Kansas City Royals: Saying good-bye to the best era of Royals baseball

The 2017 season is coming to a close and so too will this era of Kansas City Royals baseball. It’s been a fun few years, Kansas City.

This weekend will mark the end of an era for Kansas City Royals baseball. No, the team isn’t moving, but it does kind of feel that way honestly. This weekend is going to be a memorable one for Royals fans, as some of the homegrown players that were “Raised Royal” could very well be playing in their final game as members of the Kansas City Royals.

These guys have taken us on a wild ride, full of a wide range of emotions. This weekend will be the final opportunity for these guys to all play together while donning the same uniform.

There’s a picture of me that was taken in October 2014 where I’m holding a bottle of wine while standing next to a television. On the TV screen is Alex Gordon and both of us are crying.

That photo was snapped just shortly after the Kansas City Royals had swept the ALCS to go to their first World Series in 29 years. It was the first time in my life that I had experienced that and the emotions were flowing.

The reason I bring that picture up is because my friend put it on her Instagram that evening and SB Nation picked it up. They labeled it with the caption “Can’t even”, which was spot on. I’m sure non-Royals fans saw that image and rolled their eyes, but for me, crying was the only option in that moment.

It was an emotional time. Royals fans had gone from watching a 100-loss squad in four out of five seasons to having one of the most dominant bullpens in baseball history and clinching a World Series berth for the first time in 29 years. Everything was happening way too fast, but it was the most fun that Royals fans had ever had… At least the ones who were my age.

Growing up in Kansas City taught us to be passionate about our sports teams, but it was tough with the Royals at times. The Chiefs were a wrecking ball in the 1990s while the Royals were a joke in the 1990s. The Chiefs were mediocre in the 2000s while the Royals wished they could be mediocre in the 2000s.

Seeing how Kansas City transformed during those 2014 and 2015 runs was incredible.

In 2012, the Royals had another losing season. Same old story, right? Wrong. Things were about to change for the Kansas City Royals and their faithful fans.

As the wins piled up in 2013, Royals fans began to notice something peculiar. The team was still in contention for the playoffs late in the year. While they fell short, Justin Maxwell‘s walk-off grand slam in the final game of the year was quite the curtain call for a fan base that had no idea what was about to come.

What would come was a 2014 season full of ups and downs that ended with the team nearly capturing their first World Series in 29 years. The Royals had the most epic Wild Card win ever and then swept their way to the World Series. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life and I’ll never forget those few weeks when the Royals were playing October baseball.

While the World Series didn’t end the way we wanted it to, just being in the Fall Classic was amazing. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I loved every minute of it (well, except the losing to Madison Bumgarner part).

Fortunately, the Royals were determined to right the wrong in 2015. They were dominant all regular season long and won home field advantage throughout the postseason. They had incredible comebacks against the Astros in the ALDS, the Blue Jays in the ALCS, and against the Mets in the World Series, all of which propelled them to their first World Series title in 30 years.

Winning that championship in 2015 meant everything to me, and to all Royals fans. Some of us waited our whole lives for that moment. Some waited 30 years since the last title. It was the same feeling for all of us though and the parade in downtown Kansas City signified that to the rest of the world. We loved that Royals team and they’d always be legends to us and to this city.