Does Anyone Want the American League Wild Card?

By David Hill | Sep 21, 2014

The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of their most important month in over a decade. With a playoff berth on the line, the Royals have stumbled as of late. Overall for the month of September, the Royals are 9-9, yet have gone 4-6 in their last ten games, including losing the first two games in a crucial series against the Tigers. The Royals have looked the part of a young team that is still learning how to win.

Fortunately, the Royals two biggest rivals for the Wild Card have also struggled. The Oakland A’s have cratered since the trade deadline, falling from first place in the American League West and the best record in baseball to only having a half game lead over the Royals heading into today. Over the past month, the A’s have gone 6-12, and may be falling entirely out of the playoffs.

The other major challenge of the Wild Card is the Seattle Mariners. Like the Royals, the Mariners have not exactly set the baseball world afire over the month of September, going just 10-9 this month. Also like the Royals, the Mariners have slumped lately, posting an identical 4-6 record over their past ten games.

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At this point, given the struggles of the three main contenders for the Wild Card in the American League, it may be fair to wonder if anyone wants this final berth. While the one game playoff is not exactly the best situation, given that one bad bounce or miscue could end the season. Of course, that is certainly better than the alternative, which is one that the Royals have become all too familiar with over the past 28 years.

All that is may take to win the Wild Card is for one team to get hot. The Royals end the season by facing the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox. Oakland, meanwhile, faces off against the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers, who have won seven of their last ten games. Seattle faces off against the Blue Jays before ending the season with a three game set against those same Angels.

All three teams have what appears to be a winnable series and a fairly difficult matchup. The final week of the season may well come down to which team is able to perform best during that difficult series. With the Indians on the verge of falling out of the playoff hunt, the Royals will be facing a desperate team. As the Royals are only 7-9 against the Indians, and with that half inning left to be made up, they could be in for a tough matchup.

Fortunately, the other contenders for the Wild Card have been struggling as well lately. Hopefully, that will be enough for the Royals to win the Wild Card.

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