I know many people may not see this post until tomorrow, especially since many may be spending their Thanksgiving evening with family. My wife and I had our family event a little early today, and with some time to post while watching college hoops (no thanks, NFL), I decided to write a quick post before the end of Thanksgiving.
With it being a time for thanks, I wanted to examine the 2024 Royals season and highlight four things that Royals fans should be thankful for. After so many rough seasons since 2017’s conclusion, many positives happened for Royals fans last season, most unexpectedly after a 56-106 season in 2023.
Are there better days ahead? Absolutely. However, on this day of giving thanks, let’s look at four reasons why Royals fans should fondly reflect on the 2024 campaign.
The Royals Returning to the Postseason
For the first time in nine seasons, playoff baseball returned to Kansas City. It was a much shorter gap than the 29-year playoff drought the Royals snapped back in 2014.
It started in the Wild Card round against a favored Orioles team, whom the Royals dispatched in two games in Baltimore thanks to a heroic performance from starters Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo and the Royals bullpen.
In the American League Division Series, Kansas City faced a familiar playoff foe: The New York Yankees, whom the Royals frequently matched against in the ’70s and ’80s and shared many famous postseason moments during that span (which included many crucial George Brett home runs).
Much like the early Royals-Yankees playoff matchups, Kansas City fell short, losing the series 3-1. However, the Royals did steal game two in New York and played the Yankees tough at home in front of the raucous Kauffman faithful. I went to Game 3 of the ALDS, my first postseason game at the K. It’s safe to say that the crowd lived up to the hype.
It was disappointing that the Royals did not make it to the World Series, as they had tremendous success when they made it to the playoffs. It was the first time they hadn’t made it to the World Series in a postseason appearance since 1984 and the first time they hadn’t made it to the ALCS since 1981. Thus, for a Kansas City fanbase used to deep playoff runs (from both the Royals and NFL Chiefs), it was an unfamiliar feeling to see another team celebrating at Kauffman Stadium (the case after Game Four).
Nonetheless, while most Royals fans expected a much better season in 2024, a postseason berth seemed a bit of a stretch, even with the extended playoff format. Most projection systems projected the Royals to win anywhere between 71 and 76 games, so the fact that they pulled off a 30-win turnaround in 2024 was something to celebrate (though it didn’t seem enough for the MLB Executive or AL Manager of the Year awards).
The Royals’ young core achieved their first taste of postseason baseball, and they are set up to continue that trend in 2025 and beyond, especially after the return of Michael Wacha to the rotation and the acquisition of Jonathan India from Cincinnati to help at the leadoff spot in the batting order.
Long-frustrated and jaded Royals fans also got their first taste of postseason baseball in nearly a decade. Thankfully, Kansas City is built to be a perennial playoff contender this time under GM JJ Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro, not just a two-year flash in the pan, as in 2014 and 2015.
The Royals No Longer Limiting Themselves As a Small Market Team
After the death of Ewing Kauffman, the Royals seemed to fit the stereotype of the cheap, small market ballclub.
For decades, first under the Greater Kansas City Foundation and Affiliated Trusts and then under owner David Glass, the Royals either failed to lure productive free agent talent or were able to keep their young star players long term. From 1995 to 2012, the Royals only had one winning season (2003), and the only free agents they acquired were either over-the-hill (Juan Gonzalez) or overpaid veterans who failed to live up to their contracts and expectations (Gil Meche and Jose Guillen).
Better years happened in Kansas City from 2013 to 2017.
The Royals won two AL Pennants, a World Series title, and 80 or more games every season during that time frame. Unfortunately, the Royals fell off after Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain left in free agency after 2017. They lost 100-plus games in 2018 and 2019 and stayed irrelevant from 2020 to 2022, the final years of the Dayton Moore era.
The Royals were better at building the talent pipeline in their farm system under Moore (who took over in 2006), and the club showed a prowess for building a bullpen on the cheap (especially from 2013 to 2016). Unfortunately, the club still seemed to pinch pennies when spending money on talent, much like small-market teams like Tampa, Cleveland, and Milwaukee. However, Kansas City didn’t have the wins to show for it.
Owner John Sherman took over before the 2020 season, and it seemed early on that he would continue the ways Glass had before him when it came to spending on the ballclub. From 2020 to 2023, Kansas City ranked near the bottom of the league in team payroll.
Last season, though, he allowed Picollo to finally spend a little on the roster, both internally and in free agency.
Last winter, the Royals had the most aggressive offseason in the Sherman era. They picked up Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Hunter Renfroe, and Adam Frazier in free agency, and most importantly, they signed Witt to a mega extension that would keep him in Kansas City for years.
The Royals aren’t afraid to spend money and be transactional. That’s refreshing to see from a franchise that tended to be conservative in how they acquired talent under the previous regime. Even during the season, Picollo continued to spend what it took to clinch a playoff berth, as evidenced by the late acquisitions of Tommy Pham, Robbie Grossman, and Yuli Gurriel in the wake of Vinnie Pasquantino’s injury.
It’s a different kind of Kansas City baseball team now, which fans have been clamoring for decades. To see Sherman and Picollo make that adjustment and spend what it takes to build a winner is something Royals fans shouldn’t take lightly, especially since the trend is for small-market teams to do the inverse, even if it comes at the expense of winning.
Kauffman Continuing to Be A Great Place for Baseball
It honestly feels like Kauffman Stadium’s days are numbered.
Even though a ballot measure to extend the income tax in April failed (right after Opening Weekend), Sherman and the Royals ownership group seem dead set on building a new stadium, whether downtown in the Washington Square Park area (which I like) or perhaps in Kansas, specifically Johnson County.
I get it from a multitude of perspectives.
On one end, the Chiefs want the Truman Sports Complex for themselves and have more incentive to do so after the sports gambling measure in Missouri passed in the last election. While they have explored stadium options in Wyandotte County, I think Clark Hunt leveraging some sports gambling center near the Complex in Jackson County would be too enticing for the Chiefs to give up.
Furthermore, with the Royals having 81 home games, many during weeknights, it would make sense from a business perspective to have games closer to the downtown center. A downtown stadium would be nearer for corporate and convention groups, who would patronize a stadium within a walkable or Uber-able distance in the evening. Baseball stadiums in Minneapolis and St. Louis have found success attracting those crowds due to their proximity to major convention centers and significant business and entertainment districts.
That said, even though the K’s days may be dwindling, that hasn’t dampened the experience at the stadium on game day.
The Royals have added more affordable ticket options, better value options on the concession menu, and more social areas (the Brew and View is a great deal, especially during the week). Furthermore, the stadium continues to offer a great baseball experience for season ticket members, fans from out of town, and everyone in between.
I have been an STM since 2021, and I quickly renewed my tickets for the year not just because the team was much better on the field but because of the stadium experience, which is still one of the best in baseball. I am thankful that Sherman and the Royals didn’t dampen the amenities at the K because the ballot measure didn’t pass. We have seen owners use petty tactics like that when they didn’t get what they wanted from the public regarding stadium funding (cough…Oakland…St. Petersburg…cough).
I cannot wait for more games at the K in 2025, small tailgates in the parking lot of the Truman Sports Complex in June and July, and the stadium being a little more electric daily, regardless of opponent, thanks to the club’s higher expectations for next season.
Bobby Witt, Jr. Succeeding As A Royal
Brett has cast a giant shadow in Kansas City. Many promising players have been compared to the only Royals Hall of Famer, but none have been able to live up to that hype.
In 1996, Johnny Damon and Brett did an advertisement together, with Brett almost “christening” Damon at the time as his heir apparent.
Damon was far from the last Royal to receive the “Brett Comparison.”
Carlos Beltran, David DeJesus, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Hunter Dozier, and Adalberto Mondesi have all been anointed as players who could be “franchise cornerstones” like Brett. Unfortunately, they either left Kansas City before we could see their actual “peak” or failed to live up to the hype and fizzled out on the field.
Witt also had crazy high expectations, which made sense for a player drafted second overall in the 2019 MLB Draft. Despite the pressure of those massive hopes from the Royals fanbase, Witt has delivered and improved every year in the Royals system, culminating with one of the best offensive seasons in history in 2024.
It’s hard to process all the accolades Witt accomplished this past year. And he did this after signing a massive extension. There was no “post-contract” hangover for Witt like there was with Trea Turner after he signed with the Phillies or Julio Rodriguez after he won Rookie of the Year in 2022 and signed an extension with the Mariners, or Wander Franco of the Rays, who…well, you know.
Despite all the pressure, despite all the eyes constantly being on Witt, despite him being the main and sometimes only offensive threat for the Royals, the 24-year-old shortstop frequently delivered. Better yet, not only will he be in Kansas City for a long time, but he is just starting his illustrious career.
Witt carries himself like a 10-year veteran on the field and in the clubhouse. And yet, he will only be in his fourth season in the Major Leagues in 2025.
Royals fans are lucky to have someone as special as Witt, both as a player and a person. We should be thankful that Sherman and Picollo didn’t just get an extension done, but Moore didn’t overthink the 2019 MLB Draft and selected Witt when he was available at No. 2.
Photo Credit: Myself