The Royals are on a roll

This could be another editorial about the upcoming elections, the state’s budget woes or the Ebola outbreak. But why bother? What most Kansans want to talk about right now are the Kansas City Royals. And who can blame them?

The Royals are playing Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium against the San Francisco Giants. It’s the first time since 1985 that the Royals have made it to the series.

And the Royals are on a roll. They’ve won all eight of their postseason games so far, a Major League Baseball record.

The Royals have won with a combination of strong starting pitching, solid defense (with some spectacular outfield grabs), base-running speed, a shutdown bullpen and timely hitting. They’ve also had plenty of extra-inning heroics, making the games even more exciting.

Some of that success (particularly the come-from-behind win in the American League wild card game against the Oakland A’s) has been so improbable that it’s as if it were scripted by Hollywood. It also has given the team a sense of destiny – that no matter the obstacle, it will find a way to win.

If the Royals continue their streak, they would become the first undefeated champion in modern MLB postseason history. (The last team to win all its postseason games was the 1976 Cincinnati Reds, before the expanded playoff system.) But Royals fans aren’t greedy; we’ll be happy with just winning the series.

One thing is already certain: The boys of summer (and their many fans) are having a magical fall.

For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published October 20, 2014 at 7:08 PM with the headline "The Royals are on a roll."