Royals Seeking Playoff Magic On 10th Anniversary Of Signature Wild-Card Win
Kansas City Royals fans will always remember Oct. 1, 2014 like it was yesterday.
Somehow, it's already been a full decade.
On that magical night in the fall of 2014, the Royals pulled off their first signature win of the new millennium, downing the Oakland Athletics 8-7 in 12 innings on a walk-off single by their young star catcher, Salvador Perez.
The comeback win jump-started Kansas City's run to Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, and subsequently, their World Series victory in 2015. Fittingly, on Tuesday, the Royals will have a shot to make some new playoff memories.
The Royals will open their Wild Card showdown with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards starting at 4:08 p.m. EST. They'll face one of the best pitchers in the playoffs, former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, and counter with their own lefty All-Star, Cole Ragans.
There may be some obvious differences--like the fact the 2014 Wild Card game was in Kansas City, or that the series is best two of three now instead of one winner-take-all contest. But it's been nine years since the Royals tasted the crisp October air, and there's a buzz of electricity floating through the atmosphere on Tuesday.
The Royals activated star first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino for the game, after missing the last four weeks with a broken thumb. Pasquantino's remarkably quick recovery (the initial timeline was six to eight weeks) may be one more sign that the Royals have destiny on their side.
Then, there's the fact that of all the Royals on that storybook 2014 team, the only one still remaining is the man who hit that walk-off against Oakland: their captain, Salvador Perez. If a big moment is to take place on Tuesday, Perez feels like a sure bet to be in the center of it.
In October of 2014, meanwhile, a young Bobby Witt Jr. was weeks into his freshman year of high school in Colleyville, Texas. All he's done since then is become a second-overall draft pick, burst onto the scene as a big-league superstar, and sign the largest Royals contract ever, close to $300 million.
The puzzle pieces all appear to be falling into place. The Royals aren't favored to take down the Orioles, but maybe they should be. Because in this moment, Tuesday feels quite a bit like 2014 in Major League Baseball.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org