The Kansas City Royals did not win the World Series because of dominant pitching or a potent offense. Rarely did they overwhelm teams with a lights-out starting pitching performance or an unprecedented offensive surge. They key was their clutch hitting.
The one game the Royals undoubtedly dominated this postseason was their Game 4 victory in the ALCS over the Toronto Blue Jays. Kansas City won 14-2 and there was not one moment in the game where the Blue Jays had a shot to stage a comeback.
Every other game was relatively within reach for their opponent, even their 7-1 win over the New York Mets in Game 2 of the World Series because the Royals scored three of those runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal the win.
And speaking of scoring in the eighth inning and beyond...
Of all the crazy Royals' numbers, this might be the best: KC scored 40 runs this postseason 8th inning/later, no other team had more than 5
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 2, 2015
Yes, you read that correctly. The Royals' clutch hitting is the reason they are the 2015 World Champions.
In Game 4 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros, the Royals were six outs away from being eliminated from the postseason. They were down 6-2 heading into the top of the eighth, but the pesky Royals scored seven runs in the final two innings to force Game 5. In that elimination game, the Royals led 4-2 heading into the eighth inning before Kendrys Morales blasted a three-run homer to seal the victory.
Their next clutch performance came in Game 2 of the ALCS, which arguably set the tone for the entire series. The Royals trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh against Blue Jays' ace David Price, who retired 19 straight batters before the Royals scored five runs in that frame. They added another run in the eighth and took the 6-3 win and the 2-0 series lead.
They eliminated Toronto in Game 6 of the ALCS thanks to an Eric Hosmer RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to break the 3-3 tie.
And then came the World Series against the New York Mets.
The Royals continued their clutch performance in Game 1 when Alex Gordon blasted a solo home run off Mets closer Jeurys Familia to tie the game and force extra innings. Familia hadn't blown a save since late July. They won the game in extras thanks to a sac fly from Hosmer.
Kansas City further deflated the Mets in Game 4 by scoring three runs in the top of the eighth to take a 5-3 lead. New York's bullpen failed to put the Royals away and Ned Yost's club made them pay with their aggressive hitting and unwillingness to strike out. They capitalized on an error from Daniel Murphy, but the fact they were able to consistently put the ball in play was the defining aspect of their success.
And then came last night. Matt Harvey completely dominated the Royals and allowed just four hits and one walk over eight scoreless innings. Manager Terry Collins was going to take out Harvey in favor of Familia, but Harvey pleaded his case to go back out to finish the job off.
When Harvey walked Lorenzo Cain to lead off the inning and then allowed an RBI double off the bat of Hosmer, that was it for the right-hander. Familia came in, but the Royals continued to put the ball in play. The Royals advanced Hosmer to third and then his heads up baserunning tied the game after Salvador Perez's RBI groundout to third. It was all but over at that point, as the Royals captured the momentum and had the upper hand with their dominant bullpen heading into extra innings.
They scored five runs in the 12th and won their first World Series title since 1985.
The reason was because of their clutch hitting, which is no surprise considering these stats (provided by Baseball-Reference) from the regular season:
- Two outs w/ runners in scoring position - .278/.356/.430 with 243 runs scored, 16 home runs, 228 RBI and 25 stolen bases (159 games)
- Late and close (plate appearances in the seventh inning or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one run, or the tying run at least on deck) - .257/.324/.393 with 111 runs scored, 21 home runs, 102 RBI and 26 stolen bases (89 games)
- Tie game - .297/.345/.463 with 209 runs scored, 40 home runs, 202 RBI and 26 stolen bases (149 games)
- Within one run - .281/.338/.439 with 384 runs scored, 79 home runs, 363 RBI and 58 stolen bases
- Within two runs - .271/.327/.417 with 500 runs scored, 98 home runs, 475 RBI and 73 stolen bases (160 games)
The Royals scored 90 runs this postseason. Nearly half of them came in the eighth inning or later, which is clearly the dominant stat that propelled them to a World Series title.
Also, here's some more telling information provided by ESPN's Jayson Stark:
"First off, it's a good thing for [GM] Dayton Moore he didn't know that only two other teams in the history of baseball had ever won the World Series the way the Royals did -- by finding themselves at least two runs behind in the ninth inning or later of a clinching game and then scrambling back to win. And don't go looking for any YouTube highlights of the previous two -- because they happened in 1929 (A's) and 1939 (Yankees).
"Then again, this was a plot line we'd seen over and over and over again. The Royals won 11 games in this postseason. In seven of them, they trailed by at least two runs at some point, then roared back to win. No team had ever done that. But this team did.
"And in six of those 11 wins, the Royals were losing heading into the sixth inning. No team had ever won six games that way in a single postseason, either. But this team did.
"And just in this World Series, the Royals not only trailed in all five games but won three games in which they trailed in the eighth inning or later. No team had ever done that before in any of the first 110 World Series in history. But this team did."
Their starting pitching wasn't all that great after going 3-5 with a 4.97 ERA in 16 games, but the Royals had their bullpen to rely on. That unit went 8-0 with a 2.51 ERA and four saves in 15 games. However, the fact that the bullpen had eight wins and only four saves just goes to show how the late-inning comebacks from Kansas City were the difference in the 2015 postseason.
The aggressive Royals lineup struck out very few times and consistently put the ball in play, which is certainly a reflection of their ability to maintain poise and stability even in the high-pressure situations.
Kansas City may not have had a prototypical World Series club on paper, but their intangibles characterized their success, and that's something we don't see very often in sports.
