Kansas City Royals 2010 Season Preview
By Freddie Brister
It will always be 1985 in Kansas City. It has been 25 years since the Royals won thief first and so far only World Series title. It is a season that continues to be remembered fondly today in everything short of song. Unfortunately, it is also the last time the Royals so much as made the playoffs. Outside of Kansas City, the Royals are an afterthought. They are a team brought in midweek with special promotions in order to draw fans to the ballpark. You very rarely hear of fans saying they are excited for the team's big weekend series with the Royals. When you toil in obscurity and have one winning season in the past 15 years, it is easy to be forgotten.
That said, there is some promise to the Royals. They have some young talent that, if it can gel together, could be a surprise team in a few years. Kaufman Stadium is in the process of a major facelift that could give it the All-Star Game in 2014, so there are some positive signs in America's heartland. Last year's 65-97 record may not seem like a whole lot, but it is something to build on because many of those young players gained valuable experience.
One of those players to build around was staff ace Zack Greinke. The young pitcher whiffed 242 batters and carried a miserly 2.16 ERA through the season to a 16-8 record. That was good enough to win the American League Cy Young Award, which hasn't even been mentioned in Kansas City since the salad days of Brett Saberhagen. Grienke account for nearly a quarter of the Royals wins on the mound, and he has a few buddies that could back him up next season. Luke Hochevar is a young fireballer that made his Major League debut last season. The former first round pick struggled in going 7-13 while splitting time between Triple-A Omaha and the big club, but if he can learned the game he has more than enough talent to be a solid number two to Grienke. Kyle Davies was also incredibly reliable, but only had an 8-9 record before ending the season with a strained oblique muscle.
Kansas City does need to get more production from its offense if its developing young pitching staff is going to continue to improve. Billy Butler was the best hitter with a.301 average and 21 home runs with 93 RBI's he led the Royals in both batting average and RBI's, so he was a very productive hitter. He needs to continue that trend in 2010. Most of the eyes will be on the development of Alex Gordon. Gordon has long been a top prospect for the Royals, but he spent three months on the disabled list in 2009 and was also demoted to Triple-A for awhile. The Royals have too much time invested in Gordon to give up now. He simply must stay healthy and have a better year in 2010 for the Royals to dramatically improve.
Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of football is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing football in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watching college football on tv and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of college football and Major League Baseball.
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