If you're a baseball player, you want to hit your very best, if you can, in April. Doing so, and you get those season stats that show up on the screen when you bat as nice as possible, win the favor of your manager, get some built in slack with the media and fans... all of it. A good April can make you an "All-Star" which is especially nice if you want to be on MLB Network someday. And, if you can, you want to time your slump for the end of the season. By then, everyone's tuned out and bored, and you've accumulated so many PAs, your season numbers can't move much anyways.
You can extend this thinking throughout the season. Nearly half of this young season has taken place in May by this point, but April impressions are still driving the bus. The Royal offense had a very strong April, finishing third in the AL in runs scored. In May however, fortunes have changed. The Royals are 11th in the AL in runs this month,just one run ahead of the feeble Twins. Yikes.
- Royals in April: .271/.336/.419
- Royals in May: .247/.315/.380
| AVG | OBP | SLG | |
| Cabrera | .272 | .318 | .481 |
| TREANOR! | .278 | .435 | .361 |
| Betemit | .288 | .365 |
.409 |
| Hosmer | .257 | .309 | .446 |
| Francoeur | .247 | .316 | .435 |
And the five worst, excluding Kila and Dyson (best to worst):
| AVG | OBP | SLG | |
| Gordon | .216 | .278 | .398 |
| Aviles | .243 | .270 | .371 |
| Getz | .239 | .300 | .283 |
| Escobar | .221 | .274 | .265 |
| Pena | .167 | .250 | .233 |
As with the April numbers, or even the season totals to date, these numbers aren't meant to bury or praise anyone. They're simply another set of data, from a smallish sample of games. Alex Gordon was reborn and reinventing himself (supposedly) in April, and that hot start has obscured a difficult (and typical line for him) May. TREANOR! has somehow been an OBP machine.
The only regular player that doesn't make one of the above tables, is Billy Butler, who is right between Francoeur and Gordon for the month, hitting .260/.348/.351.
The Royals are 8-13 in May.