The 3 most exciting KC Royals moments of 2023

No. 3: Zack Greinke's final appearance?

Zack Greinke's final start of the season gets the No. 3 nod on our list.

Greinke's season surely did not go as he'd hoped. He finished 21 strikeouts shy of 3,000 for his career, and posted a 5.06 ERA, far worse than his 3.68 of 2022. Pitching win-loss records are not great indicators of individual performance, but a competitor like Greinke couldn't have been satisfied with his 2-15 mark.

He finished strong, however. On Sept. 26, he hurled five innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts in a no-decision at Detroit. But it was his last start on the season's final day that will stick with us. More fans than attended the Tampa Bay Rays' wild card games came out to Kauffman Stadium to see what might have been Greinke's final outing on a big league mound.

Greinke delivered. He wasn't as dominant as in his previous start, but he threw five solid innings against the Yankees, scattering four hits, a run, and striking out two while picking up the win in a 5-2 victory. And he did it in the powder blues!

It remains to be seen if it was Greinke's last game. The Royals have been in discussions with him, and it feels like there's a pretty good chance he has one more chapter to write. But if this was the ending, it was a good way to go out. He even smiled when he got a standing ovation.

No. 2: The Royals trade for Cole Ragans

Former Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore hinted at the Royals becoming more transactional later in his tenure, but it never really came to fruition. The expectation was that this would change after J.J. Picollo took over baseball operations late in 2022. Following a quiet offseason that had fans fearing business as usual, Picollo made some moves in 2023.

The early results were mixed. The less said about the Nicky Lopez-Taylor Hearn deal, the better. But two of those trades already look like steals. Nelson Velázquez provided a big bat to the Royals' lineup and Cole Ragans immediately became a top pitcher.

Picollo signed Aroldis Chapman as a reclamation project during the relatively quiet offseason, but he was meant to be dealt from day one. He pitched well, too, so the expectation of a high return was there, and came to fruition when the club traded Chapman to Texas and picked up Ragans as part of the deal. Ragans, who had posted a 2-3 record and 5.92 ERA in 17 games with the Rangers, barely moved the needle for most Royals fans when the deal was announced in late June.

But Ragans was electric for Kansas City, going 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA, 1.074 WHIP, and 89 strikeouts to 27 walks in 12 games. In August, he was named AL Pitcher of the Month, and despite pitching less than half the season in Kansas City, was named the club's Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year. He immediately moved to the top of the rotation and has to be considered the favorite for Opening Day starter in 2024. Most importantly, he gave Royals fans a compelling reason to watch the team every fifth day. No small feat for a 106-loss team.

No. 1: Bobby Witt Jr.'s walk-off grand slam

Was there any doubt that the top moment would involve Bobby Witt Jr.? The Royals' budding superstar could have filled this list by himself, so the challenge was singling out his best moment. Ultimately, it came down to him reaching the 30/30 mark Sept. 29 or his big day against the Twins June 28.

The 30/30 accomplishment is one that will be remembered. Becoming the first Royal to join the exclusive club and cementing his position as one of the game's great young stars is a massive achievement. But throughout his career, he will likely have many moments that are just as good, if not better, than his walk-off grand slam against Minnesota, and nothing the Royals did in 2023 even got close to the euphoria of that big knock.

Witt was already having a nice game when he stepped to the plate against fireballing Twins closer Jhoan Durán in the bottom of the 10th. "Bobby Baseball" tied the game in the sixth with a double off Royals killer Sonny Gray and then extended the lead in the eighth with an RBI single. But after an uncharacteristic blown save by Scott Barlow, the Royals trailed 5-4 when Witt came up to bat with the bases loaded.

Witt was on fire in July, and this was his moment to truly break out. He worked the count full, fighting off Durán's wicked stuff, and on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, he turned on a sizzling inside fastball — the swing was a thing of beauty, a true work of art, and the result was a no-doubter. The ball was launched over the wall in left-center, and the crowd erupted. The sound was reminiscent of 2014-2015, even if The K was only half-full. Witt trotted around the bases and was mobbed by his teammates at home plate.

Hopefully, Royals fans will be treated to these kinds of moments more frequently in the near future.

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