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

We’ve already counted down the top Kansas City Royals moments from the 2014 playoffs. Now, we look at the best from their 2015 World Series-winning run.

The finals grain of sand are about to reach the bottom half of the hourglass. The Kansas City Royals—as we know them—are about to change forever. Several members of the team that helped reach consecutive World Series are about to become free agents.

It’s had us reminiscing, especially since the team became officially eliminated from postseason contention, and there are a lot of great memories on which to reflect. We’ve already taken a trip down memory lane with a rundown of the thrilling 2014 postseason run. Now, it’s time we did the same for 2015.

As with 2014, there were plenty of moments that could have been chosen. We could have made this a top-25 list, and there still would have been several near-misses that warranted inclusion. That’s what happens when a franchise wins its first world championship in a generation.

This is a post that you might find yourself coming back to at different points in the coming seasons. It’s a lot easier to go through a rebuild when you have such fresh memories to cherish. Those will get you through a lot of tough times.

At this point, we don’t know who will return to the Kansas City Royals for 2018. There is a lot still up in the air, but it’s safe to say things won’t be the same for a while. Yeah, let’s just dive right in before we start crying.

Honorable Mention

There were so many memorable moments from the 2015 postseason we had to leave out a few major ones. Here’s some of the incredible plays that somehow couldn’t find a spot on our top-10 list.

Alcides Escobar Leads Off World Series

The free-swinging Alcides Escobar had become famous for opening games by swinging at the first pitch. He kept the same approach in Game 1 of the World Series. It led to a long drive off of Matt Harvey.

The ball bounced off outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, allowing Escobar to score on an inside-the-park home run. It had to be among the most surprising starts to a World Series game—more or less Game1.

Eric Hosmer Redeems Himself

After a late-inning error helped the Mets take the lead, Eric Hosmer got bailed out by Alex Gordon. (You’ll see that soon.) The first baseman then completed the comeback with a sacrifice fly in the 14th inning.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, he lifted a towering fly ball to right field. Curtis Granderson got behind the ball and made a good strong throw home. But it wasn’t nearly enough to keep Escobar from scoring.

Wade Davis Picks Off Carlos Gomez

The Kansas City Royals were clinging to a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning of ALDS Game 2. With one out, Preston Tucker walked and Carlos Gomez came on to pinch-run. Before he even had a chance to measure up Wade Davis, Gomez had already been picked off.

Not one known for a great pickoff move, Davis threw over to first before even making a pitch to batter Jose Altuve. Gomez initially was called safe with the throw skipping in the dirt. However, the call was overturned after a review. It turned out the low throw helped Hosmer already have his glove touching Gomez as he snagged the throw.

No. 10 Johnny Cueto’s Two Gems

Fine, these are technically two different games. But it’s fair to consider these as one collective “moment.” It’s impossible to reflect on Johnny Cueto‘s time in Kansas City without remembering his performances in ALDS Game 5 and World Series Game 2.

The ace added from Cincinnati pitched lights out against Detroit in his first game at Kauffman Stadium. These two performances continued his theme of pitching well at The K.

First came his clutch performance in the winner-take-all finale of an outstanding ALDS. After the incredible comeback in Game 4, Cueto took the ball with the goal of getting the Kansas City Royals to a second straight ALCS.

Things didn’t start well with a two-run homer by Luis Valbuena with two outs in the second inning. Cueto then got Chris Carter to fly out and proceeded to retire the next 18 batters over eight sensational innings. Along the way, the Royals scored seven unanswered runs to give Cueto—who finished with eight strikeouts, two hits allowed and no walks—a much-deserved win.

A few weeks later, Cueto pitched another brilliant game in what turned out to be his last appearance as a Kansas City Royals player.

This time Cueto went the distance in the 7-1 win. After a marathon Game 1, his performance allowed the Royals to rest their bullpen. Similar to his ALDS Game 5 start, Cueto improved as the game went along. This time he retired the final 15 batters. He finished with four strikeouts, while allowing just three walks and two hits.

He made the final game at Kauffman Stadium in 2015 one to remember.

No. 9 Wade Davis Closes Out World Series

Stop yelling. Please, stop yelling. Let me explain. Yes, this is the moment the Kansas City Royals won their first World Series title since 1985. No, it’s not the top moment of the postseason.

Everything built to this, but the drama—thankfully—wasn’t there. Royals fans might not have survived a dramatic ending like the one they experienced in ALCS Game 6. Thankfully, they didn’t have to suffer through that again.

Everything built to this, but the drama—thankfully—wasn’t there.

Taking a five-run lead into the bottom of the 12th felt a whole lot better than a one-run lead would have felt. However, that would have vaulted this memory up the list.

Instead, most fans had come to the realization during the five-run outburst that the long wait would come to an end. Davis made sure of that.

Unlike the aforementioned ALCS Game 6, he started off the deciding inning with a strong showing. He struck out back-to-back hitters before Michael Conforto singled. Davis, though, finished off the game, the season and the drought with a strikeout of Wilmer Flores.

The only thing that felt wrong about the moment was having Drew Butera instead of Salvador Perez jumping into Davis’ arms. However, Perez had done his job in the top of the 12th, and Ned Yost had made the right decision in pinch-running for him.

This also seems like a good time to let you know that the parade does not appear on this list. It’s a moment all its own, and we’ve decided to stick with on-the-field memories that led to that off-the-field one.

No. 8 Seventh-Inning Rally in ALCS Game 2

The Kansas City Royals made extra-inning heroics their theme in the 2014 postseason. This time around, they became the kings of the late-inning rally. This isn’t the most famous example, but it’s an underrated one compared to the others.

Facing the possibility of heading to Toronto with the ALCS tied 1-1, the Kansas City Royals rallied against Blue Jays ace David Price. The rally started in the most innocuous way.

Trailing 3-0, Ben Zobrist floated a pop fly into shallow right field. Second baseman Ryan Goins appeared to have it covered but seemed to bail out at the last second. Right fielder Jose Bautista saw the ball fall harmlessly in front of him.

Next came a swift and powerful rally that turned the game on its head.

Lorenzo Cain had a single, Hosmer had a run-scoring single, Kendrys Morales had an RBI-groundout and Mike Moustakas had an RBI-single. Just like that the score was 3-3. Perez struck out, but Gordon doubled to break the tie. Alex Rios completed the outburst with a single to score Gordon.

The Kansas City Royals added another run in the eighth inning. The Blue Jays threatened in the ninth inning with the first two batters reaching base. But—in a sign of things to come—Davis escaped the jam unscathed.

No. 7 Edinson Volquez World Series Efforts

There were several big storylines to come out of Game 1 of the World Series. Perhaps, the biggest one of all involved Edinson Volquez and the death of his father. At the time, people speculated whether Volquez knew his dad had died of a heart attack just hours before he started the World Series opener.

Afterwards, it came out that Volquez pitched the game unaware of what had happened back in his native Dominican Republic. His wife informed him not long after he left the game with the score tied 3-3 entering the seventh inning.

On that night, he worked a quality start with three runs allowed over six innings. Volquez allowed six hits and a walk while striking out three. In an interesting twist, Chris Young, whose father died during the season, earned the win in relief with three shutout innings.

After returning home for the funeral, Volquez remarkably composed himself enough to start Game 5 in New York.

Matching up with Harvey again, Volquez didn’t get off to the best start with Granderson hitting a leadoff home run. He settled down after that, allowing just a single run in the sixth inning. Overall, Volquez gave up five walks and two hits and left with the Kansas City Royals trailing 2-0. The team’s late rally got him off the hook.

Even though he finished the World Series with a pair of six-inning no-decisions, Volquez will forever be remembered for the heart he showed. Not a lot of players would have been able to mentally bounce back the way he did, and even fewer could have done it on such a huge stage.

No. 5 Wade Davis Closes Out ALCS After Rain Delay

One of the most memorable single-game performances from the 2015 run involved Davis and ALCS Game 6. The contest itself will go down as a top-five game in club history. Davis’ showing is a big reason why.

The Kansas City Royals summoned their closer to pitch in the eighth inning after Ryan Madson allowed a tying home run to Bautista. Davis escaped the frame with the score knotted at 3-3.

Then came the rain delay. It’s a bit of inconvenience that turned an already great game into a legendary one. The Royals took no time in reclaiming the lead—other than the 45 minutes of the delay. Cain led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk. Hosmer followed with … you know, I think we’ll hold off on that one.

With a 4-3 lead, Davis came back out for the ninth inning. That alone lifted him into rarefied air among Kansas City Royals fans. Then came the understandable struggles. Russell Martin singled, pinch-runner Dalton Pompey stole second and third, and then Kevin Pillar walked to put runners at the corners.

Pillar moved into scoring position, swiping second as Dioner Navarro struck out. Davis then fanned Ben Revere, who took out his frustrations on a dugout trashcan. Up stepped the 2015 American League MVP—although he hadn’t been awarded it at the time—looking to put the thoughts of what happened on that field in 2014 out of his mind.

Josh Donaldson had felt the pain of losing a massive game at Kauffman Stadium before. He couldn’t field Perez’s shot down the third-base line in the 2014 Wild Card Game as the Royals walked off. He couldn’t redeem himself this time. Donaldson grounded a 2-1 pitch to Moustakas, who fired across the diamond to send the Kansas City Royals to another World Series.

The escape by Davis will never be forgotten, but there are still four moments we placed above it.

No. 4 Eighth-Inning Rally in ALDS Game 4

There’s just something about the eighth inning that brings out the best in the Kansas City Royals. It started, of course, with the 2014 Wild Card Game. But several times since then, the team has found a way to come back in the penultimate frame. This is arguably the best example.

While the Wild Card Game comeback was huge, it didn’t all happen at once. The team scored three in the eighth to get back in the game, one in the ninth to tie, and then two in the 12th to win. This time the Kansas City Royals came all the way back at once.

With the club already on the brink of elimination, back-to-back home runs by Carlos Correa—his second of the game—and Colby Rasmus seemed to have sealed the Kansas City Royals’ fate.

Facing a 6-2 deficit, the Royals reeled off five consecutive singles to start the eighth inning. That pulled the team within two runs and gave them the bases loaded with nobody out. The turning point came next, though.

Morales hit a ball up the middle that skipped off the mound. It bounced directly towards Correa, who had a chance for a simple 6-3 double-play. But the ball inexplicably skipped by the shortstop allowing the tying runs to score.

A pinch-running Dyson stole second base before Moustakas struck out. A walk to Butera loaded the bases again, and Gordon gave the Kansas City Royals the lead on an RBI-groundout.

Hosmer added some insurance with a massive two-run homer in the ninth inning. The win forced Game 5, and, as you’ve already seen, Cueto took it from there.

No. 3 Lorenzo Cain’s Race Home

You knew this was coming. Our tease a few slides back made that abundantly clear. In an era defined by speed and base-running ability, this moment will always be among the most fondly remembered.

After a lengthy rain delay in ALCS Game 6, the Kansas City Royals opened the bottom of the eighth inning looking to break a 3-3 tie. Cain got the frame started off right with a walk after fouling off some pitches against Roberto Osuna. Hosmer followed with a single down the right-field line.

Never breaking his stride, the fleet-footed outfielder scored well ahead of the throw as the Kauffman Stadium crowd went into hysterics.

Bautista knew he had no chance to throw Cain out at third base, so he spun to fire directly to second base in an attempt to keep Hosmer at bay. The move, which the Kansas City Royals knew about, allowed Cain to keep running. Never breaking his stride, the fleet-footed outfielder scored well ahead of the throw as the Kauffman Stadium crowd went into hysterics.

Joe Buck summoned it up best on the FOX broadcast, “He can fly!”

One could argue it was a risky move given there were no outs. Morales followed with a single that would have certainly scored Cain from third base. But this play, whether it had worked or not, signaled the intention of the Kansas City Royals: You put pressure on the defense and force them to make a play.

That philosophy was on full-display several times during this exciting era. It even shows up again later in this countdown.

No. 2 Alex Gordon’s Game-Tying Homer

Gordon came through in several clutch moments during 2014 and 2015. His home run in the 10th inning of ALCS Game 1 helped shape that series. He had a spectacular running catch in Game 3 of that series. Gordon even made less-heralded plays, such as his run-scoring groundout that broke the tie in the Houston comeback.

This, though, is the singular moment that made Gordon a Kansas City Royals immortal. With one out in the ninth inning of World Series Game 1, Gordon faced Mets closer Jeurys Familia with nobody on and one out in a 4-3 game. During the regular season, Familia had saved 43 games with just five blown saves. His last blown save having come on July 30.

Gordon didn’t seem to care. He sent Familia’s third offering—a 97 MPH fastball right down the pipe—out beyond the center field wall. Nobody celebrated more than Hosmer, whose eighth-inning error had allowed the Mets to break a 3-3 tie.

Without the blast, the Kansas City Royals almost certainly don’t win Game 1. Even with everything else staying the same, the Mets are happy to take a split back to New York. The Royals might still win two out of three in the Big Apple, but that wouldn’t be enough to end the series.

Or, maybe the victory gives the Mets—who boasted a stellar starting rotation— the confidence needed to win the series. There’s no telling what would have happened without Gordon’s clutch homer. Even if he has struggled mightily in the seasons since, there’s no denying the impact Gordon made on the Kansas City Royals winning a World Series.

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.