The year 1985, the Kansas City Royals fell behind the Toronto Blue Jays three-games to-one in the American League Championship Series. the Royals came back to beat the Blue Jays four-games-to-three and fought their way to face the St Louis Cardinals for the 1985 World Series where the Royals came out victorious. However was twenty-nine years ago.
On September 26, 2014, the Kansas City Royals played in Chicago against the White Sox resulting in a three-to-one victory and ending the longest playoff appearance drought in all of professional sports.
The Royals traveled back to Kansas City where they faced the Oakland Athletics for the wild card spot on September 30, 2014.
The game started at 7:10 and after twelve long hard-fought innings the Royals came out victorious. In the bottom of the twelfth, Eric Hosmer hit the ball, managing a stand up triple. Following that, Christian Colón, an infielder from Puerto Rico, hit a single, bringing Hosmer in to score and then stole second base resulting in the Royals to come back and tie the game 8-8. Catcher Salvador Perez came to the plate with the score tied and one mission in mind, to get the run in. Perez hit the ball down the third base line, allowing Colón to score the winning run.
On October 2, 2014 the boys in blue traveled to Anaheim, California where they took on the Los Angeles Angels in a five game series that would decide who would advance to the American League Championship Series. The first game of the series went eleven innings and ended with Eric Hosmer hitting a solo home run, making the final score 3-2, Royals. The next game on October 3 lasted eleven innings and resulted with the Royals scoring three runs in the top of the eleventh to clench the win in game two. October 5 the boys brought the blue rain back to a thunderous Kansas City crowd. The game lasted nine innings and ended with an 8-3, victory resulting in the blue crew to sweep the Angels in the series.
“I was thirteen years old when the Royals were last in the World Series. My children are around the age I was in 1985,” said head NKC Baseball Coach Steve Hall.
Our parents and grandparents were around to see the last blue rain. That was a time when hamburgers were cheap, gas cost nothing and the Kansas City Royals won the World Series. This generation has never seen The Royals make it to the postseason.
The generation gap between parents that have witnessed the 1985 World Series and their children that are witnessing the Royals in their first playoff series in twenty-nine years later.
Through out the season the boys in blue have made a lot of astonishing plays that would lead to their playoff appearance, from Lorenzo Cain making diving catches in the outfield, to Mike Moustakas snagging line drives that could harm him.
“My favorite play from this season was back in August when there was a double play. Mike Moustakas received the ball and threw it to Omar Infante who got the out at second, who then turned and threw it to Eric Hosmer at first. It was such a cool play,” senior Tyler Uptegrove said.
“The play I remember is back when Aoki hit the grand slam against the diamondbacks,” sophomore Luke Shumate said.
It has been an amazing year for the Kansas City Royals; they broke the longest playoff drought in all of professional sports, they were the first team to win their first three-playoff games in extra innings and they brought pride back to Kansas City. There is still a long road ahead for the blue crew, and the question on all of our minds is can they go all the way. Will we see the 2014 World Series? These questions have no for sure answer but one thing is for sure,
WE BELIEVE.