Steve says.

But when Steve’s girlfriend offered to watch 82-year-old Doris at J.D.’s house in Belton, Verlyn relented.

8th inning

Freeman returns from a souvenir shop to discover that his group’s set of four brooms has shrunk to three. His pal and broom-painter, Jacob Hicks, accepted a fan’s offer to buy his broom for $40.

Having stood now for more than three hours, Freeman pulls from a pocket his seat ticket in the upper deck.

“Haven't even seen these seats,” he says. “I prefer the standing-room atmosphere. You can feel the emotion.”

9th inning

No one is sitting.

No one is leaving.

Not even in the rain.

With every pitch, every strike, the stadium roars, whistles, people shaking their heads, raising brooms for this sweep. Unbelievable.

And then. The last pitch. Bedlam. Joy.

Royals win, 8-3.

Brecken's friends will join the bandwagon now, she says. She tries to be heard in the crowd.

“I can’t wait for the World Series,” she says, “because I think we’re going to make it.”

Staff writer Tony Rizzo contributed to this report.

To reach Mike Hendricks, call 816-234-4738 or send email to mhendricks@kcstar.com.

This story was originally published October 5, 2014 at 10:56 PM with the headline "Stadium, fans rock through Royals’ playoff win."