2024 Kansas City Royals

From BR Bullpen

Kansas City Royals KC logo.jpg

2024 Kansas City Royals / Franchise: Kansas City Royals / BR Team Page[edit]

Record: 86-76, Finished 2nd (t) in AL Central Division (2024 AL) Wild Card

Managed by Matt Quatraro

Coaches: Jose Alguacil, Zach Bove, Keoni De Renne, Joe Dillon, Miguel García, Damon Hollins, Paul Hoover, Rusty Kuntz, Mitch Stetter, Brian Sweeney, Vance Wilson and Alec Zumwalt

Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium

History, Comments, Contributions[edit]

Before the start of the season, the 2024 Kansas City Royals were picked by some reporters to be the surprise team of the year, like the 2022 Baltimore Orioles had been two years earlier in emerging as a .500 squad before posting the best record in the American League last year. The Royals were coming from a similarly deep hole, with seasons of 97 and 106 losses in 2022 and 2023 respectively, with two other seasons with over 100 losses since posting their last .500 record in 2016. Still, even those bold predictors did not expect the Royals to be that good that quickly, as on May 20th, their record was 29-19, putting them only one and a half games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central, and ten games above .500 for the first time at any point since 2015 - the date of their most recent World Series win.

The observers who were bullish on the Royals before the season pointed mainly to two factors. The first was how SS Bobby Witt Jr. was already one of the best players in the game, even if his 2022 rookie season had been disappointing, and had still not reached his full potential. The second was that the team had a very promising young starting rotation, led by Cole Ragans, who had emerged as a potential ace after having been acquired in a trade for Aroldis Chapman during 2023, but also including former top draft pick Brady Singer. The two pitched quite well in the early going (and Witt was as good as advertised), but really driving the Royals' early success was a pair of unheralded free agents pitchers, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo. The first had had some success of late as a starter after injuries had seemingly derailed what was a promising career, while the second had never really been given the chance to take a regular turn as a starting pitcher during his years with the New York Mets. Both were giving Kansas City a solid turn on the mound every fifth day. In addition to Witt, a rejuvenated Salvador Perez, now splitting his time between catcher and first base at 34 was having one of his best seasons, while 1B/DH Vinnie Pasquantino and 2B/OF Michael Massey were both having productive seasons at 26.

The Royals achieved a huge milestone on August 27th when a 6-1 win over the Guardians moved them into a tie for first place in the AL Central. They had taken advantage of both Cleveland and the Minnesota Twins sputtering of late while they had gone 10-3 since August 14th. Until then, they had only been in first place for one day - on April 13th. They did not stay in first place long, and went through a rough patch after Pasquantino was lost for the remainder of the season to an injury. They even lost seven straight in mid-September, but managed to remain in contention for a wild card. They clinched a postseason spot on September 27th in spite of a 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves that day whe the Twins also lost. It was a remarkable turnaround, even if their story had been eclipsed by the incredible odyssey of their division mates the Detroit Tigers, who were seemingly out of contention at the end of July, but had managed to secure the other remaining wild card slot the same day as Kansas City did.

Awards and Honors[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Mike Petriello: "Not sure if these Royals are legit? This might convince you: 36-25 start is fourth best in team history", mlb.com, June 4, 2024. [1]
  • Anne Rogers: "Pasquantino, Royals show 'no brakes' in resounding sweep: 1B's first MLB triple caps Royals' surge to 10 games over .500 for 1st time since 2015", mlb.com, May 19, 2024. [2]
  • Anne Rogers: "1st place! Royals match Guards atop Central and clinch tiebreaker: Bullpen leads way with five perfect frames after rain delay", mlb.com, August 28, 2024. [3]
  • Anne Rogers: "Royals 'cherish' going from 106 losses to improbable Wild Card berth", mlb.com, September 28, 2024. [4]