Kansas City Royals: All-Decade Team for 2010s
By Travis Neely
If the Kansas City Royals were to field a team with their best players from the 2010s, who would be on it? Time to take a look at the best players from the past decade.
Throughout the 2010s, the Kansas City Royals and their fans have experienced a roller coaster ride that ended with two consecutive 100 loss seasons, being 90 feet away from forcing a tie in the ninth inning of a game seven, and a World Series Championship for the ages that brought a city, their team and their fans together.
It was a decade that started with a newly renovated Kauffman Stadium and a the hosting of an All-Star Game that reintroduced all of MLB to the Royals and their incredible base of fans.
Within the decade, fans saw the emergence of a group of players that changed how “small-market” teams compete and win and a fanbase that tried to vote their entire team into an All-Star game.
With that, It’s time to take a look at the KC Kingdom All-Decade team for the 2010s.
ALL-DECADE TEAM FOR 2010S
CATCHER – SALVADOR PEREZ
- 6x All-Star
- 5x Gold Glove
- 2x Silver Slugger
- 2015 World Series MVP
No other player on this roster brought as much joy to Royals fans than Salvador Perez. Salvy introduced us to the now expected “Salvy Splash”. His enthusiasm and love for the game of baseball radiates every time he takes the field. Perez won five Gold Gloves during the decade and represented the Royals in six All-Star Games while slashing .266/.297/.442 and hitting 141 home runs.
He was also voted as the 2015 World Series MVP. His 12th inning game winning single in the 2014 AL Wild Card Game fired up a team that steamrolled their way through the AL all the way to a game seven in the World Series.
Without a doubt, Sal Perez will find his way into the Royals Hall of Fame and stands a high probability of becoming a first time ballot for Cooperstown if he can fully recover from Tommy John surgery and maintain his health over the next ten seasons.
But for the past decade, he was the best of the best at the catcher spot and deserves this recognition.