The Kansas City Royals are arguably the most exciting team in baseball today. Currently engaged in a back-and-forth World Series with the San Francisco Giants, they are helping to show the rest of MLB that a team can win without depending on the long ball.
Personally,
I’m rooting for the Royals. They’ve been down for so long, and I
believe it is good for my favorite sport (or for any sport) that a
“Cinderella story” get written every once in
a while. Kansas City certainly qualifies as “Cinderella”.
While
the current Royals team is making some great memories for all of us
that follow baseball, my favorite memories of that franchise might not
be considered as being at the top of the list
for fans of the team. No, I have to admit that the Royals memories
which make me smile most go back to the 1970’s when some of the most
classic post season battles resulted in a KC loss.
In
the mid-70’s when the Yankees were experiencing a long-awaited rebirth
under new owner George Steinbrenner, the Bombers and the Royals met for
the American League Championship in three consecutive
seasons (1976-1978). All three were exciting series, with two of them
going the full five games (back then, the ALCS was best-of-five).
Outside of the Boston Red Sox, the Royals were a hated opponent for the
team from the Bronx – they always seemed to have
our number during the regular season – and featured guys like Freddie Patek and pitcher Paul Splittorff who seemed to rise to the occasion
every time they saw the Yankees in the other dugout.
I’ll
never forget Chris Chambliss walk-off home run to win the 1976 AL
Pennant or the Yankees come-from-behind win the following year. That
series ended with shortstop Patek grounding into
a double play in the bottom of the ninth, preserving a 5-3 game five
victory for the Bombers. New York had trailed 3-1 going into the eighth
inning, but with key hits from stars like Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson, clawed their way to a lead entering the
last half-frame of the game. NBC cameras focused on Patek as he
dejectedly sat alone in the Royal’s dugout following the game. At the
time I was a 13-year-old die hard Yankees fan that lived-and-died with
every pitch (OK, I still do), I savored that moment
and it remains etched in my memory.
(In Photo: Freddie Patek)
Looking
back, while as a loyal Yankees fan I was sworn to hate anyone that
challenged my team’s path to glory, I still had a profound respect for
the Royals.
That
1970’s version seems rather similar to the one we watch play for a
title today. They were scrappy, and even though the team had a few
recognizable stars (George Brett, Darrell Porter,
John Mayberry, Dennis Leonard…), they weren’t considered truly great
and certainly weren’t locks to win anything. Still, they were able to
raise the level of their game to push themselves to the brink of a
title. What that team lacked was a good bullpen,
and today’s Royals don’t have that burden. It’s the reason I think the
2014 team will win.
Whether
they do hoist the trophy or not, the Kansas City Royals have made some
great baseball memories in 2014. They just won’t be the ones for their
franchise that I’ll remember.
--Steve Skinner, BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1
You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store! Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!
