Jeremy Guthrie on why Royals' World Series loss made their 2015 title even sweeter

With his playing days in the rear-view mirror, Jeremy Guthrie has had many speaking engagements.

Guthrie, the former Royals pitcher, usually brings two props with him: the rings he received for being on the 2014 American League championship squad and the 2015 World Series title team.

“I get a chance to speak to a number of youth and kids from our church groups, and inevitably, they ask about the ring, so I usually just bring it and if someone asks, I bring it out for them,” Guthrie said.

“I show them first what you get for being a second-place winner, and they’re pretty in awe of that, and then I can show them for being in first place. It always gets a big rise out of anybody. Baseball fans or not, they’re usually very, very impressed with the amount of bling that comes with winning the World Series.”

That there are two rings is special for Guthrie, but it goes beyond the obvious happiness of owning the jewelry.

The Royals nearly won the World Series in 2014, leaving the tying run 90 feet away in the ninth inning of their Game 7 loss to the Giants. That their dreams were dashed only emboldened the Royals and made the 2015 championship sweeter, Guthrie said.

“The fact that we lost, I think added even more to the experience, to what it meant,” he said. “To get so close and nearly achieve an impossible dream and then against many people’s predictions and thoughts, to do it all over again and get to the top. That for me, I think, adds even to the memory of it all.

"Being able to fight through that and believe in each other, and that’s really what it takes. But not too often do you get to see a team come out of nowhere, get so close and then come right back and do it again. That’s really what I’ll remember most about the group of guys I was fortunate enough to share the field with.”

Guthrie, who will be making his broadcasting debut for the Royals' game Wednesday in Toronto, was also happy that Kansas City was taken on such a fun ride during those two trips to the Fall Classic.

“Being able to show our community that if you keep fighting and you don’t ever give in and even if you come close, you don’t get satisfied. You keep going for the ultimate goal and that’s what we were able to do together.

“The entire experience is one that is unparalleled in many ways for the Royals, especially those who were there an even longer time. ... All those players who came up Royals and were really drafted to an organization that from the outside was struggling and may have appeared to be a long way away from winning. Then to see the transformation occur, not only on a teamwide level, but an organizational level and the community and citywide and regionally, really, just to see that huge transformation happen, I don’t know that anybody can ever forget what those two years felt like and the satisfaction that came in the way we did it.”

This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Jeremy Guthrie on why Royals' World Series loss made their 2015 title even sweeter."