Kansas City is about to party like it is 1985.
For the first time since the middle of the Ronald Reagan presidency, the Kansas City Royals are in the Major League Baseball play-offs.
Their 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday, combined with the Detroit Tigers losing to the Minnesota Twins, assured them of at least a wild card.
Their rise was aided by a 19-10 record in August, part of a second-half surge that lifted them into the play-off places. Their 88-73 mark as of yesterday was the best since they went 92-70 in 1989.
Part of what makes Kansas City’s achievement so remarkable is that so many people struggle to explain how they did it.
It certainly was not thanks to a powerhouse offence – they rank just ninth in the American League in runs scored, and their run difference of 25 is the second-lowest among the play-off teams. Only their neighbours, the St Louis Cardinals (15), are more anaemic.
As of yesterday, the Royals did not have a single batter with 20 home runs or 80 runs batted in. Alex Gordon led them with 19 homers and 74 RBI. The Royals are set to become the first American League team in 20 years to fail to hit 100 homers in a season.
Their success appears more to be built on the age-old combination of pitching and defence.
Kansas City’s biggest skill, in fact, may be getting opponents to hit balls towards their best defenders.
Royals pitchers rank sixth in the majors in fly-ball percentage yet still manage to keep the ball in the park – aided, in part, by Kauffman Stadium’s generous dimensions.
Backing up those pitchers is one of baseball’s best defensive outfields. Gordon is considered one of the top corner outfielders in the game, with Lorenzo Cain, Jarrod Dyson and Norichika Aoki also notable assets in centre and right field.
According to StatCorner, the Royals outfield is 53.2 runs better than average this season, an absolutely essential component for a team who play so many close games.
The front office has been just as crucial. General manager Dayton Moore has cultivated Kansas City’s farm system and made key trades to fill holes at starting pitcher (James Shields), set-up man (Wade Davis), shortstop (Alcides Escobar) and others.
For Royals fans, though, how the team reached the play-offs is secondary to the fact they did it. There were only 26 teams in the majors the last time Kansas City made the post-season and at least a dozen of their current regular starters had not been born.
Kansas City may not be a great team, but they are most definitely a team – one who specialise in chemistry, belief and all those other overused sports cliches.
They are also in the play-offs, something to which two-thirds of the league can only aspire.
pfreelend@thenational.ae
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