Core Royals players overcame challenges, carried their team and swept away doubts

The Royals’ 25-man postseason roster has 12 changes on it from last season, and without the makeover they probably wouldn’t have won their second straight American League Championship Series on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

That was particularly true with the additions of Kendrys Morales, Chris Young, Ryan Madson, the postseason version of Alex Rios and Ben Zobrist, whose first-inning home run stirred Kauffman Stadium to a life it never lost in the Royals’ 4-3 victory over Toronto in the decisive and nerve-wracking Game 6.

But this all has sprouted foremost from the core of players who came of age here, players whose early struggles left skeptics expecting they’d just add to the generation of futility that had engulfed the franchise.

They needed time to develop, general manager Dayton Moore would say year after year after year after taking over in mid-2006.

And of course they did after so many barren years had left so much in a shambles.

But by the time the nucleus was arriving in the big leagues in the early 2010s, patience was ebbing and a common criticism was that Moore kept moving the goalposts on when the youngsters could be expected to find themselves.

The trouble with sorting such a thing out is that everyone is on his own pace, no matter how abundant the talent might seem to be.

They all had their challenges, even Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, the back-to-back ALCS MVPs acquired in the Zack Greinke trade.

So did Sal Perez and Danny Duffy and the injured Greg Holland and Alex Gordon, who was drafted before Moore arrived but had to undergo a radical transition from third base in 2010 to become an All-Star left fielder.

But no one had more heavy expectations of them as future franchise cornerstones than first baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas, each of whom was promoted from Class AAA Omaha in mid-2011 with the label of being the future.

The ebb and flow of their first few years frequently made it seem uncertain to outsiders that they’d ever fulfill those hopes until they helped carry the Royals to Game 7 of the World Series last postseason.

And in a fine piece of symmetry, here they were on Friday, each making major offensive contributions before completing the final out of the game with Moustakas fielding Josh Donaldson’s hard grounder to throw him out at first and douse a last Toronto threat.

"It’s not surprising, because they’re competitors and they love to play," Moore said on the field after the game. "They love the moment, they want to be in the pressure situation.

"We’ve seen that time and time again."

Speaking specifically of the duo, hitting coach Dale Sveum said, "These guys find a way" by just getting down in the dirt at crunch time.

Moustakas, the second overall pick in the 2007 draft, and Hosmer, third overall in 2008, also were connected by somewhat quiet postseasons before Friday.

While each had had several key hits, Hosmer was hitting .220 and Moustakas just .132.

But it was Hosmer in the eighth inning who drove in Cain from first with the winning run on a single enhanced by his base-running hustle.

"This story just keeps getting better and better," Hosmer said.

And then there was Moustakas, who embodies the ups and downs and human element of all this like no one else.

"Moose has a special place in all of our hearts, because he leaves it out on the field each and every night," Moore said. "He’s captivated our fans from the time he joined this organization."

Part of that has been seeing him go through so much.

Last season, he was both demoted to Class AAA Omaha and hit a franchise-record five home runs in a postseason also marked by his iconic catch crashing the dugout suites.

That postseason largely proved transformative for Moustakas, who had career bests with a .284 average (.72 higher than 2014), 22 home runs and 82 RBIs all while contending with the illness of and, ultimately, the death of his mother.

Then came this postseason, when Moustakas’ presence was prominent as the emotional sparkplug of the Royals’ rally from down 6-2 in the eighth inning of Game 4 against Houston but when his numbers had sagged.

Other than driving in the tying run of Game 2 against Toronto, Moustakas had been four for 37 this postseason.

On Friday, though, he was a catalyst when the Royals needed him most, first thumping a controversial home run to right center to give Kansas City a 2-0 lead.

The ball, caught by a fan near the outfield wall, was scrutinized and certified by review officials even as the play left Toronto fans furious.

"I don’t really know (if it was out)," Moustakas said amid the celebration all around him in the clubhouse. "The umpires called it a home run, so that’s all I can go off of."

Moustakas’ seventh-inning hit turned into another run when Rios drove him home, and after the game he appreciated the kinship he feels with all his teammates but perhaps most with Hosmer.

"He’s one of my best friends," Moustakas said. "To be able to come through minor leagues together and to be able to get to this point together, to go to a World Series for back-to-back years, honestly words can’t explain how happy I am."

After the celebration on the field, Moustakas thought of his mother, Connie, whose initials he draws in the dirt before every at-bat.

He choked up as he looked skyward, thinking of her, but added, "She was there watching us again tonight. It was exciting to have her there."

And exciting to create a time like no others in Royals history with their first back-to-back World Series appearances.

Thanks to an infusion of newcomers, yes, but made possible by a nucleus of players who grew up before your eyes — through all the awkwardness and uncertainty and pain to finally become who they are.

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 3:28 AM with the headline "Core Royals players overcame challenges, carried their team and swept away doubts."