Kansas City Royals: A Season to Remember

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Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

It is not everyday that a team as truly magical and extraordinary as the 2015 Kansas City Royals comes about. Fresh off of a 2014 World Series loss, the KC Royals had no doubt that the 2015 team would be one for the history books. The team, coaching staff and fans all anxiously awaited the start of the new season after the devastation that resulted from last year’s defeat.

The experience gained during the 2014 season would motivate the team even more to accomplish what they had set out to do in 2014. Returning faces and first-timers alike would look to lead a young team to the end goal, a World Series championship.

As dawn broke on another baseball season and another opportunity, the Kansas City Royals were more than ready. There’s no doubt, nor has there ever been, about the feats and accomplishments that this KC Royals team would be able to achieve. With the personnel and motivation held in the clubhouse, the team’s goals stretched way beyond Opening Day; this team was destined for greatness.

That was certainly evident during Spring Training, when the Royals posted a 20-10 record. While Spring Training is not exactly an indicator of future success, the Royals had a chip on their shoulder from the beginning as they sought to take care of unfinished business. That success from Spring Training would carry over into the first month of the season, as the Royals looked to take care of some unfinished business.

Next: A hot start to set the tone

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

As the lights of Kauffman Stadium slowly crescendoed to a bright, buzzing, fluorescent filter over the delicate diamond that played host to so many distant and recent memories, dusk of the fifth of April approached. Groundskeepers and managers alike prepared themselves for the upcoming season and players readied themselves for a shot at redemption; for the last time that most of them walked off the field, the feeling of despair was accompanied by the drive for redemption.

After the heartbreak of Game 7 came the overwhelming sense of redemption and the drive to accomplish what they had been so close to the year prior. The Kansas City Royals, their coaches and all of their fans gathered into Kauffman Stadium on the April 6th to witness the beginning of something special, the beginning of history.

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While so many fans still felt the heartbreak that ensued after the 2014 World Series loss, the KC Royals stepped onto the field ready to play; they walloped the unsuspecting White Sox on Opening Day by a score of 10-1; Mike Moustakas and Alex Rios both homered in that game and set a promising tone for the rest of the season.

The Kansas City Royals would eventually go on a 7-0 run and bring hope to their many fans around the world. The hopes of going 162-0 were crushed when the Royals lost their 8th game of the season to the (who would prove to be pesky) Minnesota Twins, 3-1.

Just to give a sense of all of the changes that the team went through, the starting rotation in April read as follows: Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy, Edinson Volquez, Jason Vargas and Jeremy Guthrie. Of those five men, only Ventura and Volquez were still in the rotation as the regular season came to a close in Minnesota on October 4.

During the month of April, the KC Royals had lost their “star” right fielder, Alex Rios, to a broken hand that would sideline him until the end of May. By the end of April, the team was a dazzling 15-7 and lead the American League Central Division with a .5 game lead over the Detroit Tigers. The Kansas City Royals were officially in business and of course, fans started to see a glimpse of the magic that would come.

Next: Potential signs for concern

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The team opened the month of May by losing 2 of 3 games and the division lead to the Detroit Tigers. During the month of May, 6 foot 10, 88 MPH fastballer Chris Young worked his way into the starting rotation; a fly ball pitcher like Young would prove to do just fine at a ballpark as big as the K.

The bullpen, as always, was lights out and featured the arms of Jason Frasor and (hold back the tears) Brandon Finnegan, who both continued to prove worthy of a throne in the Royals league-leading pen (while both were solid arms, the World Series win does not happen without the Cueto trade and the release of Frasor).

On May 19, Johnny Cueto took a trip to the K, but while in a Reds uniform he tossed 7 3-run, 9-hit innings. Dayton Moore and Ned Yost probably had a close eye on Cueto on that day and made sure that the next time he would take the mound at Kauffman Stadium, his dreadlocks would be secured with a Royal blue skullcap.

The I-70 rivals came to town in May and stole 2 of 3 games from the Royals, but the 2015 postseason would not prove too friendly to the #1 seeded St. Louis Cardinals as they were bested by the Cubs in the NLDS. The end of May brought about a losing streak and a slump for the Royals as their first losing streak would truly begin on May 25 at Yankee Stadium.

As a Royals fan that sat not so quietly in the left field seats of Yankee Stadium on that fateful day, I have to concede that I have never felt more anger towards a pitcher and manager than I did for Jeremy Guthrie and Ned Yost on that day. The Yanks blasted 5 home runs that day, 3 in the first inning and 4 total off of starter Guthrie. The Royals were swept by the Pinstripes and headed to Wrigley in an attempt to rebound.

After their horrendous performance in NY, the Royals went on to lose the next 8 of their 10 games. By the end of May, Alex Rios had returned with a cool bat but the Royals were 29-18 and still had a .5 game division lead now over the Minnesota Twins.

Next: Injuries and the second half

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

The month of June brought progress for the ball club, but a fateful moment came at the end of June when starter Jason Vargas was diagnosed with a torn UCL that put him on the IR for the rest of the season (and most likely the 2016 season) with a looming Tommy John surgery. The KC Royals went into St. Louis and were swept in a 2 game series, the third of which was postponed and played later in the season.

July and August brought about grim hope and a blurred vision of the future for the Royals and their fans but the future was questionably bright and it looked as if the playoffs were somewhere in the picture.

General Manager Dayton Moore made a splash at the trade deadline when he traded away younglings Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed to acquire star Reds ace Johnny Cueto. With the acquisition of Cueto, the team and their fans finally had the realization that this year’s team could do it all again and that a deep playoff run was a legitimate possibility.

Moore also made an effort to pick up the versatile Ben Zobrist to replace the injured Alex Gordon in left field. A division title looked like a likely possibility as August ended with the Royals up 13 full games over the Twinkies.

September, oh September. Alex Gordon returned to the Royals lineup on September 1, but that proved to be the only good news that came out of the gory month of September. With looming playoffs and a possible division title, the foot had seemingly come off the gas pedal.

The team went a combined 11-16 in September and quite honestly, played horrible baseball. Pitching fell apart throughout the month of September and the bats were locked away in the freezer. There was a distinct aura of frustration that wafted above Kauffman Stadium as the team continued to fall apart, but the hopes of the organization’s first ever division title still hung high.

On September 24, the struggling Johnny Cueto and the Royals defeated the Seattle Mariners 10-4 to clinch Kansas City’s first ever American League Central Division Championship. The focus shifted to home field advantage throughout the playoffs, a feat that the Royals were able to accomplish despite the surging Toronto Blue Jays. The Royals seemed to be ready for the postseason as they won 5 straight and swept the Minnesota Twins to complete the regular season.

Next: On to the postseason!

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Of course, the rest is history. The Royals were down to their final 6 outs as they trailed the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game 4 of the ALDS, down 2-1 in the series. Hope seemed to be lost, but this magical team pulled out a victory and Johnny Cueto was able push the team into the ALCS to face the dangerous Toronto Blue Jays.

Kansas City Royals: A Season To Remember

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