These Kansas City Royals are Really a Happy Accident

Oct 15, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher

Jason Vargas

(right) greets general manager Dayton Moore (left) after game four of the 2014 ALCS playoff baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals swept the Orioles to advance to the World Series. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

I must admit, I have been amused by people who have been talking about the Kansas City Royals being some kind of new “model” for building a winning baseball team. Or the idea that speedy contact hitters combined with an outstanding bullpen is the new market inefficiency in baseball.

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Both of these theories presume that the Royals were the result of some kind of well-executed “master” plan.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Certainly, Dayton Moore had a plan. And any plan will experience bumps along the way. But the result we’re seeing in the 2014 World Series is more a testament to making chicken salad when intentions went awry than Dayton Moore’s plan coming together.

Four short years ago, Dayton Moore’s vision was that Zack Greinke was the “ace”, Billy Butler would be the cleanup hitter, with Joakim Soria as the closer.

Moore intended to support that core with his farm system filled with fireball lefty pitching that he hoped would form a dominant staff, along with an offense built around power-hitting prospects Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas along with cornerstones Alex Gordon and Billy Butler.

Of course, Moore wanted his team to play strong defense. You could see that desire in his emphasis on athleticism in every draft. Of course, he wanted his guys to be able to run the bases—but, the Royals offense that danced in his dreams wasn’t one that needed to scratch and claw for runs night after night. That was more a secondary skill in his vision.

Instead, it ended up being the main course.

Luke Hochevar, Aaron Crow, and trade acquisition Wade Davis were supposed to be starters—not part of a lockdown bullpen. Mike Montgomery, Chris Dwyer, Danny Duffy, and John Lamb were supposed to help form a dominant starting trio like Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine.

What Moore had to do when his dominant starters failed to materialize was trade for James Shields, and sign pitch-to-contact innings eaters in Jeremy Guthrie and Jason Vargas to fill out his rotation. He added rookies Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy (the only real pitching survivor from 2011’s best farm system of all time) and spun his prayer wheels.

What he got was the 1990 Cincinnati Reds with the nasty boy trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland (totally ignored on KC’s 2011 top prospects list) instead of the 90’s era Atlanta Braves staff that Moore cut his baseball teeth on.

And, most certainly, Moore never intended to field a lineup that lacked a true cleanup hitter. Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, and Mike Moustakas were not supposed to be defense-first players. In fact, beginning in 2012, the Royals cycled through 6 different hitting coaches largely because they hoped to get more power from their lineup.

Now, Moore’s “process” did work in a broad sense. He used a steady stream of prospects to build a core group. Used excess prospects to trade for key veterans like Lorenzo Cain, Davis and Shields. Patched holes with free agents like Omar Infante and Jason Vargas.

Yet, in no way are the 2014 Royals the team he envisioned taking to the World Series when he took over in 2006.

That Moore managed to build a championship squad given how many things went wrong with his plan is a credit to the entire organization’s ability to adjust. But, make no mistake. The Royals were helped by a big dose of luck along the way.

That’s not to take anything away from Moore’s achievement. As visionary Dodger architect Branch Rickey famously said, “Luck is the residue of design.” And the residue we’re seeing today is one heck of a fun team to watch.

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