Living on the West Coast makes following the Royals consistently a little challenging. A lot of games are starting right when the day is still rolling in the west, and life doesn't always cooperate with the baseball schedule.
But something funny happened this summer. Even when I wasn't able to watch the Royals game, I kept seeing the Royals. I'd turn on a sports network to catch the day's highlights, scroll through social media or watch a recap, and there they were again. Another great defensive play. Another double play. Another Bobby Witt Jr. highlight. Another Salvy or Cags moment. And every time, I had pretty much the same reaction: YES! The Royals made the highlight reel! That's one of the reasons 69–93 isn't really how I'm going to remember this season.
Bobby Being Bobby
Let's start with Bobby Witt Jr.
I know I'm biased, but I don't care what game I'm watching or what market I'm in—Bobby is the best shortstop. It seemed like all season long I would turn on the day's highlights and see another Royals double play, often with Bobby right in the middle of it. And some of these weren't exactly routine grounder, flip, throw, inning over. There was a 5-6-4-3 double play in April that MLB said was the first of its kind since 1995. There was another game-ending double play against my Padres. There were diving stops, backhanded plays and throws from positions where I'm pretty sure normal human beings aren't supposed to be able to throw a baseball.
Living outside the Kansas City market, I also enjoy seeing the respect Bobby gets nationally. Royals fans know what we have. It's fun seeing everyone else notice too.
And apparently putting on a Team USA uniform didn't change anything. Watching Bobby against Mexico in the World Baseball Classic was like watching somebody put on a shortstop clinic. Dive. Get up. Throw. Repeat. I lost count of how many highlight plays he made during the tournament.
The Kids Made Things Interesting
Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone gave us another reason to keep checking in. Jensen finished with 27 home runs and set a new Royals rookie home-run record. Caglianone kept showing why people have been so excited about him, including that five-hit, six-RBI game against Toronto.
I'd already enjoyed watching Jac in the World Baseball Classic before the Royals season even started, and then we got to watch him continue developing once the regular season began. That's probably one of the biggest reasons I'm interested in what happens next. These guys aren't finished products yet. They're getting better. Put Jensen and Caglianone together and they hit 50 home runs this season. I'll take that as something to build on.
The WBC Was Basically a Royals Family Argument
The World Baseball Classic gave us some of my favorite baseball memories of the entire year—and a strange problem for Royals fans because our guys were everywhere. Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Wacha were playing for Team USA. Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone were with Italy. And Salvy was captaining Venezuela. We had great weather out West this spring, and I watched a lot of the games on the back patio. My neighbors probably had no idea which country I was cheering for. The reality was much simpler: I was cheering for the Royals.
Then Vinnie decided to make a little history and became the first player in WBC history to hit three home runs in a game. Because apparently hitting one home run is just inefficient.
And then there's Salvy. I went back and listened to Salvador Perez speak after Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic, and there is absolutely no doubt how much that man loves baseball. After everything he's done and everything he's meant to Kansas City, I was thrilled to see him get that victory.
Love it.
And Then Salvy Discovered a New Superpower
With the addition of the new ABS Challenge System, I wasn't really a fan. I tend to lean toward the human element of mistakes being part of the game. But somewhere along the way I started noticing something: Salvy was REALLY good at this.
Apparently I wasn't imagining it. Behind the plate, Salvy challenged 65 calls and got 46 of them overturned—71%. And when he was hitting, he went 8-for-9 on challenges—89%. The real fun was watching him make those calls from behind the plate, usually with that Salvy grin.
The man has spent roughly half his life staring at pitches from three feet away. Maybe asking Salvy whether a pitch was actually a strike wasn't exactly giving the umpire a fair fight.
It Wasn't All Highlight Reels
Obviously, there's a reason the Royals finished 69–93. For me, the biggest word is consistency.
There were stretches when this team showed exactly what it could be. The nine-game winning streak was the most obvious example. When the hitting was rolling, the pitching was working and the fundamentals came together, you could see the possibilities. The problem was getting all of those things to happen consistently.
Kansas City actually finished tied for second in the American League in batting average, but only 22nd in MLB in runs scored. The bullpen finished 29th with a 5.07 ERA. Injuries hurt the pitching staff, and early-season offensive struggles dug a hole that became very difficult to escape. That's where I hope the focus goes this offseason.
Keep the bats rolling. Add pitching depth. Clean up the fundamentals. And figure out how to turn those stretches of really good baseball into something that lasts longer than a week or two.
Because we saw enough this year to know the opportunities are there.
So What Am I Going to Remember?
I'm going to remember turning on the sports highlights from San Diego and unexpectedly seeing another Royals play.
I'm going to remember Bobby making ridiculous plays look routine.
I'm going to remember the kids starting to show us what they might become.
I'm going to remember Vinnie going deep three times in the WBC.
I'm going to remember Salvy celebrating a championship.
I'm going to remember Salvy becoming the King of Kauffman, breaking George Brett's franchise record to become the Royals' all-time home run leader.
I'm going to remember nine straight wins and briefly allowing myself to engage in some extremely optimistic baseball mathematics.
And I'm going to remember that even during a disappointing season, the Royals gave me plenty of reasons to stop what I was doing and say:
Hey! The Royals are my home team!
Now comes the offseason.
And when spring training rolls around, we'll do what baseball fans always do.
Forget the down year.
Look at the roster.
Convince ourselves this could be the year.
2027, here come the Royals!