Who Is This World Series Appearance For?

There's a sweeter fruit still hanging from the tree. It doesn't hang as low as the already plucked fruits, but they were easier to reach so the reward isn't as sweet. Not that they were easy to pluck, but they were easier than the final fruit still hanging. The final fruit though is the sweetest, glorious, and everlasting. Like when Eve damned humanity by eating the forbidden fruit, she was overwhelmed with knowledge. That's the final fruit.

How beautiful is this tree, and how delightful is its appearance!

But who is this appearance for? And if the Royals win the whole damn thing, then who deserves it?

The fans?

Yes. Absolutely yes. 100%.

How do you determine insanity: be a Royals fan. That's a two sided coin. Royals fans are insane. Insane in devotion. Insane in support for the team. Royals fans are also insane in the classical sense. Despite the year by year blows, how much can a fan-base endure? This team was terrible for years, decades, and in a morose way: lifetimes. Why would you continue to like this team? What are they giving back to you? How much money in tickets, drinks, food, apparel, and television rights have you paid the Royals in some fashion to watch a horrendous baseball team? You've got to be a masochist. You can't love these guys. This is painful.

And oh man, why was the world so hard? Why were there so many spokes hungry for your fingers, so many gears eager to grab for your guts?

Insanity is known as repeating the same mistake, and expecting different results. Royals fans were insane. Are insane. Why would we do this to ourselves?

But there is a camaraderie among fans. Not just fans though. People. A town. There's the Midwest camaraderie . Maybe that's romanticizing things, but picture yourself at Kauffman Stadium for Game 7 of the World Series. Picture Greg Holland striking out the final batter for the win. What do you do? Do you just high five the person you came with? No, you're an insane person. You hug everyone around you. You high five the ushers, Sluggerrr, and every fan you walk past as you exit the gates.

Few of us have been there before, and there's a good chance we could pass on memories to a following generation.

This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole.

The walls are so steep he can't get out.

A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey Doc. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest says a prayer and moves on.

Then a friend walks by, "Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole.

Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here."

The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out."

This is for the fans more than anyone else. For your dad who probably watched the Royals in 1985. For your mother who put up with you as a child running around with a glove on your head and staining your Royals shirt. For your stupid little brother who no matter how much he annoyed you, you could still sit on the couch with him and watch the Royals lose 100 games. For anyone else in your life that means anything to you. Even if they don't like baseball, YOU like baseball, and they like you.

Most importantly, these playoffs have been for yourself. Congrats man/woman. You didn't think it would happen did you? I didn't. We even knew it wouldn't happen didn't we? We're cynical and insane. Why would this organization ever be good again.

The players?

Yes. This isn't just for Nori Aoki, or James Shields. While they have played a role in the Royals success, they didn't suffer through a years of incompetence. For me, I think this World Series appearance is for:

Billy Butler

Alex Gordon

Luke Hochevar

Greg Holland

Jarrod Dyson

Those are your longest tenured Royals. Butler/Gordon longer than the others.

2007	69-93
2008	75-87
2009	65-97
2010	67-95
2011	71-91
2012	72-90

That's freaking misery there.

The Organization?

Yes. We all hated Dayton Moore at one point. Okay, maybe not hated, but didn't trust him. Look at the year by year results above and tell me you knew it all along. Tell me you weren't down on the Royals or wanted Moore fired. I don't believe any Royals fan thought Moore could do it after 2010 or 2011. Then in 2013, coming off a 72-90 year, Dayton traded away one of the best Royals prospects of all time Wil Myers.

Ned Yost, god love him. He's at the same time the worst manager in baseball and an average manager. He does things so maddening that you vow to never watch the Royals again. That would be insanity. Yost is frustrating. He's folksy, and playful, and hard in his ways, but for better or for worse, he's our manager for the next 4-7  games and damnit, he's done a good job so far this post season.

Nick Kenney. A gigantic amount of props has to go to Kenney, Kyle Turner, Jeff Blum, and Ryan Stoneberg.

Doesn't that say enough?

The international and scouting team of Rene Francisco, Lonnie Goldberg, JJ Picollo, Pedro Silverio, Juan Indiago, Daruys Nin, Rafael Vasquez, Juan Lopez and Orlando Estevez. Seriously, these guys found and signed Yordano Ventura for $28,000, Kelvin Hererra for $22,000, and Sal Perez for an undisclosed minimal amount among the other Royals international prospects in the farm system. That means looking at a 15/16 year old kid and projecting where they could be in 5-6 years. (Don't forget Noel Arguelles of course)

I could finish this article more eloquently I'm sure, but I'll finish it crudely. Let's just go win the damn thing.