Kansas City Royals Five Coolest Players

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s be honest, baseball is one of the coolest sports there is. What’s cooler than a guy trying to throw a small piece of cork, wool and leather as hard as he can past a batter who’s trying to hit that same piece of cork, wool and leather as far and as hard as he can, and then run around three bases on his way back to home plate as fast as he can?

There are plenty of cool teams in Major League Baseball, and plenty of cool players around as well. The Kansas City Royals are one of those cool teams, and their roster has a number of cool players on it. But who exactly is the coolest?

Before we get started, let’s establish a few things. One: a player’s coolness has nothing to do with their on-field success. A player can be a sub-par baseballer, but still be extremely cool – for example Juan Pierre – and a really good baseballer can also be extremely uncool – hello Jose Bautista. Two, for the purpose of this discussion only players currently on Kansas City’s 40-man roster will be included (sorry Alex Gordon).

Having clarified those points, here’s my top five:

Next: NUMBER FIVE

Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Number Four – Salvador Perez

Coolness Rating: 8/10

Coolest trait: His arm

I think Salvador Perez is the coolest catcher in the Major Leagues. But despite this, he can only make it as high as fourth on this list.

The coolest thing about Perez is his awesome arm. For a catcher, throwing out baserunners is one of the coolest things you can do – and it’s something Perez does a lot.

He hoses potential base stealers and isn’t afraid to pick off anyone who is foolish enough to stray too far from first base. His arm isn’t his only asset as a catcher – he has a great glove and is a workhorse behind the plate, catching 292 games over the past two seasons (according to MLB.com).

Salvador’s coolness is boosted by his great attitude, ripper social media accounts, and his baseball-loving approach. His enthusiasm is contagious – how cool is it to see a guy play Major League Baseball and love every single minute of it? Perez has fun every day, and caps off each win with the cool, classic gatorade shower.

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news. Perez’s coolness dropped this year when he switched from his old, super cool All Star catchers gear that always matched the team’s uniform, to this year’s Rawlings gear, and this switch prevents him from climbing further up this list.

Next: NUMBER THREE

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Number Three – Lorenzo Cain

Coolness Rating: 9/10

Coolest trait: His glove

Lorenzo Cain dives into number three on this list and is a touch unlucky to not be any higher. Pretty much everything Cain does is cool – he can hit, he can run, he has a cool swing and he can steal bases.

Oh, and he can play defence. His speed gives him awesome range, which when combined with his spectacular natural athletic ability, allows him to make spectacular diving catches like these.

And this.

And this.

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Diving catches are super cool – they’re one of the two coolest things a position player can do during a game – but even then Cain’s diving plays are a step above. He has an incredible ability to track down and get to balls that most other outfielders couldn’t, and then he lays out and gloves it, how cool is that?

The second of the coolest things position players can do is hit home runs. Lorenzo Cain can is capable of doing this too, and not many of his homers would have been much cooler than this massive shot off Dallas Keuchel in game three of the ALDS.

I can’t think of a single un-cool thing about Lorenzo Cain, there simply isn’t one. The only reason he is down at number three on this list is that he’s just unlucky to have two even cooler players on the same roster as himself.

Next: NUMBER TWO

Oct 23, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher

(17) celebrates after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in game six of the ALCS at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Number Two – Wade Davis

Coolness rating: 9.5/10

Coolest trait: His dominance

Wade Davis is a boss. He is beyond elite, and is by far the best closer in the Major Leagues right now. That’s pretty darn cool.

The thing that makes Wade Davis so cool is his dominance. His stuff is so good, hitters just can’t handle it – his pitches are flat out nasty. He throws genuine heat with a high 90s fastball, he has a dirty cutter and a next level, absolutely FILTHY curveball.

Sometimes I think Wade Davis gives up hits just for fun, simply because he gets bored with getting outs and not giving up runs all the time. He is simply that good. 

The ultimate example of Davis’s coolness came during game six of the ALCS against Toronto last season.

With a one-run lead in the top of the 9th, Davis was faced with a runner on third and none out, then runners on first and third with none out. First he struck out Dioner Novarro, then with runners on second and third and one out – he struck out Ben Revere. Finally, Davis got Josh Donaldson to groundout to end the game, and the series.

It’s this kind of dominance and beast performance that makes him super cool and puts him at number two on my list. Nothing is cooler than an intimidating, dominating closer, who also has a funky, cool turn to look at the runner on first base when pitching out of the stretch. Well, almost nothing….

Next: NUMBER ONE

Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Number One – Terrance Gore

Coolness rating: 9.8/10

Coolest thing: His speed

I think Terrance Gore is the coolest player the Kansas City Royals have. In fact, he is cooler than cool – he is ice cold. He’s only 5 foot 7 and 165 pounds, but when you look at him he just oozes speed. He doesn’t have the speed swag that Jarrod Dyson has, but I think the the quiet, ‘I know I’m fast and I know you know I’m fast’ confidence is even cooler.

Terrance Gore pretty much has two jobs on the Kansas City Royals’ roster – to run and to steal bases. Thanks to his awesome speed, these are jobs Gore is pretty darn good at. So far in his major league career, he has stolen 12 bases and only been caught once (during the ALDS in Houston, when a review showed he came off the base for the tiniest of moments).

Let’s be honest, Terrance Gore is only in the Majors because of his speed. He isn’t the same as Jarrod Dyson, who can run but also has defensive and some offensive value, Gore is almost exclusively used just as a base runner – and that is what makes him cool.

Think about it – despite being dropped from this year’s World Series roster (for players who offered more all-around value than he did), Terrance Gore now has a World Series ring – thanks almost entirely to his speed.

Imagine being able to tell people that you’re a World Series Champion Major League baseballer, and all you do is steal bases and score runs. There is nothing cooler than that.

Disagree?Who do you think is the coolest player on the Royals’ roster?

Comment, vote, or hit me up on twitter @BransenGibson