Kansas City Royals Countdown: Top 10 Moments of 2015 Postseason Run

No. 1 Eric Hosmer’s Dash

Feel free to debate this choice in our comments section or on social media, but I stand by it. This is the moment—above all others—that defines the 2015 postseason run.

It involves one of the highly touted prospects who worked his way through the farm system to live up to his high draft position. It also involves the philosophy of putting pressure on the defense but in a smart way—based on scouting reports. And finally, it involves another late comeback that led to an extra-inning win.

That is peak Kansas City Royals baseball.

Harvey convinced Terry Collins to send him out for the ninth inning with a 2-0 lead. He had seen Familia cost him a win in Game 1 and thought he could finish the job himself. But Harvey failed to record a single out.

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Similarly to the ALCS Game 6 rally, Cain opened the inning with a walk. This time, though, he stole second base. Instead of a blooper down the right-field line, Hosmer followed with a shot over the left fielder Conforto’s head to score Cain.

After the double, Familia finally came in to replace Harvey. Hosmer moved to third on a groundout by Moustakas. With one out, Perez hit a broken-bat grounder to the left side of the infield. Third baseman David Wright stepped in front of Flores to field the ball.

As soon as Wright made his soft side-armed throw, Hosmer took off from third. He was only about halfway down the line when Lucas Duda caught the throw at first base. Had he taken his time, Duda could have easily thrown out Hosmer to end the game.

But pressure is a tricky opponent. Duda’s throw sailed wide of catcher Travis d’Arnaud, as Hosmer dove in head first. That’s the iconic moment from the 2015 postseason. There were plenty of great ones, to be sure, but Hosmer’s mad dash will go down as the greatest.

Next: The Best Outfielders in Royals History

At least in our book.