Kansas City parties after Royals championship

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The world champion Kansas City Royals basked in the adulation of hundreds of thousands of ecstatic fans in a parade and rally Tuesday that nearly shut down downtown for hours.

After driving a 2.3- mile route in a caravan, team owner David Glass, Manager Ned Yost and several of the Royals returned the love by telling fans they could not have captured the World Series without their support and calling the turnout for Tuesday’s celebration “unbelievable” and “amazing.”

City officials estimated Tuesday that 500,000 people attended the events.

Fans began arriving hours before the festivities and were packed in so tightly that many could not move. Yet the mood remained mostly jovial, with people waving flags, hats and signs, thrilled for their team’s first World Series win since 1985.

“This is a day like none of us have seen before and we appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts,” Yost said. “What [ the team] wanted most was to come to this city to win a championship for you guys. We celebrate it with you today.”

Left fielder Alex Gordon, who has been with the team since 2007, recalled years of losing seasons for the Royals. “To see this unfold to this is unbelievable. We’re the World Series champs and you are the best fans in the world,” he told the crowd.

Gordon, who’s not expected to exercise an option on his contract for next season, gave no hint about his possible future with the team.

Johnny Gomes, a midseason acquisition from the Atlanta Braves who didn’t make the playoff roster but was credited with bringing positive energy to the clubhouse, was the most animated of the players, forcing the reluctant relieving corps to take a bow and introducing several players. He also asked for a moment of silence in honor of Edinson Volquez’s father, Chris Young’s father and Mike Moustakas’ mother, all of whom died this year.

“It’s unbelievable what those guys did,” Gomes said.