Kansas City Royals: Top Moments of 2017 Season

10.) Back-to-Back-to-Back Home Runs

After a slow start to the second half of the season, the Kansas City Royals were in the midst of what would become a nine-game winning streak on July 23. That day the team finished off a sweep of the White Sox in one of the games of the season.

Derek Holland had retired the minimum and given up no hits through three innings. But to start the fourth, the top three guys in the batting order all recorded hits:

• Whit Merrifield: Home run
• Jorge Bonifacio: Home run
• Eric Hosmer: Home run

According to MLB.com, it was the first time the Kansas City Royals had hit back-to-back-to-back home runs since May 2006. Tony Graffanino, Angel Berroa and Doug Mientkiewicz hit those three blasts. Even more surprisingly, the franchise had only hit three home runs in an inning one other time since 2006. That happened the night before in the sixth inning.

Even with those home runs, the Kansas City Royals had to work to extend their winning run to five games. Chicago scored four runs—highlighted by Adam Engel‘s three-run double—in the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead.

Merrifield tied the score with his second solo shot in the eighth inning. Brandon Moss won it in the ninth with a double to drive in pinch-runner Lorenzo Cain. According to the MLB.com article, it was the team’s fourth walk-off win in eight days and kept Kansas City just 1.5 games back of Cleveland in the American League Central Division standings.

9.) Jarrod Dyson Returns to Standing Ovation

This is the kind of thing Kansas City Royals fans are dreading seeing next year. Unfortunately, it’s likely to happen several times. Whether it’s to welcome back Hosmer, Cain, Mike Moustakas or one of the other major free agents, it’s a moment fans aren’t excited about.

Regardless, it’s hard not to feel a sense of pride in the way fans greeted Jarrod Dyson upon his return to Kauffman Stadium. The odd man out in the Kansas City outfield, Dyson had several big moments in his time with the Royals. His most memorable including stealing third base and scoring the tying run in the ninth inning of the 2014 Wild Card Game and scoring the go-ahead run in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series.

Dyson gave a point to the Kansas City Royals dugout, tipped his cap to the crowd and promptly singled to right field.

It took until Aug. 3 for Seattle to make its way to Kansas City, but the game was well worth the wait. When Dyson stepped up to the plate in the top of the second inning, the vast majority of the crowd rose to its feet. Dyson gave a point to the Kansas City Royals dugout, tipped his cap to the crowd and promptly singled to right field.

Dyson, who earned a spot on our countdown of the all-time best Royals outfielders, ended up with the Mariners in a trade for starting pitcher Nate Karns during the offseason. Similar returns are likely to repeated several times over in 2018. The only question is what players will be tipping their caps at The K.

8.) Mike Moustakas Participates in Home Run Derby

After a remarkable first half of the season, Moustakas entered the All-Star break with 25 home runs. It not only allowed him to win the Final Vote for the second time in three years, but also landed Moose a spot in the Home Run Derby.

The third baseman became the first Kansas City Royals player to participate in the derby since Danny Tartabull in 1991. Moustakas faced Miguel Sano in the first round of the bracket format.

Sano hit 11 home runs to start things off. Moose followed with just 10 to get eliminated. Sano went on to reach the final, ironically, losing by an 11-10 score to Aaron Judge.

The following night, Moustakas finished 0 for 2 in the Midsummer Classic. Salvador Perez also represented the Kansas City Royals, starting at catcher and also finishing 0 for 2. On the mound, Jason Vargas pitched one scoreless inning. He allowed one hit but, fittingly, didn’t strike out a batter.

Even still, the highlight of the week for Royals fans was getting to see Moustakas take part in the Home Run Derby. The event, which has begun to eclipse the All-Star Game itself in some ways, has only featured three Kansas City Royals players—Bo Jackson (1989), Tartabull and Moose.

Hopefully, it won’t take 26 more years for a Royal to make it back.

7.) Alex Gordon Robs Mikie Mahtook

Here’s another instance of an incredible moment coming in an overall outstanding game. The Kansas City Royals jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings. Mikie Mahtook looked to have narrowed the deficit in the fourth. But Alex Gordon grabbed the chain link fence in left field, timed his jump perfectly and took away a three-run homer.

This play brought about one of the greatest series of photos ever. This collection is worth well over 4,000 words. Courtesy of Kansas City Star report Rustin Dodd:

To their credit, the Tigers didn’t just roll over. Detroit did end up scoring three runs in the fifth inning to get back in the game. Perez and Alcides Escobar hit solo home runs in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to give the Kansas City Royals a 7-3 lead.

The road team needed every one of those runs as Brandon Maurer imploded in the bottom of the ninth. After getting a crucial save the day before, Maurer served up a three-run homer to Nicholas Castellanos to cut the lead to 7-6. Scott Alexander pulled off another emergency save to rescue the Royals, but the game will be remembered for Gordon’s home run robbery.

Any play that leads to the above series of reactions is worthy of a spot on this list. The fact that it came in what ended up being a one-run win solidifies its place.

6.) Salvador Perez Hits First Grand Slam

It took Perez a long time to hit his first career grand slam. But he couldn’t have picked a much more perfect moment.

On June 21, Perez clocked a full-count pitch over the bullpen in left field to suddenly turn a two-run deficit into a two-run lead. It was the second two-run lead of the game for the Kansas City Royals. This one, though, stuck, as Kelvin Herrera closed the ninth to secure the 6-4 victory.

Perez’s eighth-inning grand slam, which came with nobody out, happened on the ninth pitch of a tough battle with Red Sox left-hander Robby Scott. According to MLB.com, it was the first time in Boston’s 72 games that the team had lost after leading in the seventh inning or later. Scott and Matt Barnes had combined to walk the bases loaded prior to Perez’s 15th homer of the season.

The Royals had a 2-0 lead after scoring single runs in the second and third innings. However, the Red Sox quickly made up the difference with consecutive solo home runs to begin the top of the fourth. Another two runs in the fifth gave Boston the lead and set the stage for Perez’s dramatic grand slam.

Perhaps, the most memorable part of the moment came afterwards. Perez held his bat up for the cameras, showing that it came from Miguel Cabrera.

5.) Mike Moustakas Breaks Home-Run Record

Early in the season, it became apparent Moustakas had a good chance to break Steve Balboni‘s franchise record for home runs in a single season. Moose got off to a blistering hot start and caught fire again just before the All-Star break.

Entering the second half of the season, he had 25 home runs. It seemed like a matter of when—not if—he would break the record of 36. Then came the slump.

After clocking No. 35 on Aug. 15, it took Moustakas until the first of September just to tie the record. He achieved that in a huge win at Minnesota, but then he slipped back into his funk.

It seemed like a matter of when—not if—he would break the record of 36. Then came the slump.

With 12 games left in the season, the Kansas City Royals faced the Toronto Blue Jays. The Royals jumped out to a huge lead with Moustakas barely missing a home run in the early innings. Later on, Moustakas cranked a solo homer to right field that gave the Royals a 13-0 lead.

More importantly, it got the monkey off his back with home run No. 37. Fans would have preferred to see the record-setting home run at Kauffman Stadium, but—at that point—it seemed just as likely that he would finish in a tie with Balboni.

Moustakas would add one more home run in a makeup game at Yankee Stadium to finish the season at 38.

4.) Eric Skoglund Debut

To say Eric Skoglund exceeded expectations in his big league debut would be a massive understatement. The tall, slender lefty started opposite Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander.

Skoglund’s chances of winning his debut—more or less keeping his side in the contest—seemed slim, at best. But sometimes it favors a pitcher facing hitters for the first time. That seemed to be the case on May 30.

Over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Skoglund shined. He struck out five—highlighted by a three-pitch strikeout of Cabrera—while giving up two hits and walking one. The sterling effort was needed with Verlander almost flawless, as well.

The Kansas City Royals only managed to push across one run in the game. However, Hosmer’s RBI-single in the sixth inning proved to be enough to earn a 1-0 win. Skoglund’s hat tip to the Kauffman Stadium crowd upon being lifted in the seventh inning will long be remembered.

The remainder of Skoglund’s time with the Royals this season went about as well as one would expect from a rookie. Despite finishing the year with a 9.50 ERA, nobody will ever be able to take away Skoglund’s amazing debut.

If it had been a sign of things to come, it’s possible this performance would have moved higher up the list. Then again, the top three are virtual no-brainers.

3.) Eric Hosmer Homers on Final Day

Most Kansas City Royals fans will spend the coming months on pins and needles, hoping they have not seen the last of Hosmer in the home dugout at Kauffman Stadium. If they have, he sure made the most of his final home game at The K.

When Hosmer stepped to the plate in the first inning, the Royals faithful in attendance gave him a long standing ovation. He showed his appreciation by blasting a solo home run down the left-field line on an 0-2 pitch.

The moment undoubtedly brought goosebumps to those who witnessed it. This writer got a late start watching the game from the beginning and already knew Hosmer homered. It didn’t stop the goosebumps from popping up when the moment came.

A man with a flair for the dramatic, Hosmer will just add this to the immense collection of memories he has accumulated with the Kansas City Royals. For most players, a home run in (possibly) their final game with the organization that drafted them out of high school would easily top their list of best moments.

For Hosmer, it might not be in the top five when you consider his clutch hits in the playoffs, a walk-off sacrifice fly in Game 1 of the World Series and his dash home in Game 5. In fact, it’s not even his top home run of the season, according to this list.

2.) Eric Hosmer Walk-Off Homer

The reasons this home run ranks higher than the previous one are three-fold.

Firstly, this home run mattered. When Hosmer took former Kansas City Royals closer Greg Holland deep, the Boys in Blue were still in the thick of the playoff race. When Hosmer homered on the final day, the team had long since been eliminated.

Secondly, the excitement of a walk-off home run—particularly when your team is trailing—is unmatched. As amazing as Hosmer’s final blast was, it was more likely to induce tears of sadness than it was tears of joy.

Thirdly, the home run came against a former teammate. While Hosmer would rather have hit the clutch shot off someone else, the fact that it came off Holland adds to the story. Fans will always remember the time Hosmer took Holland deep to win the game. They will, obviously, never forget his blast to close the season but might struggle to remember the circumstances.

It also would have helped the Oct. 1 homer if it had come in Hosmer’s final at-bat. Although, hitting it after that standing ovation was amazing.

On Aug. 23, the Kansas City Royals were a couple of games over .500. However, they faced a 4-3 deficit entering the bottom of the ninth against Colorado. Gordon walked to start the inning before Holland recorded a pair of outs. Melky Cabrera singled and Hosmer followed with our second-best moment of the season.

1.) “Core Four” Leave the Field Together

Placing this at No. 1 probably hinges on your definition of “top.” For us, this took the top spot because there is no single moment from the 2017 season that will be remembered more than this one.

Ned Yost made the absolute right decision to bring the four full-time starters who are entering free agency off at the same time. The group—Hosmer, Moustakas, Cain and Escobar—helped bring two pennants and a world championship to the Kansas City Royals.

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The players represent both groups of key contributors to the recent success. Cain and Escobar joined the organization through a trade—an avenue the organization shrewdly used to bolster the roster over the past several seasons. Hosmer and Moose, meanwhile, were high draft picks that panned out—something else the team succeed at for a good stretch.

It’s a foursome—along with other free agents—that changed the culture in Kansas City. No matter how many, if any, of the players return, the Royals fans will be better for having gotten to see the players one last time.

Some thought Yost would pull the players one-by-one to give them individual goodbyes. However, it’s more fitting that the group that grew up together exited the field together one last time.

Next: Royals Definitely Could Re-Sign Hosmer

It wasn’t the last image of the season, but it is the lasting one.