How the Royals went from 106 losses to ALDS at Yankee Stadium

BALTIMORE — On the day the Kansas City Royals revived a rivalry that had been dormant for nearly half a century, the man who embodied the team in the 1970s strolled past the one who embodies it today.

“Do you think he’s any good?” George asked Brett.

He looked to Bobby Witt Jr., the hero of the Royals' Game 2 win that knocked the Baltimore Orioles out of the American League's wild-card round – and, more specifically, the hero of the baseball renaissance currently underway in Kansas City.

“He has a chance to be a good player,” Brett continued, and Witt gave him a knowing grin. As Witt has inherited the face and voice of the franchise, he has become increasingly aware of Brett's importance – not just as the Royals' only Hall of Famer, but also as their swaggering, swashbuckling avatar, a role best described as eternal To put it more tormentor is the New York Yankees.

For a six-year period, from 1976 to 1981, the Yankees and Royals ruled the AL; They met four times in the ALCS. Although the Yankees won the first three series, Kansas City defeated New York in 1980. And perhaps the most famous incident of Brett's career – his attempt to confront an umpire after being called out for using too much pine tar – occurred against the Yankees in 1983. In his playoff career against New York, Brett hit .358/.389 /.791 with six home runs and just two strikeouts in 72 plate appearances.

“Hate,” Brett said. “If you talk to anyone who played in the playoffs in 1976, 1977, 1978 or 1980, it was hate. I mean, you despise them, you detest them. Does loathing mean hate?”

Yes, he was informed.

“You detested her,” Brett continued. “And they loathed us.”

Now the rivalry flares up again and Witt tries to take Brett's role at center stage. After two hard-fought one-run victories in Baltimore, the Royals face the Yankees in Game 1 of the AL Division Series in the Bronx on Saturday. Witt drove in the only run in the first win and has two game-winning RBIs in a postseason career that is two games deep. The last person to start his first two career playoff games was Jimmie Foxx – a Hall of Famer in the inner circle who did so nearly 100 years ago.

None of this is particularly surprising, as the 24-year-old Witt has spent the 2024 season catapulting himself into the sport's top tier. The objective attributes scream superstar: the .332 average that earned him his first batting title, second straight 30/30 season, Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop – whatever you add to the list, if It has to do with baseball, he's good at it.

His desire for more is evident in every meaningful game Witt plays. And these have significant significance, not only because they are the first postseason games for the Royals since their World Series victory in 2015, but also because they mark one of the great shifts in baseball history. Last year the Royals lost 106 games. Now they're trying to emulate their neighbors at the Truman Sports Complex.

“When I see what they're doing across the street with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, I just try to do my part and bring back what Kansas City needs and what they love,” Witt said. “You see it with the Chiefs, and you see it with what the Royals did in ’14 and ’15. We want to create our own legacy.”

The Venn diagram of these Royals and Witts' legacy is a circle. He joined the organization with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, blew away the team's executives at the Kansas City alternate site during the COVID-19 shutdown, won every Minor League Player of the Year award in 2021, hit 20 home runs and… racked up 30 sacks as a rookie in 2022, flashed true superstardom in 2023, and joined Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in the conversation for best player in baseball this season.

And in his first chance to play postseason baseball, he shined. In the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 2, the Orioles tied the score with a solo home run and then loaded the bases. Royals manager Matt Quatraro went to the mound to make a pitching change and the team's infield gathered on the mound. Witt simply said, “This is our game.” By the end of the mound visit, everyone said it. They believed.

They escaped that half inning without giving up another run. And the next, Witt came to the plate with runners on the corners and two outs. He hit a 109 mph pea up the middle, but Baltimore second baseman Jordan Westburg swooped down and grabbed the ball. Westburg jumped up, made an excellent throw – and Witt still beat him by more than a step for an infield single, scoring a run that would be the last of the game.

“The reason we won the game is because the Kansas City Royals played real baseball,” Royals reliever Will Smith said. “Bobby booked it from the start and his speed took over. He could have easily rolled out. But he didn’t do that.”

Smith is 35 years old and enjoys a special distinction among his peers: an undeniable winner. Smith won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021. In 2022 he was traded to the Houston Astros and received another ring. He signed with the Texas Rangers on the eve of the 2023 season, securing their third consecutive championship. And now here, where he can bear witness.

For now, Witt can only dream of such a CV. He's in his debut, still green, and feels privileged to have the opportunity to play in an MLB postseason against a team like the Yankees. He liked the atmosphere at Camden Yards, and he discovered a signature style for his postgame celebrations, which he donned after the decisive game and wild-card victory: ski goggles over his eyes, a Bud Heavy on either side of his head – held from the strap of his glasses – and a cigar hanging from his lips.

“Excitement, electricity,” Witt said. “Even here, it was great to hear the boos, hear them yelling at you and getting into you. You just learn to be comfortable, live in this present moment and enjoy it.”

Witt and the Royals will enjoy taking the field in Game 1 behind Michael Wacha, one of their great free agent signings. Ace Cole Ragans – who shut out Baltimore for six innings on Tuesday – will also start Game 2 in a potential Game 5.

With all the pitching the Royals have between their starters and a bullpen that has become one of the hottest in baseball, it all comes back to Witt. And now he's taken them to baseball's most storied stadium and offered them the chance to become the latest Kansas City team to come out of nowhere, introduce themselves to the world and do exactly what Brett seemed to do every time, when the Yankees and Royals met together: fight.