Zack in St. Louise Tonight
KC’s lone All Star, Zack Greinke, won’t get the start tonight. (Instead, the very worthy Roy Halladay will throw for the AL). But he should be the 2nd or 3rd pitcher for the American League. After years of Mark Redmans and Ken Harveys, I’m pretty stoked to see a LEGITIMATE All Star from KC. Cities like New York and LA always dog the “one player from every team” rule because of teams like the Royals and Pirates. But please, East Coast, give “flyover” land a little bit of joy every now and then. Since we’re probably not making an appearance in the ALDS anytime soon, it’s the only national exposure we’re going to get. And Zack led the player ballots, so he’s more than deserving to get some love.
But this all brings me to my next point: How awful it is to be a baseball fan in The City of Fountains? (That’s our nickname New York, look it up.) The last time the Royals were in the playoffs, I was 2 years old. I don’t remember that at all. I remember some decent teams in the early 90s, but not a single playoff appearance. I have never even had a CHANCE to see a playoff baseball game. It’s not like we were there and I said “I’ll just go next time.” I couldn’t have gone if I wanted to!
My team has only a single player in the HOF. (With no one on the roster looking like #2. Zack still has a long way to go) We have one World Championship.
But let’s look at the stats since 1985. (22 seasons after excluding the 1994 strike season):
6 Winning seasons: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2003
5 seasons under .400 winning percentage: 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
Average winning percentage 1986-2008: .453
3 Seasons within 10 games of division winner: 1987, 1989, 2003
11 seasons over 20 games behind division winner: 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Average number of games behind the division winner 1986-2008: 21.6 games
6 Seasons with multiple All Stars: 2003 (MacDougal, Sweeney), 2000 (Sweeney, Dye), 1989 (Gubiza, Jackson), 1988 (Brett, Gubiza, Stillwell), 1987 (Seitzer, Saberhagen, Brett), 1986 (Brett, White). Also: I believe MacDougal was a coach’s selection, not a ballot All Star.
This is my baseball team. Sigh. If the Royals were in junior high, they would be the Glee Club AKA Least Likely to Score. I feel like if I rooted for Montreal Expos, I would have a better chance at seeing a World Series. At least we’re not the Pirates.
