As the long, disappointing 2019 campaign comes to a close for the Kansas City Royals, changes are on the horizon. New ownership, a new manager and the development of minor league prospects will be all anyone will focus on from this point forward. And rightfully so. Fans will be glad to flush this 100-loss season and look to the future.

But an inventory of the 2019 season reveals some impressive – even historic – individual accomplishments that are worth celebrating. When fans look to the future, they may just find there are some high quality elements to build upon.

Most notably, Jorge Soler will lead the American League in home runs. This should not go unappreciated. Only twice in the 51 years of the franchise has a Royal even come close to this accomplishment. In 1975, John Mayberry finished third in the home run race, two behind George Scott and Reggie Jackson. In 1985, Steve Balboni came in third, four homers behind Darrell Evans. To achieve this feat in the second largest park in baseball is significant. Soler also entered the final series of the season fourth in the AL in runs batted in.

Some recommend the Royals try to trade Soler during the offseason. The logic is that his value may never be higher, and with arbitration conditions promising to push his salary up the next two years of his contract, the Royals would be better off swapping him for valuable prospects. But for now, Soler provides the kind of power potential the club has never had.

Whit Merrifield, another candidate to be traded this offseason, will lead the AL in hits for the second consecutive year. Merrifield is just the eighth Royal to record 200 hits in a season. Some argue that, like Soler, Merrifield should be dealt to build for the future. But with three years left on his contract with Kansas City, he is a Swiss Army knife the team can use all over the diamond.

Had Adalberto Mondesi not been sidelined for more than a third of a season by injury, he would have put together some remarkable speed stats. As it is, he entered the final weekend of the year leading the AL in triples, second in stolen bases, and first with a stolen-base success rate of 86 percent.

These three along with Hunter Dozier constitute an enviable foursome. Dozier entered the final weekend with 26 homers, 84 RBIs, and a .281 batting average.

This quartet gives the club hope for the future. The loss of Salvador Perez really hurt the 2019 Royals. But he appears on track for a return in 2020, and gives the Royals a fifth elite piece to build around.

Alex Gordon experienced a remarkable rebound in 2019, and currently sits at .266 with 13 homers and 75 RBIs. Fittingly, the tough-as nails outfielder is leading the American League in times hit by a pitch. The 35-year-old Gordon might return for a swan song in 2020, but it should only be on a very club-friendly contract, and expectations for him going forward should be kept low.

Beyond that, there are a million question marks, as too many members of the club either underperformed or are still in the developmental stage. Probably the biggest disappointment with the bat was Ryan O’Hearn, who is finishing strong again this year, but will close with a batting average well below .200. Despite his total inability to hit left-handed pitchers, O’Hearn will get plenty more chances in 2020, as will recently acquired Ryan McBroom.

Others who got their feet wet in 2019 and will be given plenty of opportunities as the rebuild continues are infielder Nicky Lopez and outfielders Bubba Starling and Brett Phillips. The team’s Rookie of the Year, Lopez will finish the year with nearly 100 hits and having demonstrated an ability to excel at multiple infield spots.

As bright as some of the lights were at the plate for the 2019 Royals, the team’s pitching cast a depressing shadow over the season. The team’s best young starting pitcher, Brad Keller, wasn’t good enough to produce wins for the team. He was shut down early with a 7-14 record. His 4.19 ERA, while not horrendous, was a full run worse that last season. Leading the team in victories with nine is Jakob Junis, but that’s about the only good thing you can say about his season. Junis was lit up to the tune of a 5.24 ERA. Acquired mid-season, Mike Montgomery wasn’t any better. His ERA was 4.64, but he was inconsistent and posted a record of just 2-7 as a Royal.

Veteran Danny Duffy continued to be just good enough to keep up hopes for something better. He was 7-6 with a 4.34 ERA in an injury-shortened campaign. Whether Duffy will remain in the starting rotation, be moved to the bullpen, or traded remains to be seen.

Beyond the shaky production of that foursome, nothing good came from the current starting options. The best thing that can be said about Glenn Sparkman, Jorge Lopez and Eric Skoglund is that they were inconsistent. The only reason their audition will continue into 2020 is that the team’s collection of heralded pitching prospects is at least a year away.

If there emerged one star of the pitching staff in 2019, it was Ian Kennedy. Moved to closer primarily because he wasn’t cutting it as a starter, Kennedy found himself. He entered the last weekend of the season with 30 saves, good for fourth in the AL. His 88 percent save percentage ranks among elite closers. Kennedy may have demonstrated enough worth as a closer that the Royals will decide to trade him prior to the final year of his contract.

After Kennedy, the bullpen was a disaster. Auditions will continue in 2020, with some talented arms to work with. Scott Barlow, Kyle Zimmer, Josh Staumont, Richard Lovelady at least have youth and potential on their side.

While some impressive statistics were accumulated in 2019, the only numbers that matter are the wins and losses. And those will once again be bleak. But with some impressive individuals to build around, and a large group to audition in 2020, hopefully the new owner and new manager will have plenty to work with moving forward.

The Kansas City Royals need help. As they limp toward 100 losses, the deficiencies of the big league club are on full display.

With new ownership on the horizon, the direction of the team remains to be determined. There is but a small core with the big league club at this moment that appears to be set – Adalberto Mondesi, Hunter Dozier and Brad Keller. Jorge Soler and Whit Merrifield could be long term fixtures, or they could be trade commodities. That’s about it. Everything else seems to be unknown.

But what the Royals do have is a rapidly improving farm system that in just the last couple of weeks claimed multiple minor league championships. These titles aren’t meaningless to the franchise. In the years prior to their 2015 championship, the Royals placed a lot of emphasis on bringing up a wave of talent that won at each level as it progressed through the minors.

A new wave of talent just claimed championships in two A-ball leagues, a rookie-ball league, and in the Dominican developmental level.

The franchise is winning at the developmental level, and it is suddenly stocked with pitching. The Royals went all in on college pitching in the 2018 draft, and that investment may start paying off sooner, and with greater returns, than even the Royals could have hoped.

One thing is certain, however, about baseball prospects: few of them pan out. The Royals know as well as anyone that turning pitching prospects into productive big leaguers is not easily accomplished. The raft of studs on the farm today may not turn into a good pitching staff in the future. But for now, the Royals have an enviable collection of talent, and almost all of it came via the 2018 draft.

Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar progressed to Double-A midseason and therefore were not part of the minor league playoff hunt. But their performance this season validated the Royals’ use of first round draft choices on them in 2018. Singer and Kowar, former teammates at the University of Florida, split the season between High A Wilmington and Double A Northwest Arkansas. Singer posted a 12-5 record and a 2.85 ERA between the two stops, while Kowar went 7-10 with a 3.52 ERA.

Joining them at the top of prospect lists are fellow 2018 draftees Daniel Lynch and Kris Bubic. The four-headed monster might start next season at Double-A, and an extreme optimist could envision it as four-fifths of the Royals starting rotation in the very near future. Lynch went 5-2 with a 3.10 ERA at Wilmington and is rated the eighth best left-handed pitcher in the minors. Bubic went 11-5 with a 2.23 ERA between the two A-ball clubs and saw his stock skyrocket.

Casual followers of minor league prospects should keep their eyes trained on this foursome. But that’s just the beginning. The A-ball teams were particularly flush with pitchers who excelled in 2019. Integral to Wilmington’s championship were two more 2018 draft picks, Jonathan Bowlan and Austin Cox. Bowlan went 11-5 with a 3.14 ERA between the A-ball teams, including a no-hitter, while Cox also split the season between the A-ball clubs, going 8-6 with a 2.76 ERA.

Guiding Lexington to its title were Carlos Hernandez, who rebounded from injuries to go 3-3 with a 3.50 ERA, and 2018 picks Zach Haake and Jon Heasley.

As encouraged as fans should be about the pitching prospects the Royals have collected, they should be just that concerned about the position prospects they were heralding a year ago. Wilmington was a deathtrap for hitters in 2019, snaring several hot prospects in disastrous seasons. 2017 first round pick Nick Pratto and second round pick M.J. Melendez crashed upon their promotion to Wilmington. Pratto finished with a .191 average and just nine homers in his sophomore season, while Melendez was even worse, hitting .163 with nine homers. Shockingly, slugging outfielder Seuly Matias was even worse in his debut at Wilmington. After crushing 31 homers in just 94 games in Lexington last year, Matias managed just a .148 average with four homers in 57 games before being shut down with injuries.

The Royals preached patience and calm with these three, but the organization will have to decide whether to promote them to Double-A despite their failures or send them back to the hitters hell of Wilmington.

Should first baseman Pratto, catcher Melendez and outfielder Matias rediscover their potential, they form a nice trio to team with 2019 first round pick shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr. Evaluations of Witt’s talent are through the roof, but he scuffled a bit in his debut in the rookie leagues, hitting just .262 with one homer in 37 games. The Royals can’t afford for many of these top draft choices to fail.

The organization’s fourth rated prospect, outfielder Khalil Lee had a decent year at Double-A, hitting .264 with eight homers and an eye-popping 53 stolen bases. The 21-year-old will be brought along slowly, but is the major league club’s best hope to improve its lackluster outfield.

Three other athletic outfielders are making their way through the lower ranks. Kyle Isbel battled injuries and put up lackluster numbers similar to the others trapped in the Wilmington black hole. Michael Gigliotti returned from knee surgery to keep his name in the prospect ring. And forcing his way into the conversation was Brewer Hicklen. A bit of a late bloomer, the 23-year-old Hicklen had perhaps the best season of any position prospect in the Royals system, batting .263 with 14 homers and 39 stolen bases for Wilmington.

These hitting prospects are light years away from the major leagues and cannot afford to scuffle the way they did in 2019. With such a drastic upgrade in their stable of pitchers, the Royals now desperately need to upgrade the talent around the diamond. They won multiple minor league championships almost entirely upon strength on the mound.

Witt may well develop into a star. But Kansas City needs its other prospects to get things going with the bat. Continued failure by Pratto, Melendez and Matias would be disastrous. And by means of the draft, trades and international signings, the club needs to add more top positional talent that doesn’t stall out in the minors.

Major League Baseball mandates that teams play out the games scheduled in September, regardless how far out of contention they are. Players are contractually obligated to play in those games.

Fans, on the other hand, are under no obligation to watch or listen to those games, check the box scores, or to give any regard whatsoever to what happens.

Most fans of the Kansas City Royals have moved on, as of last Sunday, to football season, and rightly so. But still, the baseball games go on. And a lot has happened, and will happen, this September that is worthy of note.

New Ownership:

The sale of the Royals to Kansas City businessman John Sherman requires approval at the league meeting this winter. But with that approval essentially guaranteed, Sherman can get a jumpstart this fall on deciding the direction of the franchise. He’ll certainly be paying close attention to the product on the field, as well as evaluating what help can be realistically expected from the minor league system.

Little is known about Sherman’s plans for the team as it is currently constituted. There are rumors that he’ll keep general manager Dayton Moore in some capacity. Whether or not manager Ned Yost returns for another season remains to be seen.

Sherman’s evaluation, and his philosophy toward spending on free agents (to this point unknown) will affect the futures of several current Royals. Should Alex Gordon be brought back for a swan song? Should the team lock slugger Jorge Soler up long term? Should veterans Whit Merrifield, Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy be traded for prospects?

Roster Expansion:

Major league teams are expanding their rosters in a big way for the last time this September. By rule, teams have been permitted to bring anyone on their 40-man roster up to the big leagues on September 1. If a club so desired, it could fill its dugout with prospects and give them a chance to gain experience on the big stage.

The tradition of roster expansion in September allows a handful of men every year to realize the dream of playing in the major leagues who would otherwise never make it. For all the players called up, the expansion allows them to showcase their abilities for future opportunities.

Backup catcher Nick Dini was called up to Kansas City earlier in the summer due to an injury to Cam Gallagher. But Dini knows what September roster expansion means to fringe players like himself.

“It’s huge. You play the whole season with the hopes of getting to play in the big leagues,” Dini said. “All the work you put in during the offseason, and during the season, it’s all for this, to get to get to the big leagues and show what you can do. September is a huge opportunity that we all want to take advantage of.”

Dini admitted part of the challenge of September call-ups is that playing time for so many players is limited. Men accustomed to playing every day suddenly find themselves sitting on the bench for days at a time.

“It’s tough but that’s part of being a professional,” the 26-year-old catcher said. “When it’s your turn to play, you’ve got to be ready to play. The days when you aren’t playing, you’ve got to put the work in to make sure you’re ready to go when your name is called.”

The rule of September roster expansion was recently amended. Starting next season, teams will only be allowed to expand their rosters to 28. Dini said this fact is well known to minor leaguers.

“Guys are aware of (the change) and how it’s going to affect opportunities. That’s 12 less slots for each team, so 12 less opportunities for guys to get called up. But that’s what’s going on. There’s nothing you can do about it. My mentality has been just to go out and prepare, and if, God willing, it happens, then you’re ready to go.”

The Royals’ September call-ups include utility player Erick Mejia and pitchers Gabe Speier and Jesse Hahn. Each has a good shot at being on the roster next summer, so this exposure should accelerate their learning curve.

Keller On Ice:

The Royals announced in late August that it would limit pitcher Brad Keller’s innings and pitch count. The team indicated that Keller still had a ways to go in the season, but it hinted at concern for the 24-year-old’s health. He got blasted on August 26, and that was all the Royals needed to immediately shut Keller down.

“It was a consensus among the coaches that it’s what I needed,” Keller said. “It sucks, from the competitive side. You always want to go out there and compete with the boys. But it’s like a stepping stone for the future. They’re looking out for my best interest, and I agree with what they’re doing. So I just have to (accept it) and keep moving forward.”

Keller’s absence in the starting rotation will open up opportunities for others. Giving starts to Jorge Lopez will open up relief opportunities for Speier, Hahn and others. The final month should see Kyle Zimmer, Josh Staumont and Eric Skoglund get a long look in the bullpen.

“I’m really excited to see how we do in September and what the other guys can do,” said Keller. “It’s a showcase. It’s going to give them a chance to get their feet wet, to get an understanding of what it’s like to play in the big leagues, on and off the field.”

Minor League Playoffs:

When the prospects that eventually won the 2015 World Series worked their way up through the farm system, a premium was placed on winning minor league championships. The franchise wanted the Royals of the future to learn to win together. New prospects, now at the lower levels of the minors, are reviving the winning tradition.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks, a club flush with premium prospects, is competing this weekend for the high A classification Carolina League championship. Meanwhile the lower A-ball Lexington Legends are playing for a South Atlantic League title. And down at the Royals Dominican Academy, a collection of Latin American prospects claimed the Dominican Summer League championship.

Fall League Action:

Some of the Royals’ top prospects in the minors will get additional seasoning in the Arizona Fall League. Brewer Hicklen and Kyle Isbel, seen by the Royals as outfielders of the future, will be joined by versatile slugger Gabriel Cancel. Pitcher Daniel Lynch, considered the Royals #3 prospect, will see some additional innings in Arizona to make up for time lost due to injury earlier in the summer. Lynch will be accompanied in Arizona by fellow pitching prospects Daniel Tillo and Tad Ratliff.

Fans of the Kansas City Royals are quite familiar with the voice of Steve Physioc. He can be heard covering their games on both radio and TV. Older Topekans recall Physioc talking about all things sports when he served at WIBW from 1979-1983. As a young reporter just out of Kansas State, Physioc showed up nearly everywhere a game was being played.

Next Saturday, the veteran sportscaster will be in Topeka to talk about something quite different. You might say it’s his dream come true.

It all started in 2006 when Physioc was vacationing in Italy with his wife. Possibly due to a strange bed, too much pasta or wine, or some divine revelation, Physioc awoke in the middle of the night from a vivid and detailed dream.

“It sounds odd, but I had a dream about a great walled city and a winemaker struggling to (produce his crop) while in the turmoil of World War I. Instead of going back to sleep, I got up and wrote down the outline. And the next day I told my wife what it was about, and she said ‘That sounds really cool.’

“So we go on traveling, and a week later we’re meeting friends in this town called Lucca, Italy. And as I’m driving in, I say to my wife ‘Stacey, oh my gosh, this is it. This is the walled city that was in my dream.’ Well now I’m interested, so I buy a book about the history of Lucca.”

The eventual result of that dream is a very non-sports work of historical fiction, The Walls of Lucca. Physioc, who never considered himself a particularly good writer, will be one of the featured authors at the annual Kansas Book Festival at the state Capitol in Topeka on Sept. 14.

Now in its ninth year, the Kansas Book Festival features author presentations, book signings and vendors, and children’s activities. The festival shines a spotlight on local authors.

“I was expecting to get negative reviews, because I wasn’t a writer,” Physioc said. “So I was surprised when it got good reviews.”

The Walls of Lucca didn’t just get good reviews. It won the 2019 Reader Views Historical Fiction Award and the 2019 Tyler R. Tichelaar Award for Best Historical Fiction. A sequel to The Walls of Lucca entitled Above the Walls is now available.

Physioc may be surprised by the success of his first book, but his fellow sports broadcasters aren’t.

“I’m not surprised, because for the past six or seven years, every time we’ve gotten on a bus, every time we’ve gotten on a plane, his nose has been in his computer, and he’s been typing away furiously,” said fellow Royals broadcaster Joel Goldberg. “I knew he was working on a book, but I didn’t realize the magnitude of it. And now that it’s out, and he’s written a sequel, it makes me think of the amount of effort that he’s put into it. Which really isn’t surprising, because it’s just the same as the way he prepares for a game – 100 percent all in.

“What (those attending the book festival) are going to see is an incredible passion for the history, for the characters that he’s developed. They are going to get a lesson not in just the process (of writing the book), but in the story. They are going to be in for a treat, because he’s so passionate about it.”

A graduate of Kansas State who cut his teeth as a student broadcaster, Physioc worked his way up to WIBW, where, from 1979 to 1983, he filled just about every role imaginable. He worked about 200 events a year, providing play-by-play for high school game, and developing as a newscaster. He said working every job at the station taught him not just a variety of skills but also an appreciation for everyone working behind the scenes.

“That was the perfect job for me,” Physioc recalled. “I loved Topeka and working at WIBW because they let us do every game. I got to know every single coach. I got to know the players. You really felt like you were part of the community.”

Physioc departed in 1983 for a string of opportunities broadcasting major college and professional sports. Apart from his many professional highlights, it was during the lowest point of his career that he began writing.

“Interestingly, I wrote the bulk of The Walls of Lucca when I lost the job with the Los Angeles Angels (in November, 2009). At first my wife said ‘What cool new adventure is ahead for us?’ And one week later she said ‘You’re going to get another job. Another team is going to hire you. But in the meantime, you’ve been writing this book for three years. Now’s your time to finish it.’ And the bulk of the book was written between then and 2012, when I was hired by the Royals.

“Was it good? No it wasn’t. It took me writing it over and over and over to get it to the point where I could get it to a developmental person, who tore it to shreds. But that process got it to where it became a finished product. Because of that process, I’ve become a better writer.”

The experience produced a personal philosophy that Physioc shares with others:

“Don’t be afraid of failure. I’ve been fired before. I’ve been told that I’m not that good. But if it’s your passion, chase it. Don’t chase money, because you’ll always be ultimately disappointed. But if you are investing in your passion, eventually money will follow, because you’ll be energized by doing what you love.”

Physioc brings that same optimism to his coverage of the Royals, a team mired in a difficult rebuild that now includes a change of ownership.

“As a broadcaster, I have to be able to articulate not just what’s happening on the field, but the bigger picture. I can get disappointed, just as any fan would, but as long as they’re trying, that means a lot to me.

“I am very interested in ‘faith lost, faith found.’ I believe in the process. I believe in where we are. And I believe in General Manager Dayton Moore. They have the discipline in the process, and part of that discipline is to go through tough times as you’re building. You’re trying to build in the minor league system a core group of players. And the great thing is we’ve seen it done before.”

So as the rebuild of the Royals inches forward, Physioc continues to write. He said he is working on a baseball-themed book now, with more projects in the offing.

The Kansas City Chiefs open their season next weekend, and expectations couldn’t be much higher. With Patrick Mahomes set for a an encore and what appears to be an improved defense, the Chiefs were installed as 6-1 favorites (tied with New England) to win the Super Bowl.

Should the Chiefs win the ultimate prize, it would certainly make 2019 one of the greatest years in Kansas City sports history. But not the greatest. The dismal season of the Royals has already eliminated that possibility.

It hasn’t happened often that both the Royals and Chiefs (and others in Kansas City) have simultaneously achieved at a high level. With the Chiefs entering 2019 with such lofty expectations, and another forgettable season winding down for the Royals, now is a good time to look back at the greatest years in sports in Kansas City.

The Best Season Ever: 2015, or 1969?

1) 2015 narrowly takes the prize as the best year of sports in Kansas City, and it’s because of the cumulative achievements of all the city’s teams. The Royals reached the pinnacle after a quick and enjoyable climb. Fans fell in love with the players. And the players embraced the fan base in a manner rarely seen. They won the World Series in thrilling fashion, and then capped it off with an unforgettable parade through downtown.

Remarkably, 2015 is the only time that both the Royals and Chiefs reached the playoffs in the same year. The Chiefs finished 11-5, and won their first playoff game in 22 years.

As if 2015 could have been any more special, Sporting KC claimed the U.S. Open Cup.

2) 1969 comes in a close second, but saw perhaps the most historically significant event in Kansas City sports history. The American Football League (AFL) – the product of years of labor and sacrifice by Lamar Hunt – had succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The league had proved the equivalent of the NFL and forced a merger that would be fully realized in 1970. So 1969 would be the last year of Hunt’s creation. Fittingly, his Chiefs emerged as the champions of the AFL to face the vaunted Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. Some still doubted the AFL could match the older league. Those doubts were finally put to rest. The Chiefs beat the NFL champion in convincing fashion to win the last game played by an AFL team. Hunt’s dream was fully realized. Nine members of that 1969 team, including Hunt and coach Hank Stram, are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 1969 still stands as the Chiefs’ lone Super Bowl victory.

Earlier that summer, the Royals were birthed to replace the despised Kansas City A’s, who moved to Oakland after the 1967 season. Though the Royals won just 69 games, they were the best of the year’s four expansion teams and proved to be a scrappy and respectable bunch that reinvigorated enthusiasm for baseball in the city.

The Other Major Championships: 1985 and 1966

3) 1985 brought the Royals’ first World Series victory. After years of near misses by better iterations of the club, the 1985 Royals finally broke through. An aging team featuring George Brett, Willie Wilson, Frank White and Hal McRae was bolstered just in time by a youthful pitching staff featuring Bret Saberhagen. They won the American League West, slipped past the Toronto Blue Jays, and then shocked the St. Louis Cardinals in the championship. 1985 finishes a distant third behind 2015 and 1969 not just because the Chiefs were 6-10 that year, but because the Kansas City Kings basketball team abandoned the city for Sacramento earlier that spring.

4) 1966 isn’t remembered prominently by Kansas Citians, but it saw the Chiefs win their other AFL championship. (The club also technically won a championship 1962 as the Dallas Texans.) It ranks a distant fourth because the Chiefs were whipped in the first Super Bowl by the NFL powerhouse Green Bay Packers. An above-average season by the moribund A’s made the summer tolerable for baseball fans.

The Near Misses:

5) 1980 saw the Royals reach the Fall Classic and thrilled fans with one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the city. Brett’s historic pursuit of a .400 batting average gave fans something to follow daily. The team recorded its second highest win total in history, only to suffer a bitter loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

In one of the best all-around years in Kansas City sports, the Kings reached the playoffs by notching their second best record while based in Kansas City, and the Chiefs finished a respectable 8-8 after six straight losing seasons.

6) 2014 animated a new generation of Royals fans. For anyone under about 35 years of age, playoff baseball in Kansas City was unknown. That year the nation was introduced to a lovable cast that included names like Perez, Hosmer, Cain, Moustakas and Gordon. An unforgettable Wild Card upset epitomized the spirit of the team. The team battled to the last out of the seventh game of a thrilling World Series.

Sadly, the Chiefs took a step back after a strong 2013 season, missing the playoffs.

7) 1971 was the last hurrah for the Chiefs that emerged from the AFL. Led by Len Dawson, Otis Taylor and a legendary defense, the Chiefs lost an unforgettable home playoff game against the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day that was the NFL’s first ever double-overtime. It is still known as the NFL’s longest game. Hunt and Stram’s Chiefs wouldn’t be the same after that devastation.

But with one team fading, the city’s other team was rocketing to the top. In just their third season, the Royals went 85-76 and promised that greatness was to come. No one expected an expansion team to be this good this soon.

8) 1993 will always be remembered as the year of Montana Magic. Joe Montana, shockingly ushered out of San Francisco, where he had been the best quarterback in the game for more than a decade, rode into Kansas City to try to work his magic one more time. The Chiefs had been knocking at the door for several years, but needed something to put them over the top. Montana nearly did the trick. The Chiefs won a division title for the first time in 22 years, won two playoff games, and fell just one loss short of the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, the 1993 Royals went 84-78. It was the last good Royals team before they fell off the cliff for the next couple of decades.

9) 2013 saw Sporting KC win the MLS Cup Championship, while the Royals learned to win again. The Royals improved by a surprising 14 games in the standings to finish 86-76 – their first winning season in a decade. They stayed in the playoff hunt until the final weekend of the season. Perhaps not a lot of people were watching, but the foundation was laid for back-to-back World Series runs.

The Chiefs also learned to win again under the guidance of first-year coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs rocketed from last in the league at 2-14 to the playoffs with an 11-5 record.

10) 1984 saw the Royals come just one series away from the World Series, continuing their run as one of the best teams in baseball. The Kings also made the playoffs, although they were just 38-44 in the regular season. The Chiefs went 8-8.

Honorable Mention:

The 1942 Negro League Monarchs were perhaps the best team to ever make Kansas City home. But with World War II underway, and with white fans and media largely indifferent, unfortunately not a lot of people saw it. The Monarchs, who whipped the Homestead Grays in the Negro World Series, featured Baseball Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith and Willard Brown, plus Buck O’Neil and numerous other Negro League legends. With no major football or basketball teams in the city at the time, Kansas City was considered a baseball town. And with only the white minor league Kansas City Blues for competition, the Monarchs ruled Kansas City and the entire Midwest.

It was like looking into a crystal ball. When the Kansas City Royals held a Futures Game on April 4, 2011, it was a preview of what would be the nucleus of the 2015 world champion.

Future champions taking the field for that exhibition were Lorenzo Cain, Danny Duffy, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez, as well as Louis Coleman, and Christian Colon. The Royals’ farm system had recently been rated the best in baseball, and the futures game also featured Wil Myers, who would become an all-star in San Diego.

But the MVP of that exhibition, and the top rated of all the brilliant prospects, went on to win a World Series, just not in Kansas City.

Drafted by Kansas City in the first round of the 2008, pitcher Mike Montgomery was the #14 rated player in the minor leagues in 2011. Two seasons later, he was part of the deal that brought Wade Davis and James Shields from Tampa Bay.

Montgomery watched on TV as his old Royals mates claimed the 2015 title. But he was on the mound on Nov. 2, 2016 when the Chicago Cubs finally broke a 108-year championship drought. He threw the final pitch, thrust his hands into the air as the final out was recorded, and was mobbed by his teammates.

“It was an awesome feeling, that as time goes by, I’ll appreciate it more,” said the 30-year-old left-hander. “In the moment, and even the last few years, I haven’t really taken the time to see it for what it was.”

In the way that life brings things full circle, Montgomery is now back where it all started, traded to the Royals in July.

“Now being here, I can kind of look back on it and say ‘That was an unbelievable accomplishment,’ in what I think was one of the best World Series this game has ever seen. So to have had success in that is something that I can take with me.

“But I don’t want to be known for just that. I want to be a good pitcher for a lot of years. It was a great achievement, but I want to be able to accomplish a lot more than just that before I’m done.”

When Montgomery worked his heroics in Chicago, he did so out of the bullpen. The Cubs played 17 playoff games in that historic run, and Montgomery pitched in 11 of them. He threw some of the most important innings in the history of the franchise.

But there was one problem. Montgomery always saw himself as a starter.

He faithfully did what the Cubs asked, thankful to be in the major leagues, and eager to contend for championships. But the desire to be a starting pitcher never faded. The Cubs knew it, and they obliged. They didn’t have a spot in their rotation, so when they needed a backup catcher, they traded Montgomery to Kansas City for Martin Maldonado.

With their dismal record, the Royals have the luxury of auditioning players for the future. Montgomery will be given every opportunity to demonstrate what he can do in the rotation.

“It’s been good so far,” Montgomery said. “I’ve wanted to start, but the opportunities weren’t there in Chicago. You don’t have a lot of control over things in this game, but when I heard (I would be sent) here, I was super excited. I got drafted by these guys, and they told me when they made the trade, ‘We want you as a starter, and that’s what we want you to be successful at.’ I’m thankful for the opportunity here and I’m just trying to make the most of it.”

When Montgomery achieved elite-prospect status, he did so strictly as a starter. After two years in the Tampa Bay system, Montgomery was traded in 2015 to the Seattle Mariners. He made his big league debut that year, starting 16 games for the Mariners, which included two complete-game shutouts.

But the Mariners moved Montgomery to the bullpen in 2016, then traded him mid-season to Chicago, where Montgomery made history as a reliever. Since then, he’s been used as a “swing man,” starting when the team is shorthanded, but otherwise working in every relief situation possible.

“I didn’t ever get settled into that consistent routine,” Montgomery said about his years in Chicago. “Without that consistent schedule, it’s tough. There were plenty of times where I would start, and then I would come out of the bullpen two days later. So physically it’s hard. Mentally it’s difficult because you never really get that consistency.

“Some people are really good at (the swing role). It’s hard because you’re not able to stay sharp, when you’re coming in in the ninth inning one day, and then starting the game the next day. That’s definitely a tough role. But I’ve done that for a few years, and I felt like I did the best I could at it.

“So I’m glad to just get into one set role and see what I can do. I’ve started enough in my career to really understand that routine. I think now I know what it takes to be successful at that role. So that’s where I’m at now.”

Where Montgomery is at now is exactly where the Royals envisioned him a decade ago, when he and current teammates Perez and Duffy were storming through the minor leagues. He hasn’t forgotten the thrill of taking the Kauffman Stadium mound in 2011, in the starring role of the Royals Futures Game.

“I was a lot different pitcher back then. I was young, with a really live arm. I look back and think, ‘If I knew then what I know now, with a 21-year-old arm, yeah that would be great.’

“But you’re much better off with experience to draw from. I think now – being around the game, being with my fourth team, fourth pitching coach in four years – you just learn a lot that helps you be a better pitcher.

“That was a long time ago. I feel like I’m so much better now. But those are good memories for sure. We had a lot of fun. The fans were excited about the future, and we were excited as well.

“Now me and Duffy and ‘Salvy’ are the only ones here from that group. They had their World Series, and we had one in Chicago. It’s cool how things work out.”

Montgomery is building himself slowly back into a starting pitcher. His seven starts in Kansas City have brought mixed results. But he isn’t afraid to patiently endure the hardships, because he foresees success down the road for the Royals.

“There are good players here. You have to figure out how to win in this game. It takes more than just talent. It’s kind of a chemistry thing. For me, it’s just about taking care of my job, making sure that when I go out there, I’m fully prepared to give the team a chance to win.”

How quickly, it seems, did the Kansas City Royals fall from World Champions. Just four years removed from the pinnacle of baseball, they are now the third-worst team in the game.

Is the current situation the product of horrible management, the inevitable lapse after a championship, or some acceptable phase in the process of transition from one success to another?

We won’t know the ultimate answer to that question for years to come. But in hosting the New York Mets at Kauffman Stadium this weekend, the Royals can reflect on the rapid demise of other contenders.

When the Royals defeated the Mets in the 2015 World Series, New York fans justifiably took a “wait-‘til-next-year” attitude. After all, the Mets appeared built for a sustained run. Starting pitchers Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard were as talented a 20-somethings trio as you could hope for. Closer Jeurys Familia, just 25 himself, was dominant.

But just two years later, the Mets were an also-ran. They’ve fought their way back to respectability, but are still probably not playoff worthy.

So, you might argue, what does one example of a quick demise prove? Well, take a look at some of the other playoff teams from 2014, the year the Royals reached the World Series:

• The Baltimore Orioles, the second-best team in the American League in 2014, are now one of the worst teams in history. (They are on pace to win just 100 games over a two-year span!)
• The Los Angeles Angels, the best team in the AL that season, have yet to return to the playoffs, and have been sub-.500 for the past four seasons, even with the game’s best player in Mike Trout.
• And the Detroit Tigers, who bested the Royals for the AL Central in 2014, have had just one winning season since, and are currently the worst team in baseball.

Look at 2015 for more evidence of what can happen to contenders:

• The Toronto Blue Jays, second only to the Royals in regular-season wins in 2015, are in their fifth-straight season of decline and are now on pace to lose 96 games.
• The Pittsburg Pirates, Wild Card participants in both 2014 and 2015, are currently on pace to lose 95 games.

Granted, the Royals are on a two-year skid that rivals that of the Orioles, so no one should be patting himself on the back in Kansas City. Still, there is some consolation in knowing that such collapses happen frequently in the era of free-agency.

The Royals chose to try to contend in 2016 and 2017 with the same group intact rather than quickly turn over what they’d built. What resulted was a slow decline leading to the bottom of the heap. So this rebuild may take a while. But they are not alone in their current circumstance. They can look across the diamond at Syndergaard, deGrom, et al, and take solace that at least they won a championship.

Tebow watch on hold:

The Mets come to Kansas City just a few weeks before the annual expansion of big league rosters. The timing seemed unfortunate to the Kauffman crowd, because it was believed the Mets might promote former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow to their big-league roster come September. Just image if Touchdown Timmy had made his big league debut at Kauffman Stadium.

But alas, Tebow won’t reach the big leagues this year, and his chances of ever making the show are taking a serious blow. Tebow suffered a cut on his throwing hand and will be out for the rest of the season.

With Tebow just a step away from his ultimate goal, a rule change poses a serious threat to his future. The former quarterback turned 32 on Wednesday and probably needed the benefit of big September rosters to ever make the big leagues. Under the current rules, anyone on a club’s 40-man roster could be promoted in September.

But starting next year, expansion will only permit 28 players. With fewer spots available, room for Tebow may never exist. His window of opportunity certainly becomes a lot smaller come next season.

Anniversary of pennant race denied:

Through the decades of futility in Kansas City, the Royals looked back to 1994 as the last time they finished above .500, and the last time they chased a playoff spot.

Twenty-five years ago this week, major league players walked out on strike, just as the Royals emerged as the hottest team in baseball. In July and August of 1994, they won 14 in a row to make up 7.5 games in the standings and insert themselves in the playoff hunt. Kansas City boasted one of the best pitching staffs in the game, with starters David Cone, Kevin Appier, Mark Gubicza and Tom Gordon, plus closer Jeff Montgomery.

But on August 12, the players struck. When a resolution proved elusive, the season was eventually scrapped. It was the only time since 1904 that a World Series was not held.

The Royals finished 64-51, with nearly a third of the season left unplayed. Thus fans were denied the thrill of a pennant race, and they would have to wait 19 years for another realistic shot.

But unlike the New York Mess, the Royals did eventually win a championship.

The Kansas City Royals offer a host of baseball-themed promotions to draw fans. Dozens of bobblehead and t-shirt giveaways are planned each summer. Fireworks shows and opportunities to run the bases attract families.

Non-sports themes can raise eyebrows amongst true baseball fans. Star Wars nights and 80s nights are tolerated annually. This season has seen Game of Thrones Night and Stranger Things Night. Strange things, indeed, to encounter at a baseball game.

But the celebration planned for Friday, Aug. 16, ties together music history and Kansas City history with a touch of baseball history for flavor.

Fifty-five years ago, the Beatles stormed America in a way famous athletes could never dream of. They exploded on the scene via two Ed Sullivan appearances and a handful of concerts in February of 1964. America wanted more, and the Beatles returned in late summer to continue their conquest. Numerous shows were planned, but Kansas City was nowhere on the list.

The Kansas City baseball team of that time was the Athletics, a moribund club owned by insurance tycoon Charlie Finley. The A’s played their games at aging Municipal Stadium, and Finley made no bones about his desire to take the A’s elsewhere. For that, and for the dreadful product on the field, Finley was despised in Kansas City.

But for at least a few weeks, Finley endeared himself to a mostly non-baseball segment of the city when he ponied up a small fortune to convince the Beatles to add a stop on their tour of the U.S., a fall concert at Municipal Stadium.

While the Royals plan to celebrate the anniversary of the concert on Aug. 16, the actual concert occurred on Sept. 17. For the Beatles Night at the K game against the New York Mets, the Royals promise a fireworks show set to Beatles music. And with the purchase of a special theme ticket will come a Beatles mug. You can bet there will be plenty of Beatles songs, videos and trivia throughout the night.

Known for his deep pockets and extremely short arms, as well as his antipathy for Kansas City, the curmudgeonly A’s owner hardly seems like the type to fawn over rock stars. But Finley hounded the Beatles into coming to KC, and paid dearly for it.

At a time when Frank Sinatra commanded $10,000 to $15,000 per show, Finley offered $50,000. “No” was the band’s response. They were making between $20,000 and $40,000 per appearance, but they relished their few days off too much.

How about $100,000? “Still no,” the band replied. Finally Finley offered the unfathomable sum of $150,000 for a concert at Municipal Stadium – by far the most anyone had ever paid for a musical performance. The band relented.

Municipal Stadium was available for the added concert because Finley’s A’s were on a road trip on Sept. 17, 1964. They were en route to a 57-105 record, so no one in Kansas City missed them.

Finley was going to have a hard time recouping his investment considering that tickets sold for between $2 and $8.50 a seat. On top, he promised to make a $25,000 donation to Children’s Mercy Hospital to celebrate the event. Surprisingly, a few seats went unsold for the show.

Following a show in New Orleans, the Beatles flew into KC and stayed at the Hotel Muehlbach. The hotel removed all the furniture from the lobby for fear of being overrun by fans. The bed sheets from the Fab Four’s suites were cut into one-inch pieces and sold.

Following some warm-up acts, the Beatles opened with “Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey,” Finley’s investment didn’t buy any extra music from the visitors. They played for just 31 minutes. They finished with an encore of “Going to Kansas City.”

The Beatles 1964 concert in Kansas City stands out for a few reasons. The 41,000-seat stadium was one of the biggest the Beatles played on the tour, and Kansas City was one of the smallest markets. The concert was one of the few that didn’t sell out, and was probably the only show to lose money.

A lot has changed in 55 years. Today’s Royals players might be hard pressed to name more than a couple of Beatles songs. Alex Gordon could just about pay what it took to bring the Beatles to town with what he will earn on Beatles Night at the K – he earns $123,456 per game.

Finley and the A’s moved to Oakland after the 1967 season, without many tears from Kansas Citians. The Royals arrived for the 1969 campaign. The Beatles broke up in 1970. Two of the four members of the band have since passed away.

But for one night, the Beatles and baseball will intersect, in a union less strange than a Stranger Things Night at the K.

On an almost daily basis throughout the Royals’ march to back-to-back World Series in 2014 and 2015, you heard reference to two trades that changed the landscape in Kansas City: “The Zack Greinke Trade” and “The James Shields Trade.”

Those two moves, which will be remembered for as long as baseball is played in Kansas City, filled essential gaps and transformed the Royals into winners. And one man, rarely mentioned when the trades are remembered, was a key component in each.

Minnesota Twins star pitcher Jake Odorizzi crisscrossed the country as a piece of both trades, a helpless but not undervalued commodity.

When the Royals dealt Greinke, their lone star at the time, to the Milwaukee Brewers, they demanded in return a haul that included outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar, and pitchers Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress. (The Royals included their own shortstop, Yunieski Betancourt, in the deal.) Just 20 years old and still in A ball, Odorizzi was no mere throw-in. He was the Brewers’ first round pick in the 2008 draft and a highly rated prospect.

“I didn’t know what to think at that point,” said Odorizzi, who was named to the American League All-Star team this year. “I was only two years into my professional career, and I was probably like everyone else who just assumes they’ll make it to the big leagues with the team that drafts them. Obviously that was not the case.

“It was a lot to take in at that point, because I had just made friends with guys in the Milwaukee system, and now it was pretty much like I got re-drafted and had to start all over again with a new organization.”

Odorizzi made the most of the new opportunity, shooting rapidly through the ranks of the minor leagues and reaching the Royals’ major league roster at the end of the 2012 season. At just 22 years of age, he pitched in two games in a Kansas City uniform and appeared destined to be a fixture in the rotation of the up-and-coming Royals.

But then the second blockbuster trade took place, which built the championship team in Kansas City but also sent young Odorizzi packing. The Royals dealt top prospects outfielder Wil Myers and pitcher Mike Montgomery, plus Odorizzi and a minor leaguer named Patrick Leonard, to the Tampa Bay Rays for veteran pitchers Shields, Wade Davis and utility man Elliot Johnson.

The trade was dubbed “The James Shields Trade,” but it ultimately was Davis who was essential to the Royals’ 2015 championship run. Odorizzi, meanwhile, had to prove himself in yet another organization.

Odorizzi said he made friends and grew as a pitcher during his two years with the Royals.

“My time (with the Royals) was good. I got to see a bunch of levels between High-A and the big leagues in a two-year time span. So it was a relatively quick ascension through the organization. I got to see a lot of places and meet a lot of people.”

He said pitching in the major leagues for the first time, in a Royals uniform in 2012, is something he’ll never forget.

“I kind of kept doing what I was already doing my first two years, but with the Royals I was able to put it together and move up. Once you get to Double-A, that’s the biggest adjustment period, and I did it with the Royals. So it was good while I was here. I learned a lot.

“My time in Tampa really probably helped me more, because I spent most of that time at the big league level, learning what it means to do it at this level. I spent five years there, so I bonded more with the players there. During my time with Kansas City I was still learning and coming up, whereas with Tampa, I really started to understand myself and know what I was doing.”

While he made a name for himself in the Rays’ rotation, Odorizzi watched from afar as his old teammates marched to two World Series. While the Illinois native admits it was bittersweet, he was happy for his friends.

“It was good to see everybody I had met during that short time come to the culmination of winning. They had built a team that had a lot of homegrown guys that worked together really well outside of the trades I was involved in. I was happy that they were able to win because I know how dedicated the fan bases in the Midwest are. Being from the Midwest myself, I understood how special it is when you have a team that everyone rallies around and it does well.”

And thus Odorizzi’s name was permanently etched into Royals’ history. He was a key piece in two history-making trades. He played a part in a championship without winning a game in Kansas City.

“I don’t think I was referenced too much during that time,” the pitcher said with a chuckle. “It was usually referenced as the Wil Myers for James Shields trade, which obviously Wade Davis wound up playing a huge part, a bigger part in that trade. It’s funny when you look back at trades down the road and you see what they were called and remember that other guys were involved. It can turn out to be a lot bigger than the headline of the deal at the time.

“That’s my stamp on Royals history, I guess, is being a part of getting the pieces here to do what they did.”

Odorizzi made one friend in particular while with the Royals who has since become a nemesis. Whit Merrifield, his roommate in Wilmington, has since hit Odorizzi well in the big leagues.

“We lived together for about half a year my first year of High-A,” recalled Merrifield. “He’s a great guy. He’s had a lot of success up here (in the major leagues), which is great to see.

“I’ve been able to get a few off of him. Luckily, if he makes a mistake, I’ve been able to hit it.”

If, as Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore so often says, pitching is the currency of baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays are going to some awful great lengths to acquire some. And they are doing it at the expense of the Royals.

Every offseason, without any fanfare, a draft is held in which certain players who are left off their teams’ 40-man major league roster, are eligible. This rule applies to players at least 23 years of age with four or more professional seasons under their belts, or players at least 22 with five or more seasons logged.

Thus unprotected, they are eligible to be selected by another team in what is known as the Rule 5 Draft. The only stipulation is that the drafted player must stay with his new major league club for the entire season. The cost of the selection is $100,000.

As stated above, this applies to players at least 22 years of age, except in a few rare cases. One such anomaly this past offseason happened to be an 18-year-old Royals prospect named Elvis Luciano.

Acquired by Kansas City from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade for Jon Jay in the middle of the 2018 season, Luciano had never pitched above the rookie leagues. Signed as a 16-year-old in 2016, he pitched in a total of 16 games at the lowest levels possible in the Diamondbacks’ system in 2017.

Recognizing his raw potential, the Royals asked that Luciano be included in the trade for Jay that also netted them pitcher Gabe Speier. Still just 18, the Royals brought the Dominican-born right-hander along slowly in 2018, using him in just 13 games at their rookie league level.

The Royals hoped to nurture the teenager into a hurler in the mold of the late Dominican star Yordano Ventura. But there was one catch. His original minor-league deal with Arizona was voided after he failed a physical at age 16. He reworked a second deal, but the technicality exposed him to the Rule 5 Draft from day one.

But no team would draft an 18-year-old in the Rule 5 Draft, knowing he would have to stay on the major league roster, right?

Apparently the Blue Jays so prize the talents of young Luciano that they believed he was worth the risk. Luciano has spent the entire season as the youngest player in the majors.

“That’s incredible,” said Brad Keller, whom the Royals claimed in the previous’ Rule 5 Draft. “I felt like the jump from Double A to the big leagues was pretty big. I can’t imagine going from rookie ball to the big leagues.”

The Blue Jays had to answer for why they would even consider putting a player so obviously unprepared on their big league roster.

“Elvis is an exciting young arm that we’ve done a lot of work on and feel that any time you can acquire someone who has the chance to be a Major League starting pitcher, or a significant chance to be that, based on our projections, based on our scout looks,” Toronto general manager Ross Atkins told MLB.com at the time.

“The work that we did on him, these types of attributes are hard to acquire,” Atkins said of Luciano. “The age, there are pluses and minuses to that. The pluses are the upside, the very high ceiling. The minuses are the risk and the unknown in how little he has pitched.”

Keller was one of the rare cases where a Rule 5 Draft pick actually turned into a frontline player. Keller shocked the league when he proved an excellent option out of the bullpen, then was elevated to a starter midseason. Keller finished his rookie year with a 9-6 record and a 3.08 ERA.

Keller was thrown directly into the flames in 2018. The Royals had to find out if he was worth keeping or not. Luciano has been spared such a baptism by fire. The Blue Jays have used him sparingly, and only in low-pressure situations. Still, Keller recognizes what a tall order the young man faces.

“All the power to him,” Keller said. “I’d just say keep your head down and learn as much as possible during the time you’re there, and soak in the moment of just getting to be in the big leagues.

The Blue Jays have found a loophole to protect Luciano even further. On June 12, they placed him on the injured list, and he’s stayed there. The Blue Jays will hide the “injured” teenager there for the maximum of 60-days. By rule, he has to be active for at least 90 days. So the Blue Jays will activate him in mid-August for a few weeks, and he will almost certainly be sent to the minor leagues next year.

Luciano will still be nursing his purported injury when the Blue Jays visit Kansas City July 29-31, thus missing his only chance to face his former employer.

“Its part of the business, part of the way things work,” said Keller of the strange route of young Luciano. “But you can try to enjoy every moment while you’re there. And if you learn all you can while you’re there, then maybe it won’t be such a long road to get back if you are sent down next year. For him, my advice would be just learn as much as you can, so that the whole time you’re in the minors you’ll already know what it takes to be in the big leagues.”