Kansas City Royals Countdown: Top 10 Moments of 2014 Postseason Run

1. 12th-Inning Wild Card Rally

Did you expect anything else? I guess maybe you thought it could have been just Perez’s hit down the line. But we felt that was unfair to Hosmer’s triple, Colon’s single and the rest of the magic that came from that 12th-inning rally.

Facing an 8-7 deficit, Cain grounded out to open the inning. Hosmer followed with a long drive to left-center field. He missed a home run by about a foot but reached third base as the Oakland outfielders collided on the play.

Christian Colon came on to pinch-hit. Colon’s chopper up the third-base line allowed him to reach first base and Hosmer to score. With the score tied, Gordon fouled out to first base.

Current Kansas City Royals pitcher Jason Hammel came out of the bullpen to try to send the game to a 13th inning. The first—and only—batter he saw was Perez. The Royals catcher stepped in having gone 0 for 5, so far, in the game.

With Perez at the plate, Colon became the seventh different Kansas City Royals player to steal a base in the game. The Athletics guessed right with a pitchout, but catcher Derek Norris dropped the ball.

Literally.

That proved crucial as Perez pulled a 2-2 offering down the third-base line past a helpless Josh Donaldson. Colon crossed the plate to set off a wild celebration.

Next: The Best Royals Outfielders of All-Time

It was only a sign of things to come, as the Kansas City Royals embarked on an incredible run to the World Series. Still, this is the moment that will forever be associated with the 2014 postseason, because without it, we wouldn’t even have been able to create this list.