Let’s think back 365 days from today, shall we? The world was bracing for a presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The world had never heard of Chappell Roan. The Kansas City Chiefs were a couple of weeks into their season in which they found out they had very few options at wide receiver. And the Kansas City Royals were completing their franchise-worst season at 56-106.
The club was suffering the first year managerial woes of Matt Quatraro alongside a comedy of errors that spread from pitching to defense to offense. The season was so bad, that the Royals were reportedly in final negotiation with the Texas Rangers (who would go on to win the 2023 World Series) to send KC hero Salvador Perez their way. Things were beyond bleak.
So if I were to tell you that in 2024 the Royals would make a miraculous recovery and finish in the playoff chase by also finishing around .500, you would’ve told me I was crazy.
Now, jump ahead to today. The Royals ARE going to finish above .500. The Royals ARE in the playoff chase and currently hold the last spot in the Wild Card. (As of this writing.) And the Royals DO have a legitimate MVP candidate in Bobby Witt Jr. who had 30 home runs and 30 steals — the first Royal to ever do so.
That’s pretty great, right?
But in true Royals fashion, we can’t have nice things. The Royals were on a collision course to win the American League Central Division this season. Even holding on to first place for a whole day in August. Then, Vinnie Pasquantino got hurt, and suddenly the Royals forgot how to win. Since Aug. 28, the Royals are 7-16 and fell from one game out of first place to now barely clinging to a Wild Card spot. Again, these are nice problems to have, but good grief, Royals. Not like this, okay?
It used to be that the Royals were miserable all year and always caught fire in September in order to inspire hope for the year ahead. But this is the opposite. Royals aces Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo have been uninspiring and the Royals offense has collapsed faster than that bridge in Baltimore.
By the time this paper hits the presses, the Royals might be completely out of the playoffs. But, thank you to the Minnesota Twins, who we are chasing for the last spot in the playoffs, and are also unable to find their butt with both hands right now. So there’s always a shot.
If they were to make it into the playoffs with the last spot, the inconsistent bullpen is just not made for October baseball and it would be a safe bet to plan on an early exit.
So, it’s going to be important to caveat things by remembering just how bad it was last year. And, again, look to 2025. Bobby Witt Jr is still the best player in baseball not named Judge or Ohtani. Lugo and Ragans have been incredible and both could make a Cy Young case next year. Pasquantino has been incredible as has the Captain, Salvador Perez. There’s a lot to look forward to.
The turnaround from ’23 to ’24 has been incredible – when you compare the two years. But the absolute U-Turn the Royals have taken in September is hard to watch. We love the improvement, but oh my, not like this.
(Get more from Chris Kamler by following him on Twitter at @chriskamler)
