Why would the Kansas City Royals tank?

The Kansas City Royals have always contended that they haven’t tanked nor do they plan on tanking.

In a pair of articles written by the Kansas City Star, Dayton Moore has routinely enunciated that the Royals do not tank. Furthermore, the Glass family and other key office personnel do not believe in tanking.

Extending this idea out, the Royals were not among one of the four teams that was mentioned in Tony Clark’s statement last year in regards to tanking. The Royals were also adamant about their spending on free agents, which was a move to protect themselves (from MLBPA/MLB scrutiny) as well as trying to keep a competitive base in tact for when their younger players move up into the big leagues.

An outright statement of any kind on the Kansas City Royals tanking by the front office would jeopardize the culture that they have worked tirelessly to create and maintain.

Dayton Moore started this process by recruiting a front office that brought about a winning culture behind the scenes.They then went after young players like Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas in the later 2000s while building up the young players they had at the time (Alex Gordon and Billy Butler).

More than the return to relevancy, back-to-back World Series appearances, the parade, or even the big bright letters on the back of the Jumbotron that says “KC 2015 World Champions” (that can be seen by almost anyone who travels by) is an effective process that the front office and the players believe in.

To intentionally tank is to underscore those efforts and to strip the credibility of what has been established.