For the KC Royals, patience is a virtue

The KC Royals don’t always follow conventional guidelines, but that has paid off before.

The KC Royals are an interesting case to study. They are often aggravating and exciting within the span of a week and just when they’ve had the worst start possible to a season, they manage to end it with a winning streak that means nothing other than hope for the next season.

The Royals often go against the flow of baseball, but in some cases, that is a good thing. They choose to rely on speed and defense instead of power. They’ll throw a lesser-known pitcher up who has finesse rather than one who can strike out 10 an outing. They also hold on to players longer than some may want.

How many times has a fan made it clear that the Royals should ditch a certain player for someone else? How many times have you said it yourself? Still, the Royals always seem to see something in a player that others can’t. But it may be more clear than ever, that patience is another, unconventional strength for the Royals.

Time is all they need in most situations. It wasn’t long ago we asked for time in this same capacity with the defense. Now, things are starting to look much better on the defensive end.

Royals fans waited years to see their team back in the postseason. Finally, Kansas City found back-to-back trips to the World Series.

But maybe most important is that the Royals organization has been patient with players. Look at Danny Duffy. He’s seen time in the majors with Kansas City since 2011. He’s had good years and bad years and he has been a victim to those calling for a move to the bullpen or a move out of the organization. Now, he has had a great start to the season, and after four starts he holds an ERA of 0.39.

Whit Merrifield is another prime example. After spending a long time in the minors and at Triple-A specifically, some, including Whit Merrifield, thought he would never get the chance. But Kansas City was patient and now he is the face of the organization.

This same patience can be seen throughout the organization, not only in players that have been around, but players brought in. Carlos Sanatana slumped in 2020 and some thought his best years were behind him.

While that could still be true, the Royals were willing to give him a chance. Though it was a bit of a cold start to the year, he’s turning on the burners and finding some good hits.

Being patient may not be the mainstream way to do things, but it’s obvious the Royals don’t care. The way things are done in Kansas City is typically a little of track and it’s unlikely things will change any time soon.

The 100 loss seasons were no fun, but it seems that having a little patience in Kansas City tends to pay off, and may be helping the 2021 Royals to find success in places where others would have never looked.

The KC Royals have been patient for years and at times, maybe a little too patient. It seems to be paying off so far in 2021, though, as they are off to their best start in years.