Story by Zoe Harmon, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Arturo Pardavila III

Thirty years ago, in 1985, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series. This year, they did it again. After a 12-inning game on November 1, the Royals were crowned world champions after defeating the New York Mets. Kansas City played an outstanding series and proved to be the better team.

In the first game of the series, which lasted five hours and nine minutes, the Royals fought for the win and finally secured it in the 14th inning. Eric Hosmer, Royals’ first baseman, hit a sacrifice fly in the 14th for the walk-off win. This exciting ending comes only after the even more exciting start when Alcides Escobar hit the first pitch of the game into deep left-center and scored an inside-the-park home run. In pro baseball, this is about as rare as seeing a celebrity at McDonald’s; it’s possible, but Tom Cruise doesn’t seem to frequent the establishment.

The second game held another extremely rare accomplishment for the Royals. Right-handed pitcher, Johnny Cueto, became the first American League pitcher in 24 years to throw a complete game in the World Series. This means no relievers, and no closers stepped onto the mound. He helped lead the team to a 7-1 victory.

Tables turned in the third game, which was the first game of the series held in New York. The Mets came out strong and secured a 9-3 win. Finally, the series felt like it would be a real competition. However, the Mets’ momentum didn’t carry on for very long.

Once again, the Royals defeated the Mets 5-3. This game will haunt the Mets for awhile, as they blew the win with an error. Just five outs away from a win, Mets’ second baseman, Daniel Murphy, let a weak ground ball roll right through his legs. Murphy, who had an incredible series against the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series, will now only be remembered for his .176 batting average and game costing error in the World Series.

In the fifth game of the series, the Royals battled to the end to come out as champions. The game, which was tied 2-2 after the ninth inning, resulted in a 7-2 win for Kansas City. This game secured the fact that the Royals fought from behind in every game that they won, which is yet another rare feat. Not only were they behind, but they were actually behind twice in the ninth inning, and once in the eighth inning, in the four games that they one.

It is clear that the Kansas City Royals never give up. After losing the seventh game of the World Series in 2014, the team had every right to feel defeated. Instead, they overcame adversity, made it back to the series (no small feat in itself), and came out as World Champions. Kansas City is proof that it takes more than money to win games.

About the writer…

Zoe Harmon is in her final year at Aquinas College, majoring in Sports Management/Business Administration and minoring in Communication. Zoe is a member of the Sports Management Club where she serves on the board as Treasurer.She is also a Disney College Program Alumni after spending 7 months in Orlando. Zoe has a great passion for travel and health/fitness and in her free time, she enjoys hiking adventures, biking, and spending time with her friends and family.