Kansas City Royals: Home run record rings hollow

Mike Moustakas etched his name in the Kansas City Royals record books by hitting his 37th home run on Wednesday. However, it doesn’t mean as much in a lost season.

There was a lot of excitement for Kansas City Royals fans this season about the thought of Mike Moustakas breaking the team’s home run record. Moustakas finally set the new mark this past Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays. While there was a lot of initial excitement, it is clear that this record doesn’t mean as much for fans this year.

Take nothing away from Mike Moustakas. Knocking Steve Balboni off the top of the mountain after over 30 years is no small feat. Moustakas deserves our respect and admiration for what he managed to do this year. However, that doesn’t mean we have to be excited about what is going on in KC.

Simply put, setting the home run record in a season where the Royals came up short of what they should have achieved just doesn’t mean as much. It’s like a consolation prize for a wasted season. To make matters worse, this is also likely the last season that Mike Moustakas spends in Kansas City.

There Were Some High Hopes

Earlier this season, the Kansas City Royals were looking like one of the better teams in baseball. They hit a hot streak in June and July that made it seem as though a postseason birth was sure to happen. There were still some clear needs, but then Dayton Moore made moves to bring in some reinforcements.

Yet all of that fell short as the Royals would end up suffering a terrible August and a very mediocre September. That would be enough to essentially ruin the postseason chances for Kansas City. In the face of such disappointment, it’s tough to get excited about any kind of record being set.

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The efforts of Mike Moustakas simply were not enough to keep Kansas City in the postseason mix this year. That’s disappointing to see an individual effort go largely unrewarded. Remember tat when Steve Balboni set his mark in 1985, the Royals won the World Series. Moustakas was clearly putting effort into this season, looking for one last run at the title in KC.

Moving On

There is very little doubt that this will be Mike Moustakas’s last season with the Kansas City Royals. Moustakas is going to be one of the most coveted free agents this offseason, and the Royals are expected to have very little to offer in a new contract. Most analysts are speaking about the third baseman’s departure as if it’s a sure thing.

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With teams like the Dodgers and Red Sox looking to be in the market for Moustakas, it makes sense that the Royals will likely be outbid. It’s an old story for Kansas City as we have often seen our top players depart in free agency. That makes his setting the record all the more bittersweet.

Seeing Mike Moustakas in another team’s jersey next year will just rub salt in the wound of how disappointing this season turned out. The Royals came up well short of expectations, and appear headed for a very sharp downturn over the next few years.

So with this season in the tank, and Mike Moustakas more than likely leaving next year…just what is it’s I’m supposed to be excited about?

The 2017 season has been a huge disappointment for the Kansas City Royals. This is a team that largely fell apart and hurt themselves more than anything. That makes it tough to get excited over the good things the team did, including the home run record set by Mike Moustakas. Disappointment. It’s a familiar feeling for Royals fans.