No, The Royals Are Not Retaliating Against The Mets

With Opening Night less than a week away, the full attention of the Kansas City Royals and their fans has turned to the impending reunion between the 2015 World Champions and the New York Mets.

In recent days, much has been discussed regarding the last few remaining questions involving the composition of the roster, the fact that “Steady” (or Sexy, depending on your preference) Eddie Volquez has been tabbed to start the season, and the mystery that is Matt Harvey‘s bladder.  This is good. It is where the attention should be focused. Baseball is back and the Royals appear ready to defend their crown.

But now seemingly out of nowhere, a new controversy has emerged. Reports declaring that the Royals intend to somehow “retaliate” against the Mets in response to the infamous and ridiculous events that took place last October between Met’s pitcher Noah Syndergaard and Royals Shortstop Alcides Escobar. Evidently, according to “multiple industry sources,” winning the World Series was not enough to quell the anger of the Royals and that they now plan to exact revenge on Opening Night.

Has anyone, anywhere, heard or seen anything more ridiculous? If you have read any of the articles that have reported this information you know that there is not a single named source or identified player or coach who is purportedly behind this planned “retaliation.”

Now, of course, there is no one that is even remotely familiar with the Royals that believes that the club will actually follow through with whatever “retaliation” is supposedly planned.  For the sake of due diligence, however, we should consider what benefits the Royals would obtain by making such a move:

Reasons Why The Royals Should Retaliate Against The Mets

There are, of course, no strategical or emotional benefits that could come from doing something like this.  Does anyone actually believe that the Royals would ask Eddison Volquez to throw at a batter on Opening Night in front of a sold-out Kauffman Stadium on national television? Do any of these journalists who have reported this story actually think that the Royals will risk a suspension of Volquez or an injury due to a fight or the inevitable beaning that would occur the next time the Royals came to the plate?

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Let’s be clear, and if you happen to be one of those who reported this story or who have given it any sort of credence, please read these next words very carefully: The Royals Are The Champions Of The World.  They “retaliated” when they celebrated on the mound at Citi Field during the wee hours of the morning after clinching the Series in Game 5.  This is not a thing, please stop turning it into one.

Here’s the deal, we all know that, for whatever reason, the Royals gained a little bit of a “bad boy” reputation last Spring. We know all about the fights, fines, and suspensions. We remember the feud with the A’s and how that Royals batters were hit with a lot of baseballs.  Evidently there are some who believe that the reputation that the Royals are bunch of fighters will carry over into 2016.  This just is not going to happen.

On Sunday night,  the Royals will play a 30-second video clip honoring  the Met’s 2015 NL Championship (which is a really classy move) and then they will move on towards taking the first steps in defense of their   crown.

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This “story” that has been circulating today reeks of disbelief in what the Royals accomplished last season and disrespect towards their ability to make another run towards the postseason.  The only way the Royals can change that narrative is to go out and win on Sunday, which is exactly what they plan to do.