Kansas City Royals: Bring on ’15

Oct 15, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez celebrates with fans on top of the dugout 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

If you’re not excited for the Kansas City Royals 2015 season, you either don’t have a pulse or you’re a miserable human being.

2014 was so magical and improbable, yet satisfying and unsatisfying at the same time.

Does that even make sense? Probably not, but my head is full of fond memories of that 2014 run, and those special moments I got to share with family, friends and fellow Royals fans. Unfortunately there’s also that empty feeling of getting all the way to game 7 of the World Series, having the tying run on third base, and settling for being American League Champs instead of World Series Champs.

It’s probably a little like the Griswold’s journey across the country in the family-truckster, their spirited run through the parking lot of Walley-World, just to get to the ticket box to be told, “Sorry folks, park’s closed” by a mechanical moose.

As is the case for most holiday seasons, you find yourself talking with family and friends a little more.  Since anyone who has ever met me knows I have an unhealthy obsession with baseball, in particular Royals baseball, the conversations all gravitate toward what the Royals have done this offseason.

The Royals have improved their team in the most un-sexy way possible. Under the radar free agent signings, on short-term contracts—with mutual options, of course.

Much to their surprise, I favored pretty much everything the Kansas City Royals have done.

Well, I’ll be honest. At first these signings felt a little 2004’ish. You remember, the season after the Royals posted a winning record in 2003, so they geared up for 2004 by signing Juan Gonzalez and Benito Santiago? The two combined to play 82 games, and were both out of baseball after the 2005 season. I’m choosing to look past that, as these recent Royals signings have grown on me.

The Royals have improved their team in the most un-sexy way possible. Under the radar free agent signings, on short-term contracts—with mutual options, of course.

No mega-rades. Justin Upton and Matt Kemp are still not Royals.

No mega-contracts signed by the Royals, which is like saying there are no tacos at Arthur Bryant’s. Everybody knew Jon Lester had a better chance of landing on the moon than in Kansas City.

The responses I’ve heard regarding the Kansas City Royals offseason were pretty standard. There were four in particular that I heard multiple times. I chose not to really shred these comments in the moment, and decided I’d use this platform for that very purpose.

I hope no one takes it personal. I love talking Kansas City Royals baseball with anyone and everyone, but I also recognize that my obsession with Royals baseball might cause my retorts to come off as ‘know-it-all’, and that certainly isn’t the case. I should also point out that each of these comments does contain some grain of truth, and I’ll acknowledge those truths.

Here are the four responses:

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