Help us choose the funniest Royals moment of 2014

In the past the Royals have given us several funny moments, but they weren't really "ha ha" funny, more like "sad clown" funny. Kerry Robinson climbing the wall to have the ball land on the warning track. Chip Ambres dropping a routine fly ball for the final out to extend a nineteen-game losing streak. Ken Harvey falling over the tarp. Ken Harvey nailing Jason Grimsley with a throw. Ken Harvey doing Ken Harvey things. Why did we have Ken Harvey on the team again?

But this year, the Royals were funny in a very pleasant way. Remember the old team slogan "YOU GOTTA LOVE THESE GUYS" that sounded more like a threat (if you don't love these guys, we may not play here anymore!) than a slogan? Well this year it was actually true. If you didn't love these guys, you probably didn't have a heart, or were named "Joe Buck."

There were lots of amusing moments in the Royals 2014 season. Here are your nominees for "Funniest Royals Moment."

Nori Aoki gets hit in the head by Yadier Molina

Nori Aoki provided so many hilarious moments this year, its hard to pick just a few. Watching Nori Aoki play baseball is like  watching a Muppet on ice skates. In this interleague game against the Cardinals, Yadier Molina showed Nori how to play the game the right way, by throwing a baseball at his unsuspecting noggin.

An accident? Sure it was Yadi. Sure it was.

Nori Aoki gets hit in the nuts

I mean, it works on so many levels right? Just give this guy the $10,000 prize already.

It didn't graze his groin, it HIT HIM SQUARELY IN THE GROIN. That's better contact than Nori made all season with a baseball. Nori sacrificed his family jewels this year to entertain Royals fans. And for that, we salute you Nori.

Billy Butler steals second base in the American League Divisional Series

The Royals were already up 2-0 in the ALDS and were leading 5-1 in the third inning against the third Angels pitcher of the game, Hector Santiago. A sweep seemed fairly inevitable at that point, so with no one holding him on, Billy Butler decided to steal second.

That's what speed do.

If you're an Angels fan, I can see how you could be pretty upset with this play. Its the equivalent of giving someone a swirlie after you just stole their girlfriend.

Jarrod Dyson's backflip

Jarrod Dyson was a delightfully confident player to watch this year, whether it was dancing after stealing third in the critical Wild Card game, or confidently (and correctly) predicting the Royals would not have to return to Baltimore in the ALCS. But his funniest moment came earlier in the season, after the Royals celebrated taking over first place in mid-August. Dyson caught the last out and capped the moment off with a gymnastics routine.

Jason Vargas doesn't know how many balls are in a walk

The final funniest moment came in the World Series, which oh yea, the Royals participated in! The World Series is an interleague series, meaning that games at the home of the National League stadium require that pitchers attempt to feebly hit. While Ned Yost sending Kelvin Herrera up to bat may have been "funny", it wasn't "ha-ha" funny, but more "sad that our manager is so stupid" funny.

The funniest moment was when another pitcher - starting pitcher Jason Vargas - thought he had drawn a critical walk, only to realize that under National League rules*, four balls are required in a walk.

*-also, under American League rules as well, and really pretty much any organized rules of baseball stretching well past the last 125 years.

So there you have it, the five funniest moments from the Royals 2014 seasons, and Ken Harvey had nothing to do with any of them. Its like I don't even know this team anymore.

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