Best of KC 2024: Royals throwback to 2015
Kansas City Royals versus Arizona Diamondbacks on July 22, 2024 // Photo by Tarik Sykes
Earlier this month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can take a peek at the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some local people, places, and things that we thought clearly won 2024. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November.
Fall in Kansas City is quite lovely. We lose the nearly unbearable humidity that has lingered for months, aromas of pumpkin and apple-flavored treats and goodies fill the air, and the city is painted red as the Chiefs’ season gets underway, waving goodbye to the leaves who have strived since April.
But fall is feeling just a tad bit different in KC this year. The more we look around, the more we see blue. Could it be? A blue October? Yes, that’s right. The Kansas City Royals mustered up enough wins this season to send them to the MLB Playoffs. Ending the season with a record of 86-76, the Royals found themselves sneaking into a wildcard position.
Many thanks must be given to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who has cemented himself as a Royals legend regardless of how the rest of his career goes, in KC or elsewhere. But, considering he signed an 11-year contract worth $288 million, we don’t think he’s headed anywhere anytime soon. Witt finished the regular season with a .334 batting average, 32 HRs, and 32 SBs, among plenty of other unfathomable batting statistics throughout the season—He may have had the best July of any MLB player we’ve ever seen, batting .489 throughout the month. Please sit and ponder how hard it is to hit 50% of pitches thrown to you for an entire month—just absurd.
There’s something very similar about this kid, Bobby, and the well-known football tosser across the parking lot, Patrick—something that Kansas Citians should be truly excited about.
It’s feeling like 2015 again here in Kansas City. After the team swept the Baltimore Orioles in the MLB Wildcard round, the team went on to face the MLB’s juggernaut, New York Yankees. With a payroll of over $300 million to the Royals’ $115 million, it was no surprise that the team with a roster filled with star-studded players came out on top. While the Yals took game two, the Yanks finished off our boys in blue with a 3-1 series loss.
Regardless of this defeat in the ALDS, it will be all right. Witt is here to stay, and a new storms a-brewing within the Royals organization. So, as long as the team stays in the city, there is something for KC baseball fans to look forward to. The boys are playing some ball.
