Former KC Royals MLB Playoffs hero is leaving the game

On an early autumn day almost seven years ago, former KC Royals outfielder Nori Aoki stepped to the Citizens Bank Park plate in Philadelphia. Nothing was at stake for his Mets that day — they were trailing host Philly 6-0 in the final game of the 2017 season, a National League East contest between two bad teams New York eventually lost 11-0. The Mets finished the campaign in fourth place, the Phillies ended up fifth

But even in such unimportant circumstances, the at-bat represented a milestone for Aoki.

It would be his last as a major leaguer.

Facing Philadelphia reliever Hoby Milner, who now pitches out of 2024 National League Central champion Milwaukee's bullpen, Aoki grounded out. He finished his last big league season, a campaign split three ways between Houston, Toronto, and the Mets, with an 82-game .277/.335/.393 line; that he homered only five times really didn't matter because he averaged only a bit better than five in his half-dozen major league seasons. But he also wrapped up his years in The Show with a fine .285 average and excellent .350 OBP.

Kansas City fans, however, will remember Aoki for other reasons.

Nori Aoki was an MLB Playoffs hero for the KC Royals

Aoki was a Royal for only the 2014 season. He came to the club via the offseason trade that sent pitcher Will Smith, who's once again with Kansas City, to Milwaukee, and quickly found himself installed by manager Ned Yost as the Royals' leadoff hitter.

Aoki fared decently in that spot, hitting .270 with a .336 OBP and 14 stolen bases in 104 games. Royals fans became accustomed to his reliability at the top of the lineup.

And they loved what he did in that year's unforgettable Wild Card game against Oakland. While most fans accurately recall Salvador Perez's 12th-inning walk-off RBI single as the contest's biggest and most historic moment, Perez wouldn't have had the opportunity to drive in that winning run without Aoki's ninth-inning performance.

Remember that the Wild Card game was winner-take-all that season, and that the Royals, appearing in their first postseason since winning the 1985 World Series, were losing 7-3 before narrowing that gap to just a run by scoring three times in the eighth.

That set the stage for someone to get the tying run (or better yet the winning run) across in the bottom of the ninth.

That someone turned out to be Aoki.

Josh Willingham opened the frame with a single off Oakland reliever Sean Doolittle; Yost sent in speedy Jarrod Dyson to run for Willingham.

Alcides Escobar moved Dyson to second with a sacrifice bunt.

Then, with Aoki in the box, Dyson stole third.

And on a 3-1 count, Aoki lifted a fly to right fielder Josh Reddick that proved deep enough to get Dyson home with the tying run and the contest into extra innings. Three frames later, Perez's hit scored Christian Colón with the run that sent the Royals on the rest of their journey to the World Series, an exciting trek that wouldn't have been possible without Aoki's clutch sac fly.

The Royals pushed the Giants to a seventh game in the Series, but lost. Ironically, Aoki left Kansas City for San Francisco that offseason, becoming one of several players who departed Kansas City too soon.

Nori Aoki is retiring

Aoki played one year for the Giants before moving on to Seattle in 2016 and the Astros, Blue Jays, and Mets in 2017. He then returned to Japan, where he played seven seasons before signing with the Brewers and debuting with Milwaukee in 2012. Now, he's decided that this year will be his last. The Yakult Swallows recently disclosed he'll hang up his spikes when this NPB season ends.

And as Aoki leaves the game, at least as a player, he'll always be remembered fondly in Kansas City.

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