Following Kansas City’s 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, the Royals are now the reigning ALCS winners. Right at the binning of the series against the Orioles, there were not a clear favorite for the ALCS, but that suddenly change after they swept Baltimore in four games.
As things stand, the Royals are headed to the World Series for the first time since 1985 and they’ll be meeting the winner of the NLCS seven-game series pitting the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals.
As things stand, the Royals are headed to the World Series for the first time since 1985 and they’ll be meeting the winner of the NLCS seven-game series pitting the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals.
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So far, the Giants lead the series 3-1, following their 6-4 victory on Wednesday. Since a fourth victory would guarantee them a spot in the World Championship, the Giants are considered as favorites to make it to the World Series. But with three more games to go in the NLCS series, anything can happen, so all we can do is wait and see what happens.
Back to the Royals camp, confidence is reigning at all-time high and the players can’t wait to play in the World Series. Talking about making it to the World Series, Greg Holland, a player who matched Dennis Eckersley’s record with his outstanding fourth save in the Royals’ four-game sweep over the Orioles, said that the whole team is looking forward to making their fans proud and paying them for their unceasing patience.
If the Cardinals make it to the World Series, there will be a lot of history to be written or rewritten, depending on how the games go. Going by the Royals’ records, the team has only won one World Series title, and they did so courtesy of a win over the Cardinals.
Whether it’s the Cardinals or the Giants who make it the World Series, the victorious team should be mindful of the Royals that are on a hot 11-game winning streak, including a major league record of eight consecutive postseason wins for coach Ned Yost’s team.
Although Kansas City boasts of very talented players, including ALCS MPV winner Lorenzo Cain, ace hitter Alcides Escobar and renowned Jason Vargas; the strength of the Royals underlies in their selfless team effort rather than individualism. Speaking after Wednesday’s victory over Baltimore, coach Yost noted that “Nobody is looking to be a hero right now, they're just looking to win a ballgame, and they've done a tremendous job.”
The typical highly-competitive nature of the World Series, which starts next Tuesday, is bound to stretch even the best the best of players beyond their best limits. Whether the Royals will be able to dig in deeper to unleash their A-game for their World Series opponents, who I bet will be the Giants, is anyone’s guess. But one thing that baseball fans can expect for sure is that the postseason will end with a big bang, with the World Series offering explosive seat-gripping entertainment.
Oh, and lest my Kansas City friends bat me out of my house for a home-run, allow me to give my hearty congratulations to all the Royals out there. You all duly deserve every praise that you are getting now for being the new baseball royalty. And to pitch in for good measure, I wish both the Giants and Cardinals the best of luck as they duel for a chance at the World Series.
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