Scrappy Royals take intensity up another notch
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals earned a reputation for being a scrappy bunch last year when they stole bases and dazzled on defence and used old-school small ball to reach Game 7 of the World Series.
They’ve taken that intensity up a notch this season. Not everybody appreciates it, either.
The Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics have already taken umbrage with the way Kansas City plays the game, a devil-may-care attitude that borders on cavalier. If someone slides into one of the Royals spikes-up, like Oakland’s Brett Lawrie over the weekend, better watch out for a 100-mile-perhour fastball zinging past your head from one of their relievers.
“We’re a team that’s going to grind it out, and we’re a tough team that’s going to stick together,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “We’re going to give you everything we’ve got.”
That approach made them the feel-good story of last fall. They played the game in a throwback manner, pine tar and dirt and grass stains becoming the complementary colours to starched white and royal blue. But these days, they’re starting to tread a fine line between playing the game in an endearingly hard way, and playing it downright dirty.
On Thursday night’s game in Chicago against the White Sox, the benches cleared at the end of the seventh inning after Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura snagged a grounder from Chicago outfielder Adam Eaton. The two exchanged words, punches were thrown and five players were ejected, including Ventura.
In that three-game series against Oakland, the Royals and A’s cleared their benches each day. Nearly as many people were hit by pitches as hit home runs. And five players and coaches were ultimately thrown out of the finale when things boiled over.
Among those tossed was reliever Kelvin Herrera, who threw that fastball behind the head of Lawrie, then pointed to his own head in a threatening manner. Herrera was suspended five games for it pending an appeal, a punishment that could have easily been stiffer.
“We’ve got to have each other’s backs,” outfielder Jarrod Dyson explained. “If you come at us, we’re not going to back down. We’re going to keep playing the game our way.”
In the eyes of the Royals, it was Lawrie who instigated everything anyway, when he wiped out shortstop Alcides Escobar with a reckless slide in the opener. From there, the two teams simply engaged in a dangerous game of retribution, neither one backing down.
“We just care about what goes on in here,” Hosmer countered. “Obviously there’s going to be perspectives, an outside point of view. But we stick together as a team, and we realize if we got everyone on the same page, we’re a tough team to beat.”
Several players insisted they aren’t going to change the way they approach the game. Nor do they plan to tone things down, or become a bunch of pushovers.
They also aren’t worried about all the intensity burning them out.
“That’s the beauty of a major league season, to see what teams can keep it up and what teams can’t,” Hosmer said. “We’re a team that’s gone through some downs together and we’re a team that’s gone through a lot of good times together. We know what it takes.”