Kansas City Royals: A Look Back at Preseason Predictions

Kansas City Royals players celebrate on the field  Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Projected Record: 89-73
Projected Finish: 2nd in AL Central (Wild Card)

Actual Record: 89-73
Actual Finish: 2nd in AL Central (Wild Card)

I got a lot of flak for saying that the Royals would make the playoffs in April. I was told that “Royals fans say that every year,” “They’ll never make the playoffs,” and the worst of all, “They’ll never be as good as the Cardinals.”

I did say they would win 89 games and make the Wild Card game, but I didn’t predict anything past that. Why? Because I thought they were going to lose that 163rd game. I thought that getting so close to your goal and falling just short of it was a theme in Kansas City sports as of late (see also: 2014 Chiefs Playoffs).

But they did it all. They broke “The Curse of the Shuttlecock”. They did what seems less and likely each year in baseball: turn a small payroll team into contenders.

While they did technically did fall 90 feet short of the ultimate goal, they did succeed in one important task: making Kansas City believe in and fall in love with the Royals again.

After a season like that, there’s no reason not to party like its 1985.