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Do Or Die Tonight

WSB2015An off-day Monday provided time to reflect on what an exciting October it’s been for Kansas City. Despite the morose feelings that followed the past two World Series games, the metro remains a sea of blue, from the Royal garb of the Downtown office workers to the supportive billboards on I-35 to the adornments around the statues on Ward Parkway. On a Saturday walk in Brookside, I spotted a house with three homemade Royal-themed pumpkins. I attended a Mass this weekend where the prayers included a petition for the Royals. The fever is everywhere.

It was 29 years ago Monday that the Royals won the seventh game of the 1985 World Series against the Cardinals, and now the team comes home in a similar predicament to that year—down three games to two with two home games left to play. Can history repeat itself? We’ll know soon enough.

There should be plenty of drama tonight. Columnist Richard Justice has a great piece on MLB.com about the special moments that have occurred in Game 6 of the World Series throughout the years. “It’s the game that has given us so many of our iconic images and unforgettable moments,” writes Justice, who then recounts the tales of Carlton Fisk, Reggie Jackson, the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals and, of course, the 1985 Royals.

In comparing the current Royals to the 1985 champions, today’s group lacks the marquee players of that era. George Brett was arguably the best player in the American League, and Bret Saberhagen won the first of his two Cy Young Awards that year. There were six other future Royal Hall of Famers in the clubhouse—Frank White, Willie Wilson, Dan Quisenberry, Hal McRae, Mark Gubicza and manager Dick Howser. I don’t see the same level of talent on this 2014 team, but I do see an extremely athletic squad, and also a resilient group fully capable of winning the next two games.

Some story lines to ponder while awaiting Game 6:

  • The Royal offense needs to rebound. Excluding the 7-2 victory in Game 2, KC has scored a total of only 12 runs in its last six games. There have been only two home runs since Game 2 of the ALCS. We’re back under American League rules, which means a solid bat returns to the lineup in designated hitter Billy Butler.
  • Can rookie Yordano Ventura deliver a strong outing and get the game to the back of the Royals’ bullpen? And have the Giants figured out the Kansas City relief corps after scoring 11 runs against the pen in the past two games?
  • If we go to a Game 7, could we see Madison Bumgarner pitch an inning or two for the Giants after throwing 117 pitches (84 for strikes) on Sunday? He says he can do it. Let’s at least hope he has a chance to prove it.

Amidst all of the excitement in Kansas City, I would be remiss in not mentioning the tragedy that occurred in baseball on Sunday. Cardinal rookie Oscar Taveras was killed along with his girlfriend in a one-car accident in his native Dominican Republic. The 22-year-old Taveras was one of baseball’s highest rated prospects and seemed destined for stardom with St. Louis. Just two weeks ago he hit a key pinch-hit home run against the Giants in Game 2 of the NLCS. Thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims, the Cardinal organization and their fans.

 Guest blogger Mark Fitzpatrick is a vice president with Missouri Bank in Kansas City.