Kansas City Royals: What A Difference A Year Makes

Despite a recent slump, the Kansas City Royals are in prime position to make it to their second consecutive postseason.

This is a weird spot for Royals fans to be in. This time last year, we were on the edge of our seats each and every day as the Royals were charging to just make it into the Wildcard.

Every win meant the Royals were one step closer to breaking the 29-year playoff drought. Every loss had Royals fans wondering if they’d ever get to see their favorite baseball team make it to the big games.

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When the Royals’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot dwindled to one, every fan watched the game and waited anxiously to see if the moment would finally arrive. The night it did was on a Friday in Chicago, and it’s a night that fans will certainly remember for a long time to come.

For me, that night consisted of wine, wine, and more wine. Oh, and dancing.

Fast forward to a year later and there really hasn’t been a doubt that the Kansas City Royals would be headed to the playoffs since returning from the All-Star break. The boys in blue currently pose an 11 game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central and still lead the Toronto Blue Jays for home field advantage by two games.

It’s been an entirely different story this season.

While the journey hasn’t been nearly as exciting this year, it’s mainly because it’s not as intense for the Royals.

I was on TimeHop over the weekend, and my tweets from last year were going on and on about how nervous I was for the series against the Detroit Tigers. Some of them were very dramatic (as I often am on Twitter) and it was just so interesting to me how much has changed for these Royals in a year.

That particular series saw the Royals getting owned by the Tigers, much like they did for the duration of the 2014 season. I remember being so disappointed every time the Tigers would beat Kansas City because it meant the Royals wouldn’t win the division and would have to play in a one-game Wildcard situation.

Of course, I was ecstatic for the Royals to even be in the postseason. That’s how different it was last year. No way in hell would any Royals fan accept a Wildcard spot this season, not with all of the talent this team possesses.

Things are also different this year in that Detroit has sorely disappointed. They haven’t been in the thick of the playoff race for awhile and have actually been trailing the American League Central for the past few weeks.

It’s only been a year, but it’s just crazy to me how much has changed since this time last year.

At this time last year, I obviously had no idea what the month of October would mean to myself and to the entire city of Kansas City. I had no idea that the Royals were about to make one of the most magical postseason runs imaginable.

It’s hard to get as excited this year because I know the Royals won’t repeat what they did last year. Now I’m not saying they won’t make it far into October, but they certainly won’t go 8-0 again to make it to the World Series. I expect some losses in there this time.

While the journey hasn’t been nearly as exciting this year, it’s mainly because it’s not as intense for the Royals. It’s been a more calm trip to the playoffs, but once the postseason begins, those same feelings during the postseason last year will resurface in Kansas City.

Next: Alex Rios Trying to Salvage his Season

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