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Kansas City Royals Join Extremely Rare Group in Baseball History with Playoff Berth

The Kansas City Royals are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2015!

Brady Farkas

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (19) hits a double against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park on Sept 27.
Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (19) hits a double against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park on Sept 27. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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The Kansas City Royals shut out the Atlanta Braves 3-0 in Atlanta on Friday night. With the win, the Royals clinched a playoff spot in the American League for the first time since the 2015 season - the last time they won the World Series.

With this playoff berth solidified, the Royals have now joined an extremely rare group in baseball history. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

made playoffs season after losing 100+ games:

2024 Royals (106 losses in ’23)
2020 Marlins (105 losses in ’19)
2017 Twins (103 losses in ’16)

The Royals went a terrible 56-106 last season, finishing as one of the worst teams in all of baseball. However, over the offseason, the Royals got a real commitment to spending from ownership and it paid major dividends. The team went out and signed superstar Bobby Witt Jr. to a massive contract extension and also brought in right-handed pitchers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. Furthermore, they added to the bullpen by signing Chris Stratton and Will Smith. They also traded for Jon Schreiber from the Boston Red Sox.

The Royals are currently tied with the Detroit Tigers for the second/third wild card spot. Finishing as the second wild card team would mean a playoff date with the Baltimore Orioles while the third wild card spot would mean a date with the Houston Astros, who won the American League West.

The Royals will take on the Braves again on Saturday night. Atlanta is fighting to make the playoffs in the National League.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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