Kansas City Sweeps Baltimore; Royals Advance to the World Series for the First Time Since 1985.

Who saw this one coming back in April?  The Kansas City Royals beat Baltimore 2-1 on October 15th, taking down the  Orioles in four games to win the American League Championship Series and advance to the World Series.  It’s the first World Series appearance for Kansas City in 29 years. The Royals now await the winner of the San Francisco Giants–St. Louis Cardinals National League Championship Series.

There were a lot of lean years for the Royals, and the usual explanation was that as a small market team, Kansas City couldn’t compete for talent with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees of this world.  Well, Kansas City has won eight post season games this year, while losing none, and is in the World Series.  The Yankees and Red Sox did not even make it to the post season. Yes, it is harder to compete with the deep pocket teams, but organizations who develop their own talent, and supplement that with smart trades can still make it to the post season.  Besides Kansas City, other small market teams who have made recent appearances in the post season include  Pittsburgh, Oakland, Milwaukee, and Tampa Bay.  A good front office and general manager is worth as much to a team’s success as anything else, including piles of money.