I am a Kansas City Royals Fan and You Should Be Too

Baseball is over for us here in the northwest, we had a wicked run in late September and came up a little bit short. If you’re anything like me, that string of wins just made you hungry for more baseball. Alas, we’ve needed to find a new outlet for our summer needs. Over at Lookout Landing, Matt threw together this helpful table for choosing your bandwagon team this October. Shockingly, Matt came to the same conclusion I did:

if you’re not cheering for the Royals, then you’re wrong.

If it really is true that Americans love an underdog story, then look no further than our Midwest brothers. In many ways the Royals are even more Seattle than the Mariners. In order to completely make that association, lets break down what it means to be a Mariners fan:

PLAYOFF DRAUGHTS

If there’s any one thing that has embodied Seattle baseball in the last decade, it’s mediocrity. It’s been a long time for Mariners fans, I was only a young freshman in high school the last time the Mariners made any kind of noise in the playoffs . But that has aboslutely nothing on the Royals.The poor Royals haven’t seen postseason baseball since 1985.

1985, way before Nirvana, when there was still music on MTV.

Of note: Now that the Royals are in the playoffs, the Mariners move up in the longest playoff drought category, at 13 seasons. They trail behind our northern neighbors the Toronto Blue Jays, who are rolling on a 20+ year streak, having missed the playoffs every season since their back-to-back championships in 1992-93.

RAUL IBANEZ

If you needed a hometown connection to the Royals, look no further than their recent addition, Rauuuul. Now in the twilight of his career, Raul bounced around the league a bit before landing in KC in June. Since then, he’s made 33 appearances, and is batting .188/.278/.325

Wait…ignore that.

Since June, Raul has managed to get more shine on his head than anyone I’ve ever seen, except maybe Jean-Luc Picard. Even more impressive, is that Raul has a bunch of playoff experience which should help the young Royals in the clubhouse. Only in the clubhouse though. Unfortunately for us Raul fans, he’s been left off of the ALDS roster for the series. We’re going to have to wait until the ALCS to get our next fill of that handsome devil.

So Handsome Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

NEW HOTNESS

So you like young, hotshot pitchers who surprise the hell out of the league when they first come to the show? Well, I do too, that’s why James Paxton is okay in my books.

It turns out that the Royals have their own hotness on the mound every now and then too. No, I’m not talking about Jason Vargas (although, there’s another ex-Mariner for you to root for). I’m referring to 21 year old Brandon Finnegan, the most recent addition to the Royals’ bullpen. The youngster was actually playing college ball earlier this year, but has very quickly changed his stars and is now a big league pitcher in the MLB playoffs.

Want more comparisons to Seattle? How about this truth bomb: The Royals and Mariners average age is separated by only 0.5 years (Seattle: 27.8, KC 28.3). That’s less than a pregnancy term.

This little guy.               Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports