Kansas City, United States: A San Francisco Giants dynasty seeking a third crown in five seasons faces a team of destiny in the Kansas City Royals when the 110th World Series begins on Tuesday.
The Royals, who host the first two games of Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven final, snapped a 29-year play-off drought this season — what had been the longest active futility streak in major North American sport — and have become the first team to start a play-off run with eight wins in a row.
“We’re just clicking at the right moment,” Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain said.
“We’re changing lives,” Jarrod Dyson added. “We’re bringing excitement back. That’s our goal.”
Add three straight triumphs to close out their only World Series triumph in 1985 to their current run and the Royals would match the all-time multi-season play-off win streak of 12, set by the New York Yankees, with a game-one triumph.
“This is a wonderful time for America to watch our team and I think what they have done is they’ve fallen in love with our team,” said Royals manager Ned Yost.
“They love our athleticism. They love our energy. They love the way these guys play hard and enjoy each other. And they love the way that they stand up and get clutch hits and make fantastic plays,” Yost added.
“I think they just love the way we play the game.”
The Royals, a wild card play-off qualifier like the Giants, dispatched Oakland in a one-game qualifier, then shockingly swept both the Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles to win the American League crown.
“It’s a lot of pride,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “But, at the same time, we know it’s a really special opportunity moving forward. And we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
The Giants, who lost all three regular-season games against the Royals, ousted Pittsburgh to start the postseason, then downed Washington and St Louis to win the National League title and book another World Series for a team whose core players took championships in 2010 over Texas and 2012 over Detroit.
“These guys have been through it. They have been battle-tested and they know how to handle themselves on this type of stage,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “It played such a huge role in this run that we’ve had.”
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner says younger players have seen the poise of veterans during the play-off drive and learnt from it.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that’s been through this and they know what to expect and they are not afraid of the moment,” Bumgarner said. “The young guys that we have that have not been through it, they see that and then they feed off it and know they don’t have to be afraid either.
“They are stepping up and making some big plays for us and getting some big hits. I really like the group of guys that we have and it’s going to be a fun series against Kansas City.”
Yost, the first manager to win his first eight play-off appearances, has enjoyed watching his young team come of age at just the right moment to put long-time losers on the brink of baseball supremacy.
“Understanding that these guys have a timetable and when it’s right it’s going to hit, to watch it grow and develop in front of your eyes, this is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in baseball,” Yost said.
The Royals have rallied late when trailing, battled through extra innings, stolen bases with aggressive play and hit home runs to overcome all obstacles so far.
“They grind away. They have a lot of confidence in themselves,” Yost said. “Right from the beginning of the play-offs, I don’t know what clicked for them, but something clicked and they were totally used to this atmosphere. There was no pressure. They were loose. They were on the attack and very confident.”
