Kansas City Royals: Keep The Line Moving

Kansas City Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain (6) celebrates with teammates Alcides Escobar (2) and Alex Gordon (4) – Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Royals currently lead the World Series three games to one, and a large part of their success during the postseason has been the motto of “Keep the line moving”.

It all started in Game 4 of the ALDS. By the time the top of the seventh inning rolled around, it seemed like the Kansas City Royals‘ season was coming to an end. The Royals trailed the Houston Astros by a score of 3-2 and weren’t getting much done against Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers.

When Terrance Gore was caught stealing third base, I’ll admit that I was already thinking it was over. Gore had been caught stealing in the Royals’ only real threat to tie up the game, and the Houston dome was rocking. How on earth would the Royals be able to come back in this environment?

Things only got worse when the Astros went up 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning. It seemed impossible for the Royals to be able to win this game, and they had to win or else their season would be over. The Royals weren’t having any of that, and thus, the motto “Keep the line moving” was born.

"It’s an ancient baseball chestnut and homage to the factory-worker approach the Royals take with their plate appearances. This is not a team that ascribes to the modern axiom that strikeouts are like every other out. The Royals put the ball in play, they put it in play unrepentantly and they put it in play relentlessly – Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports on the Royals’ strategy of “Keep the line moving”"

Next: Where it began