FanSided

How World Series is Different Without Kansas City Royals

By Nicholas Sullivan |
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 01: Salvador Perez
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 01: Salvador Perez
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – APRIL 05: Danny Duffy
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – APRIL 05: Danny Duffy /

The 2017 World Series has been amazing. But it’s hard not to notice how different the games are compared to the ones the Kansas City Royals played in 2015.

It’s been two years since the Kansas City Royals were in the World Series. But watching the 2017 Fall Classic, one would be forgiven for thinking it’s been a lot longer. The way the Houston Astros and Los Angles Dodgers play the game of baseball is just so incredibly different from how the Royals played in 2014 and 2015.

This year’s representatives from the American and National leagues act like they’ve never heard the phrase “Keep the Line Moving.” It’s part of the new three true outcomes baseball world we live in. Batters sacrifice high strikeout rates in the name of home runs and walks that get their opponent’s pitch count up.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you the two recent World Series that Kansas City participated in are better than this one. It would be a flat-out lie. Even if the series ends in six games, which would happen with a Houston win Tuesday night, it’s in the conversation for best World Series of the 21st Century.

For my money, the best of the bunch include: 2001 (Diamondbacks over Yankees in seven), 2002 (Angels over Giants in seven) and 2011 (Cardinals over Rangers in seven). Obviously, going the distance matters. But this year’s World Series has had it all through the first five games. They are just very different games than we saw a couple of years ago. Here’s how they differ.

KANSAS CITY, MO – OCTOBER 27: Alex Gordon
KANSAS CITY, MO – OCTOBER 27: Alex Gordon /

Home Runs

This is the biggest difference between the recent Kansas City Royals World Series and this year’s edition. It’s not like the Royals and Mets didn’t hit home runs during the 2015 series. This year has just seen a ton more.

Kansas City and New York combined for eight homers in five games, but only two of those came from the Royals — both occurred in Game 1. Alcides Escobar hit one to lead off the game, but that was a fluke inside-the-park home run. The only Kansas City Royals player to hit a baseball over the outfield fence in the entire World Series was Alex Gordon in the ninth inning of the opener.

For the Mets’ part, only three players hit home runs. Curtis Granderson went deep three times, Michael Conforto twice and David Wright once. That’s five players hitting home runs. It’s the same number of players who went deep when the Giants and Royals went seven games in 2014. Each of those five (Gregor Blanco, Hunter Pence, Omar Infante, Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez) homered exactly one time.

This World Series has seen seven or more players homer in two separate games. Eight players went deep in Game 2, and seven homered in Game 5. The first game of the series finished 3-1 in favor of the Dodgers with three of the four runs coming on solo homers. Seven players already have multiple home runs.

KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 02: Closing pitcher Wade Davis
KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 02: Closing pitcher Wade Davis /

Bullpen

The other obvious difference is the bullpen performances. The Kansas City Royals won two pennants and a world championship, because they had the best bullpen in baseball. That is not debatable. The team didn’t have the best rotation, but during the playoffs they only needed to get through six innings. That’s all that was asked of them.

Most of the time, they came through. It allowed Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland to shut things down in 2014. The following year, Herrera, Ryan Madson and Davis made up the three-headed monster. Both teams had other solid options for extra-inning games, including Jason Frasor (2014) and Luke Hochevar (2015).

Over those two World Series, the Kansas City Royals never lost a game they led after five innings. Conversely, the team won four games in which they were tied or trailing at some point after five innings. That’s a huge impact.

Contrary to the home runs, which clearly don’t prevent a team from winning the World Series, a shoddy bullpen can keep a superior team from winning the title. The loser of this series might experience that realization.

For the Dodgers, Kenley Jansen‘s performance this year is eerily similar to Jeurys Familia‘s in 2015. Both were dominant closers during their respective seasons, which is why I picked Jansen for MVP, but they couldn’t finish the job when it matters most. Houston’s biggest worry with their 3-2 series lead is what happens when their starter exits the game. Ken Giles has had a nightmare World Series, leaving the Astros with a closer-by-committee approach at the worst possible time.

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 01: Salvador Perez
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 01: Salvador Perez /

Why it Doesn’t Matter

The whole point of this post isn’t to say that there is only one way to win a World Series. Either the Astros or the Dodgers will be crowned champions this season, and the victor will be in stark contrast to the 2015 World Series winner. It’s one thing that makes sports great. If a blueprint existed with the exact formula for a championship, every team would follow it.

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Baseball has been much different in 2017, perhaps because the baseballs themselves have been different. Regardless, hitting a bunch of home runs and focusing too much on starting pitching to realize the need for bullpen depth will never earn the Kansas City Royals a World Series.

If anything, the team’s downfall this year stemmed from trying to become too much like everyone else. The team lost its identity when it changed its offensive philosophy to focus more on the home run. The front office made matters worse by decimating the bullpen.

There’s more than one way to win a World Series. But for the Kansas City Royals, there might be just one.

Next: Prospects Who Could Impact 2018 Season

What do you think about this year’s World Series? Is it more entertaining than the ones involving the Kansas City Royals? Let us know in the comments and on social media.

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