KC Royals: Eric Hosmer Will Be A Career Royal

Eric Hosmer has been a lot of things for the KC Royals. He’s gone from top prospect to World Series hero. His next big step is to become a Royal for life.

Eric Hosmer and the rest of his teammates are still on top of the world after winning the World Series in 2015. The emotional high that has been created over the past two seasons has been good for both the players and the fans in Kansas City.

On the baseball field, Eric Hosmer has been a stellar first baseman and a clutch hitter at the plate. He’s become a leader in the clubhouse and is one of many faces of the current franchise.

While his contributions on the field greatly contributed to the Royals’ success over the past couple of seasons, it’s not his stats or his salary that are going to keep him in a Royals’ uniform for life. It’s something that he defines as ‘The Royal way’.

In 2015, Eric Hosmer wrote an article for The Player’s Tribune entitled ‘No Fluke’. It was all about how even though the Royals had gone to the World Series in 2014, no one believed they were capable of doing it again. He talked about the ‘Magic’ the team found in that come from behind win in the Wild Card game. That article published the morning of October 12th, 2015; the same day the Royals came back from four runs down with only six outs to work with. In it he wrote:

"They predicted that we would win 75 games this year. We won 95. And now we’re in a fight for our playoff lives.In other words: We’re right where we want to be."

It was almost prophetic for him to have the Royals painted with their backs against the wall. They did in regards to the series, but no one could have anticipated a second come from behind win of that magnitude. Two of the best come from behind playoff wins ever belong to the Kansas City Royals and Eric Hosmer was a part of both of them.

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A few days ago, he wrote another article. This one is entitled ‘Still No Fluke’ and recaps the playoff run in 2015 as well as setting the tone for the season to come. He also explains the ‘secret’ to the Royals success and it has less to do with stats than one might think:

"But it’s not random. We have a process. We have what we call the Royal Way, and it’s pretty simple: Everybody buys in, and you play with character every day. That’s it. That’s the “secret.”"

He goes on to talk about the World Series and how he felt when the ball skipped past him that allowed the Mets to go ahead in game one of the World Series. He mentions how terrible he felt when that happened, even ‘physically sick’. Then he goes on to describe Alex Gordon’s heroics:

"Before the playoffs, Ned Yost asked Gordo to move down to eighth in the lineup. Most guys in his position would have been … insulted. Maybe even a little pissed. But Gordo was all for it, ready to go. Anything to help the team. The Royal Way……I was all the way at the other end of the dugout when he was jogging back in, but he was staring right at me. The guys greeted him at the top of the steps and he made his way through the dugout — through the high fives and chest bumps — looking at me the whole time. I was the last one to greet him.I could see the look in his eyes … that “big brother” look. Like, Hey, I’m gonna pick you up and we’re gonna do this thing."

Hosmer later goes on to talk about the reaction that they got from the fans at the parade and in the final outs during the World Series. He mentions how it felt as if ‘Kansas City had taken over the world’.

That’s how its felt at times during these last two seasons. I’ve lived out of state for the past few years and it’s never been a secret to any of those close to me who I was a fan of. Anyone that would listen and liked to talk baseball got to know anything and everything the Royals had happening. I was hard pressed to find anyone around me not cheering them on the past two years.

While this article doesn’t likely mean anything in regards to Eric Hosmer’s future with the KC Royals, a lot can be said about the compassion he feels for the team, the city, and it’s fans.

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He mentions ‘The Royal way’ several times in his article and it’s all about being humble enough to do whatever it takes to help the team win. Knowing something and acting on it are two different things, but if Eric Hosmer maintains this mindset and ‘The Royal way’ continues to be pushed, he could certainly have an opportunity to follow in Alex Gordon’s footsteps.

Eric Hosmer deserves to get paid and he’ll likely have suitors lined up for his services when he becomes a free-agent at only 28 years old. The Royals may not have the money to offer him that he’s worth or that he feels he deserves. Some players could, to his points mentioned earlier, look at a lesser offer and think of it as a slap in the face. Or he could do things ‘The Royal way’ and stay Royal throughout his career.

If Alex Gordon is the team’s current ‘big brother’, the what kind of big brother would Eric Hosmer be? He too has the leadership abilities and personality to take young players under wing and help them mature in this league.

Next: Hosmer's Five Best Moments!

There are a lot of fans who don’t buy that the heart and soul of this team has just as much to do with them winning as the strategy and the statistics behind it. My guess is that it’s a little bit of both.

Well what do you think KC Royals’ fans? Is Eric Hosmer going to be a Royal for life? Will he take less money to stay Royal someday? Will you hate him if he doesn’t? Let me know your thoughts in the comments’ section below.

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