KC Royals: Raul Ibanez Speech Still Echoes Through KC Clubhouse During 2015 World Series

Former KC Royals outfielder Raúl Ibañez retired from the playing field last winter. Though he is today part of Fox Sports World Series broadcast team, his legacy lives on in the Kansas City Royals clubhouse.

Ibañez is still a big part of what’s going on in Kansas City today.

Back in July of 2014, KC Royals GM Dayton Moore plucked Raúl Ibañez from the waiver wire in hopes the 42-year-old veteran might jump start his stagnant offense. Coming into the 2014 season after their first over-.500 record in 10 years, the Kansas City Royals were mired in a disappointing start.

The KC Royals stood 43-40 on July 1, the first day Ibañez played for the 2014 team. By July 20, a five-game losing streak put the Royals playoff hopes in jeopardy. That’s when Raúl Ibañez called a player’s only meeting because he had something to say to his young teammates.

When asked about the meeting in September of 2014, Ibañez recalled for USA Today’s Bob Nightengale:

"“I just gave my honest observations,” says Ibanez, who joined the team only three weeks earlier after being released by the Los Angeles Angels, “and told them about the potential and talent they had. The talent here is so incredible. They just need to believe that.“So I told them that looking in from the outside, every team hated to play them. Everyone saw the talent they had. This was their opportunity. They were on the cusp of greatness.“I just thought they needed a belief.”"

According to his teammates, the Ibanez’s pick-me-up speech worked. Jarrod Dyson told Nightengale:

"“See what I mean,” Royals teammate Jarrod Dyson says. “He does that to us all of the time. I can’t even tell you the impact he’s made on me, and everyone in this clubhouse.“I just know we wouldn’t be in the position we are today without him.”"

The KC Royals followed up Raúl Ibañez’s speech with a MLB-best 41-22 second-half kick to take the top wild card in the American League. They caught fire with an improbable four-run comeback to defeat the Oakland A’s 9-8 in the wild card game, which was the first time a team had overcome a deficit that big to win an elimination game.

The Kansas City Royals then swept their way to the World Series by reeling off seven straight victories, before falling to the San Francisco Giants in a seven-game World Series.