Kansas City Royals: 11 defining moments from past decade
By Cullen Jekel
Best Hit of the Decade
There were a couple of candidates for the Royals’ Best Hit of the Decade.
Okay, that’s a lie.
While the Royals certainly had some big hits during the decade–a team can’t win consecutive pennants and a World Series without multiple timely, defining hits–none compare to catcher Salvador Perez‘s extra-innings walk-off single in the 2014 Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics.
After reaching the postseason for the first time in 29 years, the Royals needed to rally against the A’s after getting down 7-3. In the bottom of the eighth, Kansas City scored three times and then got the trying run in the bottom of the ninth.
Oakland struck first in extra innings with a run in the top of the 12th. But in the bottom half of the frame, Eric Hosmer tripled and then scored on a Christian Colon single. After Alex Gordon popped out, in stepped Perez.
Against future Royal Jason Hammel, Colon stole second base. And then, on a 2-2 pitch, Perez leaned his entire body over the plate and slapped a single past a diving Josh Donaldson at third. Colon scored easily.
The single continued Kansas City’s playoffs and proved to all of baseball that the Royals were not to be taken lightly.
A fickle game, baseball.