KC Royals: Five Memorable Ben Zobrist Plays With Royals

4) The Peek-A-Boo Slide

The KC Royals lost 5-2 while  Zobrist went 0-4 in his Kansas City debut. However, Zobrist collected both his first Kansas City Royals hit and first two Royals RBIs with one swing on July 31.

The landmark hit came in the first inning and drove in Eric Hosmer from third and Kendrys Morales from second base. As most KC Royals fans will recall, Morales is pretty much the slowest runner on the team (with the possible exception of catcher Salvador Perez. A race between the two would be like matching a snail vs. a ground slug).

More from KC Royals News

• Grading the 2022 KC Royals: The $25 million man
• KC Royals Winter Meetings Tracker: Expectations met
• KC Royals Winter Meetings Tracker: Day 3 update
• KC Royals Winter Meetings Tracker: Day 2 update
• Winter Meetings: Any blockbusters for the KC Royals?

Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista made a strong throw home that appeared to beat the lumbering Morales to the plate. Yet, not only is Kendrys Morales a slow running, he isn’t exactly the most fluid athlete on the base paths.

Morales attempted slide into home came up a few feet short of the target, which actually worked to his advantage when Toronto’s All-Star catcher Russell Martin missed the tag due to Morales sudden stop.

Kendrys Morales stood up from his slide as the sprawling Martin’s diving attempt at a tag completely missed Morales. Hey, sometimes being awkward works to your advantage because you’re not where others expect you to be.

It was a goofy little play that sticks in my mind because the KC Royals ended up playing the Blue Jays for the AL pennant less than three months later. Despite a 3-0 first-inning lead, the Kansas City Royals bullpen collapsed in the seventh when Ryan Madson and Kelvin Herrera managed to blow a four-run lead.

Toronto won in the 11th when future league MVP Josh Donaldson singled off Franklin Morales to drive in SS Troy Tulowitzki with the winning run in a 7-6 Toronto win. The KC Royals and Blue Jays deadline deal acquisitions Johnny Cueto (who was the starting pitcher for the Royals), Ben Zobrist, and Troy Tulowitzki faced off in a game that presaged their October battle.

Next: October 9, 2015: First Lead Against Astros