Tag: kansas-city-royals

I must have been on to something. On June 11 of this year, I wrote (you can read here) about the baseball rivalry that I missed. Well, it turns out that I am getting what I wished for. The Kansas City Royals will be taking on the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series after dispatching the Baltimore Orioles in two straight games. With the way baseball is now, it is hard to imagine these two teams meeting in the playoffs four times in five years. However, one thing this series will have in common with the others is that it is a best of five round.

The years were 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1980. The three series that took place in the 70’s were won by the Yankees while the 1980 affair was a Royals’ sweep. Not only were there great players up and down both teams, but each series had at least two memorable moments or games that made this rivalry special. Unfortunately for me, I am not quite old enough to say, “I remember the Chris Chambliss series ending homer” in 1976 or, “Did you see the Nettles-Brett brawl at third base last night?” in 1977. The only memories I have are from 1980 which saw (A) George Steinbrenner leaving in disgust after Willie Randolph got thrown out at home plate in Game 2 and (B) George Brett‘s moonshot off Goose Gossage in Game 3 to finally slay the Yankee dragon. It’s interesting to note is that while the teams largely remained the same through all four series, many big name players missed one or more clashes. Reggie Jackson didn’t get to the Yankees until 1977, Goose Gossage in 1978. Ron Guidry didn’t pitch in 1976 while Willie Wilson was a bit player in 1977. Dan Quisenberry did not get into the KC bullpen until 1980. Tragically, Thurman Munson did not live to 1980.

Maybe because of color TV and better sound quality, watching highlights from that era doesn’t seem that far removed. However, when you look at the years and then do the math, you realize that their first meeting was 48 YEARS AGO! Who are this year’s comparable players? Bobby Witt is George Brett. Aaron Judge is Thurman Munson. Juan Soto is Reggie Jackson. Seth Lugo is Dennis Leonard. Will this year’s games match the intensity from another era? Tune in for a rivalry renewed, 44 years in the making.

I am a firm believer, or at least have the perception, that sports were were better when we were younger. Maybe it’s because we had less responsibilities. Maybe it’s because the world was less chaotic. I don’t think I am the only one that feels this way. How many times growing up did we hear our parents say things were better when they were kids? That being said, I always try to conceptualize that instead of saying sports were better when I was younger, I like to say they have evolved. However, I still miss certain things about my baseball childhood.

This brings me to the rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, who play each other four times in Kansas City this week.

Growing up, I didn’t look at the Boston Red Sox as the Yanks’ biggest rivals. The Yankees and Royals to me was much more intense. New York and Kansas City played each other in the American League Champions Series four out of five years. Though I was too young to actually remember the first three, I knew that whenever they played one another, it was a big deal. Some of their regular season games were on national television. The 1976-1978 ALCS were loaded with memorable highlights such as Chris Chambliss’s series clinching home run at Yankee Stadium in ’76 and the brawl in Kansas City one year later. One of my earliest memories was the 1980 ALCS when the Royals finally slayed the Yankee dragon and advanced to the World Series. I distinctly remember going to bed with the Yankees winning game three only to wake up and find out George Brett smacked a three run homer to give KC the series. To add more gas to the fire, Dick Howser was the Yankee manager in 1980. He was fired by George Steinbrenner after that season and became the Royals’ manager the following season. Howser got the Royals over the hump once and for all in 1985, directing the team to its first World Championship. Of course, who can forget the most famous moment of all in this epic rivalry? That would be Brett’s Pine Tar home run in 1983, that was first disallowed and then allowed less than a month later.

For one of the rare instances over the last 30 years, both teams are playoff contenders at the same time. One big difference between all of those epic clashes years ago and today is the size of the payrolls. In its heyday, there was no talk of big market-small market and luxury taxes. It was just two well-run organizations vying for American League supremacy. I’d love nothing more than to see the Yankees and Royals meet once again this Fall for the right to go to the World Series.