Kansas City Royals: Will Open 2019 College World Series

The Kansas City Royals are set to make history, along with the Detroit Tigers. It was recently announced that they will be the opening act for the College Baseball World Series in 2019.

According to an article by Andrew Cyr on NCAA.com, Rob Manfred made the announcement early Thursday. The Kansas City Royals are going to be partaking in a special opening game before the College World Series.

The Details

The game, set to be played on June 13, 2019 against the Detroit Tigers, will be the first time that the MLB will merge with the NCAA. It’s fitting the Kansas City Royals were chosen, as their Triple A affiliate plays in Omaha.

The Omaha Storm Chasers, previously the Omaha Royals, used to play in Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. The stadium was the old home of the College World Series. Now, it is played at TD Ameritrade Park, still in Omaha. But Rosenblatt was home to the series for over 60 years.

More to Come?

It’s still a year away. But, it is exciting that the Kansas City Royals were chosen to make history. According to Manfred, he has been working towards this since he took on the role of MLB Commissioner. Though it isn’t a for sure thing, it is a possibility that this could become an annual occurrence.

Within the same NCAA article by Cyr, General Manager Dayton Moore was quoted showing his gratitude for involving the Royals organization in the initiative.

"“Let me just say on behalf of the Glass family, the Kansas City Royals, the unbelievable community of Omaha, which we have been really blessed to be apart of, we’re really humbled to be able to play this game,” Moore said. “It’s a special honor for the Royals to be able to take part in this historic game.”"

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If the Kansas City Royals mirror their 2019 season to match that of 2018, the game may be the closest they come to a World Series. Hopefully, that won’t be the case. But, amidst a rebuild, it may become a reality.