Former Kansas City Royals pitcher urges KC Monarchs teammates to ‘Keep pushing forward’
Getting the attention and respect of Kansas City fans is difficult in any sport, but that’s especially true for baseball.
Brandon Finnegan earned that respect in 2014, helping the Kansas City Royals reach the World Series. This week, Finnegan will make another playoff appearance, this time with the Kansas City Monarchs.
“It’s tough to compare them both but we are going for the same thing and that’s to win a championship,” Finnegan said. “We fell short in 2014 with the Royals, but we have a great group of guys here (with the Monarchs).
“We definitely have the team to win it all, so we just have to play our brand of baseball. And when we do that, we are the best team on the field.”
The Monarchs begin their postseason Wednesday night on the road against the Sioux Falls Canaries. Game 2 of the best-of-three first-round series is Friday (7 p.m.) at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas.
Finnegan made his Royals debut mere months after playing for TCU in the College World Series. His most notable postseason performance for KC came in the 2014 AL Wild Card Game: He struck out three and walked one one in 2 1/3 innings as the Royals walked off Oakland in 12.
As the playoffs begin for Finnegan and the Monarchs, his mindset has remained the same.
“Every time I step on the field I am going to give it everything I have,” he said. “I expect nothing less from my teammates and I know those guys will go out there and do the same. I want to continue to compete and block out all the distractions I can.”
The Monarchs have their eyes on winning a third league title in five seasons. They finished the regular season with the American Association’s best record for the third straight year — a first for the league.
Finnegan said he has a clear message for his Monarchs teammates as the postseason begins.
“Keep the blinders on and keep pushing forward,” he said. “Never ever give up, and this team knows what has to be done. Go out there and have fun and take it to whoever we are playing.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2023 at 10:22 AM.