Kansas City Royals clinch MLB playoff berth for first time since 2015 World Series
As the blaring sounds of Kendrick Lamar’s summer sensation “Not Like Us” reverberated throughout the visitors’ clubhouse at Truist Park, the Kansas City Royals collectively let out a cheer.
It’s true, not many people understand their story. How does a team that lost a franchise-record 106 games last season belong in the postseason 12 months later?
Few outsiders saw their vision. The Royals had a hodgepodge of veteran players, young talent and a infallible dream in which only they believed.
Sometimes dreams can become reality. Such was the case late Friday night, as the Royals officially returned to the Major League Baseball playoffs for the first time since the franchise’s World Series championship in 2015.
“I thought it was great in spring training when these guys came in and said they didn’t care about last year,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of the team’s mentality. “They didn’t want to talk about last year, as this was a new year. They set the tone right from Day 1.”
The Royals clinched a playoff spot despite losing 3-0 to the Braves earlier Friday. They got in automatically later in the evening when the Minnesota Twins were eliminated from the running for an American League wild-card berth with a 7-2 home loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
The Royals currently hold the third and final AL wild-card spot behind the Detroit Tigers. KC is a game behind the Tigers for the second AL wild-card spot.
The two teams have two games remaining to finalize their playoff seeding. The Royals could move up to second or remain in third, but either way their postseason berth is secured.
That much accomplished, the Royals and their fans can begin celebrating an epic turnaround in a city where playoff baseball has been all too rare. This is just the third postseason berth for the Royals in the last 40 seasons.
“I’m happy for them, our players, our coaches our staff, our fans in Kansas City and in the region,” Royals owner John Sherman said amid the clubhouse celebration. “I think bringing baseball back, we talked about this a lot: All we want to do is play meaningful baseball in August, September and have a chance to play in October. And, here we are. It’s very exciting.”
A lot has changed for the Royals since the last time they hoisted the World Series trophy nine years ago.
There are new faces in the starting pitching rotation, in Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. A new superstar at shortstop in the uber-talented Bobby Witt Jr.
And then there’s the lone constant: a longtime major-league veteran, all with the Royals, named Salvador Perez. The Most Valuable Player of the ‘15 series against the New York Mets, he has longed to get back to playing October baseball ever since.
“It’s super exciting and I am so happy to be here, especially with the young group that we have,” Perez said. “Just one day to feel what it’s like to be in the playoffs (again). And from now on, we are going to play for the playoffs.”
Perez has played catcher, first base and designated hitter this season, but he hasn’t had to shoulder the burden alone. A convoy of veterans was brought in over the past year to support KC’s young core of homegrown talent.
This past offseason, the Royals weren’t projected to be a playoff team in 2024. Several pundits didn’t even foresee a winning season for KC.
After all, the Royals hadn’t enjoyed a winning campaign in eight years, and they’d lost 100 or more games in three of those seasons.
Few outsiders believed in the ability of the Royals’ revamped roster to contend in 2024, but they certainly did. And during spring training, it became apparent that their starting pitching would be solid.
“Who gives a (expletive) if anybody doubted us,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “That doesn’t matter. We believed in ourselves all year and that belief has come to fruition. We play to get into the playoffs and we made it to the playoffs.”
Belief spread beyond the KC clubhouse as the regular season commenced. The Royals were competitive against the Orioles in their first road series.
But there were plenty of downs to go with the ups. Months later, they went 9-11 during a brutal 20-game stretch against top-tier teams. They also survived a pair of late-season seven-game losing streaks.
“You help put this team together and you help them grow,” Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney said. “You help them develop, and that’s all you can think about.”
And now the Royals are a playoff team again. Their 29-win improvement from 2023 to 2024 is among the greatest in baseball history ... and they’ve been rewarded for it.
This story was originally published September 27, 2024 at 10:02 PM.
