Five Royals stories you might have missed

In the torrent of Royals-related content we’ve published the last 10 days, you might have missed a story or two. Here are links to five must-read stories to help you catch up.

Kauffman’s cheers are sweet music to Kansas City Royals fan that lives on a bluff nearby

Betty Bright, 80, was given six to nine months to live more than a year ago. Her family thinks the Royals’ magical season has kept her going. Besides being a fan, she’s a neighbor, living in a small white house above the stadium in Kansas City. Close enough to hear the cheers of the crowd. “This season has been life to her,” son Stephen Bright said. “It’s given her something to hope for, something to cheer for. “The Royals have no idea their biggest fan lives right across the street.”

Greg Holland’s 2,000-mile trip to the mound

The Royals pitcher’s wild ride, from birth to ballgame. Royals closer Greg Holland had celebrated with his teammates after Tuesday’s stirring victory over the Oakland A’s in the Wild Card Game, then he hopped on a plane to Asheville, N.C., to be with his wife, Lacey, for the birth of their son.

Royals fend off Angels’ challenges, come up with improbable extra-inning escape

From the first pitch Jason Vargas threw on Thursday night at Angels Stadium, game one of the American League Division Series was a virtual Houdini routine by the Royals.

It was one ridiculous escape after another, each more preposterous than the last. By night’s end, they could have been bound in chains inside a straitjacket crammed in a bin and tossed in a river … and you could half expect them to bob back up and tread water.

Why the Royals are built for the playoffs (and could stick around awhile)

About six weeks ago, back when the Royals were dreaming of having just one champagne party instead of working toward a third, a scout for a rival club was talking about how this might happen.

At the time, it took some imagination. It took the willingness to see things not how they’ve been, but how they could be. It took, basically, the baseball savvy to see that if the Royals could somehow get into the playoffs, they would be a (beast) to get out of the playoffs. We won’t print the word the scout actually used here, both because this is a family newspaper and because “beast” is an adequate descriptor.

Warts and all, Royals have won with Ned Yost, not despite him

Last week, Ned Yost became the longest-tenured Royals manager, a somewhat dubious distinction considering they’ve had 19 since their inception in 1969. To his legion of critics, that probably registered along the lines of a Woody Allen quip: 80 (or is it 90) percent of life is just showing up. And the feat may have evoked more sighs and head-shakes than hurrahs and nods of appreciation.

Never mind that on his ledger, now and forever forward, will be the distinction of presiding over the franchise’s exhilarating return to the playoffs after a generation-plus of emptiness.

And if you want to see those striking photos of the Wild Card win over the Athletics in 12 innings, go here.

This story was originally published October 8, 2014 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Five Royals stories you might have missed."