Royals Rumblings - News for May 22, 2024

See you later, alligators.

A couple of things to track as this almost ludicrous Royals season moves along:

1) Can Bobby Witt, Jr. have a 10-WAR season?

2) The team’s playoff chances are above 50% now. Can they sustain and keep building that?

3) As we hit other “milestone” games like yesterday’s 50-game mark, how will this season continue to stack up against team history?

This is exciting. What does your gut tell you about what to expect with the rest of the season?

Craig Brown drew this fun parallel between Bobby Witt, Jr.’s grand slam that gave Kansas City win #30 last season and Justin Maxwell’s 2013 grand slam:

That’s Bobby Witt Jr. turning on an impossible 102 MPH fastball to hit a walkoff, 10th inning grand slam against the Minnesota Twins. Just prior to that swing, the Royals were a team playing .279 baseball, on pace to lose 117 games. From that moment, they went 27-31, a .466 clip the rest of the way.

Since then, the Royals are 57-50. That’s a .533 winning percentage. That’s quite a rebound.

In this, the 10th anniversary of the 2014 team and their postseason siege, it’s tempting to attempt to draw parallels between the two teams. There are plenty of similarities to be sure. How about the home runs that seemed to show the promise of better days ahead? In 2013 it was Justin Maxwell hitting a walkoff grand slam in the final home game of the season. That swing clinched a winning season for the team with a week of games remaining. It also somehow set the tone for the offseason. Jump forward 10 years and it’s Witt leading the team out of the doldrums.

Two swings. Two grand slams. Two indelible moments in franchise history? It sure feels like it. Baseball!

Only one transaction involving an Old Friend is that Matt Beaty signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks. Beaty played 26 games with the Royals last season.

Chris Sale is on a bit of a roll lately.

Oneil Cruz hit two balls over 120 mph, and three over 115 mph, in one game. That’s a first for the StatCast Era.

Speaking of the Pirates, Pittsburgh will enshrine Barry Bonds into their team’s Hall of Fame.

LaMelo Ball allegedly ran over an 11-year-old fan’s foot with his car.

Dial back the Bronny James media coverage, pleads Kendrick Perkins.

What’s new on Hulu in June. And the same kind of list, but for Disney+!

If you’ve Googled anything recently, you may have noticed the AI-powered results at the top of the page that are of dubious quality. Here’s a URL tweak you can make to get rid of that nonsense.

This Ask a Manager letter writer thinks a potential nanny used a fake reference. What would you do in that situation?

A programming note that is also a personal note: As some of you may know, I’m due to have a baby any day now. The official due date is Monday, but who knows! It’s up to the baby at this point, not me. So this will be my last Rumblings for some amount of time. Thank you all for hanging out in this space; it is a cherished part of my weekly routine.

SOTD: Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight