KC Royals: Division Rival Now Motivated After World Series Loss

The World Series ended on Tuesday and the Chicago Cubs are the new champs. The KC Royals are going to have to watch out for the Cleveland Indians next season though, because they’re going to have unfinished business.

KC Royals fans know both sides of what the final two teams in the MLB are going through right now and in the coming weeks.

The pain that the Cleveland Indians are going through after blowing a 3-1 World Series lead and then losing a heartbreaker in ten innings of Game 7 has to be a terrible feeling.

The Kansas City Royals lost a Game 7 two years ago, but it couldn’t have felt nearly as bad as what the Indians are going through now. The Indians had so many moments to crawl back into that game, but the Cubs kept coming through in the clutch (shoutout Ben Zobrist!) and ended their 108 year championship drought.

The Royals didn’t have a 3-1 series lead the 2014 World Series, which makes it less depressing to the average baseball fan. They were actually the ones who forced a Game 7 at Kauffman Stadium.

Kansas City lost Game 7 because they couldn’t hit off Madison Bumgarner, who ended up winning MVP in the World Series that year.

One year later, the Kansas City Royals were motivated after their crushing loss in Game 7. With Alex Gordon 90 feet away with the tying run, the Royals were so close to having 2014 end “the right way”.

That made 2015 a fun season for the team and their fans, as they steamrolled through the season. They won their division for the first time in ages and had the best record in the American League, meaning they had home field advantage throughout the postseason that year.

When the postseason rolled around, the Royals found themselves down in the ALDS two games to one and on the brink of elimination. They then rallied down 6-2 and won the game 9-6. The Royals won the ALDS in five games.

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In the ALCS, the Royals rolled to a 2-0 series lead over the Blue Jays, but Toronto was able to force a Game 6 in the series. Kansas City then won a dramatic game filled with a rain delay and Wade Davis pitching over an hour later after he took the mound for the first time that night.

After dramatic ALDS and ALCS victories, the Kansas City Royals proved the naysayers wrong in the World Series by winning the championship in five games against the New York Mets.

Without that Game 7 loss in 2014, the Royals probably don’t have that motivation of “unfinished business” to try and take out every opponent in their way.

The Cleveland Indians will be the same as the 2015 KC Royals next year. That’s not to say that I think the Indians will win the World Series in 2017, but they’re going to be as motivated as ever.

If the KC Royals could lose a less dramatic Game 7 and take that frustration out on other teams in 2015, what’s to stop Cleveland from doing the same thing?

After Rajai Davis slammed that home run in the eighth inning to tie the game up, I thought the Indians had basically just guaranteed themselves a World Series victory. The crowd was fired up and after trailing for the entire night, the Indians finally had made it a close game.

Then the rain delay happened, and the Chicago Cubs got their swag back while waiting out the delay in the clubhouse. When the game went into the tenth inning, Ben Zobrist scored the go-ahead run. Miguel Montero plated the insurance run, which ended up being the winning run for the Cubs.

Cleveland had actually blown a 3-1 World Series lead and their fans had to be demoralized.

If the KC Royals could lose a less dramatic Game 7 and take that frustration out on other teams in 2015, what’s to stop Cleveland from doing the same thing?

The Indians almost won the World Series with tons of injuries piling up. When those players are back to good, this Cleveland Indians team is going to be a huge force to be reckoned with.

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For the record, the last team before the Royals to lose a World Series one year and then go back and win it the next year was the Oakland Athletics in the late 1980s. They lost in 1988, but then won the World Series in 1989.

So, obviously it’s not something that happens all that often, but facing the Cleveland Indians 19 times a year in 2017 is not going to be fun.

Buckle in, Royals fans. It’s going to be a competitive year in the American League Central.

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