Kansas City Royals Have No Need for Revenge

By David Hill |

Nov 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals players celebrate on the field after defeating the New York Mets to win game five of the World Series at Citi Field. The Royals win the World Series four games to one. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 season has not even begun, and already, the Kansas City Royals are once again being thrust into the role of baseball’s villains.

Last year, a lot of fuss was made early in the season about the Kansas City Royals and their “attitude issues.” They came into the season with a chip on their shoulder, determined to prove the experts wrong as they were expected to drop back to the cellar of the American League Central. Instead, they jumped out to a 7-0 start, and literally fought their way through April en route to a World Series title.

Now, before the season has already begun, those big bad Royals are thought to be up to the same shenanigans, set to bully their opponents. Just as they had issues with former A’s Brett Lawrie and Jeff Samardzija, perhaps due to the Royals epic Wild Card victory, the Royals are reportedly out for revenge against Noah Syndergaard and the Mets for his brushback pitch to Alcides Escobar to open Game Three.

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Really? The Kansas City Royals are going to do what, exactly? It’s not like Syndergaard would come up to bat, unless Terry Collins forgot he was in an American League ballpark and left his DH out of the lineup. Is Lorenzo Cain going to intentionally hit a line drive back through the box at Syndergaard should he take the mound?

Or is it expected that one of the Royals starters will throw at a Mets player in retaliation? At this point, it would simply be overkill, as the Royals not only won the World Series in Shea Stadium, but are having two ceremonies to celebrate their title while the Mets are forced to watch. Would drilling David Wright or some other random Mets player be any more painful than making them sit through the raising of the championship banner and a ring ceremony on separate nights?

Yes, the Royals, particularly Yordano Ventura, let their emotions get the best of them at times last year. And yes, the Royals are likely to be looking to assert their dominance in the early going once more. But what was lost in the fireworks of April was how often Royals players were being hit by pitches before they retaliated, as they felt they needed to protect their own. Of course, that made the Royals the bad guys.

What happened last year during the World Series will stay in 2015, provided nothing causes an eruption. The Mets and Syndergaard made their point in Game Three, and the Royals made their point in every game thereafter as the banner will signify. To think otherwise, and that the Royals somehow have unfinished business against the Mets, is absurd.

Next: Reclamation projects: Lincecum or Masterson?

The Kansas City Royals may have been the Bad Boys of Baseball last year, but that was a different season under different circumstances. If any fireworks do erupt at Kauffman Stadium, chances are it will be the ones set off in the outfield after the game.

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