KC Royals: Five Lessons Learned After First Month

May 2, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost (3) walks to the mound to relieve starting pitcher Edinson Volquez (36) in the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Kauffman Stadium. Washington won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

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Oct 14, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals mascot holds up a W sign after defeating the Houston Astros in game five of the ALDS at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

Lesson Two: The Royals aren’t going to win 162 games.

Much to the chagrin of some fans, the Royals aren’t going to win 162 games this year. In fact, I’d be confident in saying they won’t win 110 games this year. That just rubs some people the wrong way and must mean that the Royals are in no position to try and repeat as World Champions.

Not only are the Royals not going to lose some games, but they’re going to make some errors also. They’ll get caught stealing, strikeout, allow runs, blow a save, not hit a home run every time, etc… Again, these are gross exaggeration but when in Rome?

The Royals are 14-12 over their first 26 games of the season. It hasn’t been a dominant start to the season, but that’s not a bad thing either.

I took a look back at the last ten World Series to see what the records of those teams were over the first 26 games of the year. The results may surprise you. Below is a list of records of teams appearing in the World Series after the first 26 games of the season. Next to that record is the number of times a team with that record has appeared in the fall classic.

18-8: 1
17-9: 4
16-10: 2
15-11: 4
14-12: 5
13-13: 2
12-14: 1
10-16: 1

The Royals went 17-9 to start the season in 2015 and they went all the way to win the World Series. In fact, three of the past ten World Series’ winners started their season 17-9. Only the Mets have an opportunity to start their season 17-9 on the year.

The White Sox went into Tuesday with an 18-8 record on the season, but again the odds don’t favor them in that regard based on the last ten year’s worth of results.

The Royals went into last night with a record of 13-12. Last night’s win more or less earned them a 25 percent shot at getting back into the series based on the last ten year’s results and even the loss would’ve gotten them a 10 percent chance.

But as the saying goes, “You can’t win a World Series in April, but you sure can lose it”.

So here’s the good news folks: Even with that five game losing streak, the Royals came out of April with a winning record. As only two teams in the past ten years have made it to the World Series after starting below .500, the Royals are in great shape!

Next: The Other Teams Get Paid To Win Too

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