The 2014-15 Royals seasons have special place in hearts of Greg Holland, Wade Davis
During the offseason, Royals relief pitcher Wade Davis and his kids often plop down in front of the TV and watch some classics.
But they don’t stream black-and-white movies or “Seinfeld” reruns. Instead, they watch postseason games from the Royals’ run to the World Series in 2014 and 2015.
“Oh man I love watching all those games. Me and my kids watch the replay in the winter all the time,” Davis said.
Davis’ strikeout ended the 2015 World Series and gave the Royals their first championship in 30 years. But when it comes to appreciating the dominant Royals bullpen from those two years, he prefers to look back at the 2014 postseason.
“I actually like watching the Giants series from ‘14 a lot ... I thought it was such a good, well-pitched series and watching from start to finish, our starting rotation and then the bullpen, I thought that was such a cool series,” Davis said. “Sequence wise and the types of hitters we were facing, I thought that was probably our highest level of pitching as a staff. I really like watching that one a lot.”
Although the Royals lost to San Francisco in seven games, this was the height of the Kevin Herrera, Davis and Greg Holland bullpen domination.
The Royals led the American League with a save percentage of 82% in 2014. If the Royals had a lead after six innings, those three pitchers were almost certain to secure the victory.
In the 2014 World Series, the trio had a combined 1.22 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings pitched. In Game 7, they threw a combined 6 2/3 scoreless innings and the Royals nearly rallied for the series win.
After Tommy John surgery in 2015, Holland inked a free-agent deal with the Rockies, then pitched for the Cardinals, Nationals and Diamondbacks before signing with the Royals last year.
Davis was traded to the Cubs following the 2016 season and he signed as a free agent with the Rockies, calling Denver home from 2017-20. He signed a minor-league deal with the Royals earlier this year.
Holland said being part of the H-D-H bullpen is something he will remember the rest of his life.
“I try not to, to be honest with you,” Holland said when asked if he looks back to those two World Series seasons. “But it’s something that is gonna be a highlight of my career regardless of how long I’ve got left to play this game. I know watching some of those playoff games and just realizing how meaningful they were to the city and to us individually is pretty special.
“I try not to jump into that thought process during the course of a season or anything, but I know that when I’m done playing this game that I’ll be able to sit back and really enjoy a lot of memories that are gonna be dear to me.”
Herrera was traded by the Royals to the Nationals in the 2018 season, and he pitched the previous two years with the White Sox. Despite being just 31, Herrera remains a free agent.
Davis and Holland, who are both 35 years old, said they still keep in touch with Herrera.
“I think that’s the greatest part of this game is the connections you make with people from all different walks of life, and Kelvin’s way up there for me,” Holland said. “We grinded it out. He pitched in some really huge spots on short rest or no rest, and you respect that. But you also respect the type of person he is.
“He’s a great friend of mine and he’s not the only one I keep in touch with. I’m kind of a hermit crab, but he’s one of those special guys I talk to a few times in the off-season and try to keep in touch with.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2021 at 10:48 AM.
