The clock had just struck midnight when Kansas City Royals center fielder Jarrod Dyson strapped a camera around his head. This was so he could remember every single second of what was about to happen.
After all, when you think back to 1985, the last time the Royals won a World Series, there were no smartphones or cameras. Sites like Twitter and Instagram were not even an idea yet. People had to live in the moment instead of posting on Facebook. All you had was this old thing called human memory.
But like many Royals fans will say, memories begin to fade; especially memories that happened three decades ago.
But on this night, Dyson made sure to capture it all, as he and the Royals captured their second World Series Championship in franchise history.
The hand the Royals were dealt last season had them fall just short of a World Series title. The team came back this year with one goal in mind: to win.
And it succeeded.
I’ve always said plate discipline and base running wins in October. The Royals proved this theory by finding ways to construct wins in a postseason filled with home run records and power-pitching rotations.
The team was trailing 2-0 in the ninth inning and should have been thinking about game six back at home.
But those are the kinds of thoughts other teams have, not the Royals.
These Royals are going to be remembered as the team that just refused to die all season long, especially in the postseason. Eight of its 11 playoff wins came after trailing in the sixth inning or later, while six of those comebacks erased at least two runs.
No other team has ever done this.
But should we be surprised? No. It’s something they have been doing all year. They make contact, get on base and once they do, they are aggressive and steal bases.
That was their strategy from game one and it was their strategy until game five of the World Series.
After outfielder Lorenzo Cain led off the ninth inning with a walk, the New York Mets players looked as if they were in the middle of a horror film despite their two-run lead.
What transpired next was seemingly impossible.
First basemen Eric Hosmer hit a double to bring in Cain and later score the tying run, because he’s a Royal.
Then backup infielder Christian Colon, who had not been up to bat in four weeks, gave Kansas City the lead in the twelfth inning — because he’s a Royal.
The team that didn’t score once in eight innings would go on to score seven runs in the game because, well, they’re the Royals.
It was the perfect ending to a season that really epitomized everything the Royals did the entire year.
As the celebration began, Dyson made sure to capture everything on his GoPro camera. When asked how many times he would watch the video he said:
“Probably a million. I might watch it every day. I’m gonna hook it up, sit back, and probably shed tears watching it.”
micbhern@indiana.edu
