History may tell Royals fans all they need to know about team's playoff chances in 2026

The Royals are once again the worst team in Major League Baseball. They’re tied with the New York Mets for the worst record in the league at 7-15 after getting swept twice on their road trip. It’s difficult to put into words just how disappointing this team is. The Royals had high expectations coming into the season, aiming to compete for and win the division. So far, they have lost to every team in their division and split a four-game series with the 8-14 White Sox at the K.

Fangraphs has the Royals at 6.8% to win the division and 18.4% to make the postseason. By those metrics, the Royals still have time to get this operation back on track and running smoothly. However, history tells us a different story. As Kurtis Seabolt of Sports Radio 810 pointed out on Monday, there have been 45 teams to start a baseball season 7-15 since the Wild Card was introduced in 1995. The average record of those teams was 70-92.

For the Royals, it’s even worse. There have been six teams in Royals history that started with a 7-15 record. The average record of those teams was 65-97.

This Kansas City has an offense ranking the second-lowest in baseball in wRC+, a bullpen ranking dead-last in ERA and starting rotation that after three blowups in their last four starts doesn't seem like light-out force it was just a week ago. This means the Royals will need to dig themselves out of a considerable hole for what seems like an annual guarantee. Last year, it was the dreaded month of June that ruined any hopes for postseason baseball for this team.

History feels like it’s repeating itself with this group, so while we're all suffering through this trend, why don't we take a look back at the Royals teams that started with the same 7-15 record as this 2026 bunch?

Buckle up.

The last hurrah in 2017 for the World Series Royals came up short

This group started 7-16 in April and went 2-11 on the road. This was the season the Royals set a franchise record 45-inning scoreless streak.

This was also the “Last Dance” for the golden group of Hosmer, Cain, Moustakas, Gordon, and Alcides. You could start to see the writing on the wall for this group, but the front office felt they deserved one more chance to try and capture another World Series title.  

The most impactful loss was the sudden death of Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura. A key cog in their rotation, his loss is still felt today, as it kick-started the Royals' desire to revamp their minor league pitching completely.

From that angle, the Royals did well to finish the way they did at 80-82. It's why that core will always be revered in Royals history. Maybe we can get some of those guys to be a part of this coaching staff.

Dayton Moore's first year at the helm in 2007 was nothing special

Oh, the Buddy Bell era. At least this team avoided a fourth-straight 100-loss season going 69-93 instead. This year stands out as Dayton Moore’s first season as Royals general manager.

There was new hope surrounding Moore, as he was bringing in young talent in rookie 3B Alex Gordon and DH Billy Butler. This was also the year the Royals made a “splash” in free agency, signing Gil Meche to a five-year, $55 million deal. And to his credit, he was an All-Star in Year 1.

By the end of April, they were 8-18, a tradition like none other. We didn’t know it at the time, but the Royals drafted a future Royals champion, Mike Moustakas, in 2007, helping shape what would become the Royals' golden era of prospects.

The 2001 Royals didn't win much, but at least they were kind of exciting

The 2001 team was the first group that I followed. They traded fan-favorite Johnny Damon in the off-season, but there was still talent to be excited about.

The nucleus of Mike Sweeney, Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye, and Joe Randa provided young fans like me with hope that the Royals could make some serious noise.

They started 20-33 and could never dig themselves out of that early-season hole finishing 65-97. This was the first year in the organization for Angel Berrora, the best chip KC received in the Damon trade in 2001, who would later win Rookie of the Year honors in 2003.

The 2002 Royals were defined by their subtractions

The Royals didn’t do much to improve on a subpar 2001 season and got worse in 2002 with a 100 loss season.

What stood out to me this year was trading away Jermaine Dye. A year after trading away Johnny Damon, the Royals continued their fire sale by trading away one of their best producers during his last season of club control. The return for Dye was infamously lopsided. Then general manager Allan Baird swung a three-team deal to send Dye to the Athletics, and we got Neifi Perez back.

The logic behind the move was inexplicable, as Perez was a free agent after the 2002 season. Dye was great for the A’s and pushed them into the playoffs. Perez, on the other hand, slashed .238/.265/.303 in his two years with the Royals.

The pain of losing 103 games in 2019 was undercut by franchise milestones

Many newer Royals fans will remember this season unfortunately. At 59-103, this was the second season in a row with 100 or more losses, something the Royals had not done since the 2004-2006 era.

This would be Ned Yost’s last season with the team, as he retired after the conclusion of the season. They got off to a "blistering" 9-20 start.

While the team was a disaster on the field, we at least got to enjoy the best power season in franchise history. Jorge Soler set the franchise record with 48 home runs that season.

The year wasn’t all bad though, as amidst all the losing, the Royals wound up drafting high school phenom Bobby Witt Jr in the summer of 2019, jump-starting the next era of Royals baseball.

The 2004 Royals couldn't come close to building on 2003's momentum

Similar to this iteration of the Royals, the 2004 team had high expectations after finishing 3rd in the AL Central in 2003 with an 83-79 record. The hype was real as they produced the first winning season since 1994. Remember the "We Believe" campaign that year?

The 2003 team had everything. It was exciting and thrilling to hold first place for a majority of the season, and it looked like a sign of things to come. Closer Mike MacDougal and ROY Angel Berroa energized a fan base that was thirsting for a winner.

However, the Royals had other plans. They fell flat on their faces in 2004; at the time, it was the franchise record for losses in a season, but they would break the record in 2005 with 106 losses. Unlike this year, the 2004 Royals could use injuries as an excuse for falling under expectations.

Yes, this was the team that signed the ghosts of Benito Santiago and Juan Gonzalez. The Royals got just 82 games out of both of them though. Mike Sweeney only played in 106 games and Carlos Beltran was traded at the deadline.

The only redeeming quality this team had was the debut of rookie pitcher Zack Greinke. Grienke would get Royals fans through some dark seasons leading up to the eventual rebuild in the late 2000s.

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