I'm a Mariners fan (lived in Seattle since '91) and a Twins fan (born and raised), so for most 21st-century postseasons I've had to find other teams to root for. And with the possible except of the '04 Red Sox, because of the way they embarrassed the Yankees, I've loved no "other" team more than the 2014-15 KC Royals.
Here are five postseason games the Royals won in 2015:
ALDS Game 4: Down 6-2 in the 8th
ALCS Game 2: Down 3-0 in the 7th
WS Game 1: Down 4-3 in the 9th
WS Game 4: Down 3-2 in the 8th
WS Game 5: Down 2-0 in the 9th
And not with a barrage of homers; with a barrage of singles and stolen bases and miscues from opposition teams that never put a premium on defense. I was hoping this would be the new Moneyball: valuing guys that put it in play and knew how to play. Instead, baseball went the way it went, with tons of homeruns and tons of strikeouts and declining batting averages. Shame.
So did Moore just get absurdly lucky, got a dream playoff run off a blah season and then carried that confidence into the next season but a confidence that couldn’t overwhelm the talent issues long term?
Or even if you accept that this is what happened is that in a sense proof that Moore’s philosophy was correct and that the sheer fact confidence and belief can Carry you through a whole season enough to deliver the best record is in a sense proof of his character over pure talent philosophy?
Sydney Swans in the AFL are playing a Grand Final tomorrow, their 6th in the last 17 years, 17 years they’ve never been seen as the most talented team but a club that famously has a no dickhead policy when it comes to drafts and trades
Dayton Moore is a man of high, moral character who developed a team of young men of high, moral character. I pray that the culture does not change now that he is no longer with the Royals. The issue of character is what sets the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs apart from other teams. I hope that never changes.
You are absolutely correct. For as long as I can remember, Kansas City has been an example for others to follow when it comes to holding their players accountable and for building character. Unfortunately, people become impatient when they’re not on the winning side. So thankful for Dayton Moore and the atmosphere he patiently built in our Kansas City Royals. We will miss you, Sir.
I'm not sure parent's of the girl Britt Reid maimed would agree with you about character and the KC Chiefs. Might as well mention Frank Clark's Uzi while I'm here.
As a long-time Royals season ticket holder, I will always be grateful for the 2014 and 2015. Dayton deserves credit for pulling together that great team that truly played for all the things that Dayton stood for. Unfortunately, Dayton made some terrible baseball decisions coming off of the championship that have put the Royals in a hole that has been hard to watch. With JJ as the head man now, I think the Royals can maintain some of the positive aspects of Dayton Moore’s time in KC while moving into the 21st century. I wish Dayton the best. He truly is a great man, and I am thankful for the time he spent leading the Royals.
A well written piece. The best glory moment for Moore, aside from the 2 World Series appearances, was being the first organization to say they would pay their minor league players during 2020 when other organizations had already said no. But the key failing for Moore, and the people under him, was/is talent evaluation. Waaay too many whiffs on first round draft choices. And not enough hits on later round draft choices when compared to the Rays or Dodgers or Cardinals. And the free agent contracts all crashed and burned: Omar Infante, Ian Kennedy, Alex Gordon's final contract. What's concerning going forward is that the new G.M. was part of the decision process that chose not to draft Walker Buehler, Austin Riley, Mookie Betts et al in favor of Ashe Russell, Nolan Watson, Patrick Leonard.
I think it's hard to say any of the free agent contracts you mentioned "crashed and burned" considering the fact that Salvy's $82 million extension is the largest contract the Royals have ever given to a player (and, of course, he wasn't a free agent). Their free agent acquisitions have been small contracts offered to average players, and it's not fair to expect average players to play like superstars. That's not on Dayton or JJ, it's on the 2 billionaires who have owned the team since Dayton was hired.
As a reminder why we should never listen to these guys complain about losing money on their teams, David Glass bought the team in 2000 for $96 million and his estate sold it to John Sherman for $1 billion in 2019.
I remember a couple years ago when MLB teams were cutting their payments to minor league players since after all “very few of them will make it to MLB”. Dayton insisted that the Royals would pay their minor leaguers in full. He further pointed out that the players that didn’t make it to MLB would return to become the High School, Community College, etc. coaches that are needed to mentor the next generation of ball players.
A long term focus on the long term good of the game that is desperately needed.
Hope there is another place for him. Baseball needs him.
My favorite story of Mr. Moore is when he and his wife were driving through the Country Club Plaza (a high scale KC shopping area) after being hired and he told her...."this is where we will have the World Series victory parade".
Does anybody remember Joe writing about Yuniesky Betancourt for basically an entire season? Maybe 2010? I recall him absolutely ripping on Dayton Moore, the entire team, and especially "Yuni." I don't mean he did it with a mean spirit, because obviously he didn't. But those were some funny columns, back in the days of KC hopelessness, and second guessing Dayton Moore.
It was at least ten years ago. Times have changed, but I still remember those columns, with a smile.
As a business book editor, I would tell Dayton that when he writes his book on success like THE EXTRA 2%, the book about the Rays, he should reorder his five principles as :
Character, Loyalty, Enthusiasm, Accountability, Respect; or CLEAR
4 or 5 years ago I spent a few days in KC to visit the Negro League Baseball Museum. I also went to 2 ballgames. Wow! The ballpark experience was great: the fans, the staff, the atmosphere, all of it. Highly recommended.
Yup, me three. Went to a weekend series vs. St. Louis. Had some wonderful interactions with the locals, who were very cordial even though we Cardinal fans had kind of taken over their park. Great fans, beautiful ballpark (albeit in a crummy location if you like downtown parks, it's way out in the burbs).
Agreed, I live near Denver and pass through KC pretty much annually on road trips east to see friends and family. Usually if I stop it's just for Joe's BBQ but sometimes I spend a little time and see some of the sights.
Great guy, IMO a poor GM. In baseball, the postseason is now more random than ever The key to me is being in the hunt consistently. Rays, As, Twins, Cleveland all did / do this way better than KC. Give the Royals credit- the only 2 playoff appearances they made it count but like I said, I think the postseason is a crapshoot.
I'm a Mariners fan (lived in Seattle since '91) and a Twins fan (born and raised), so for most 21st-century postseasons I've had to find other teams to root for. And with the possible except of the '04 Red Sox, because of the way they embarrassed the Yankees, I've loved no "other" team more than the 2014-15 KC Royals.
Here are five postseason games the Royals won in 2015:
ALDS Game 4: Down 6-2 in the 8th
ALCS Game 2: Down 3-0 in the 7th
WS Game 1: Down 4-3 in the 9th
WS Game 4: Down 3-2 in the 8th
WS Game 5: Down 2-0 in the 9th
And not with a barrage of homers; with a barrage of singles and stolen bases and miscues from opposition teams that never put a premium on defense. I was hoping this would be the new Moneyball: valuing guys that put it in play and knew how to play. Instead, baseball went the way it went, with tons of homeruns and tons of strikeouts and declining batting averages. Shame.
@Erik...check out this year's Guardians. Same story.
SF is looking for a new GM. One who knows something about players beyond their numbers on a page.
So did Moore just get absurdly lucky, got a dream playoff run off a blah season and then carried that confidence into the next season but a confidence that couldn’t overwhelm the talent issues long term?
Or even if you accept that this is what happened is that in a sense proof that Moore’s philosophy was correct and that the sheer fact confidence and belief can Carry you through a whole season enough to deliver the best record is in a sense proof of his character over pure talent philosophy?
Sydney Swans in the AFL are playing a Grand Final tomorrow, their 6th in the last 17 years, 17 years they’ve never been seen as the most talented team but a club that famously has a no dickhead policy when it comes to drafts and trades
Wonderful ode to a fine baseball man
Dayton Moore is a man of high, moral character who developed a team of young men of high, moral character. I pray that the culture does not change now that he is no longer with the Royals. The issue of character is what sets the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs apart from other teams. I hope that never changes.
You are absolutely correct. For as long as I can remember, Kansas City has been an example for others to follow when it comes to holding their players accountable and for building character. Unfortunately, people become impatient when they’re not on the winning side. So thankful for Dayton Moore and the atmosphere he patiently built in our Kansas City Royals. We will miss you, Sir.
I'm not sure parent's of the girl Britt Reid maimed would agree with you about character and the KC Chiefs. Might as well mention Frank Clark's Uzi while I'm here.
As a long-time Royals season ticket holder, I will always be grateful for the 2014 and 2015. Dayton deserves credit for pulling together that great team that truly played for all the things that Dayton stood for. Unfortunately, Dayton made some terrible baseball decisions coming off of the championship that have put the Royals in a hole that has been hard to watch. With JJ as the head man now, I think the Royals can maintain some of the positive aspects of Dayton Moore’s time in KC while moving into the 21st century. I wish Dayton the best. He truly is a great man, and I am thankful for the time he spent leading the Royals.
This is a beautiful piece, and I hope that a lot of people in Kansas City get to see it.
I would be very pleased if, towards the end of my time, people spoke of me in these terms.
A well written piece. The best glory moment for Moore, aside from the 2 World Series appearances, was being the first organization to say they would pay their minor league players during 2020 when other organizations had already said no. But the key failing for Moore, and the people under him, was/is talent evaluation. Waaay too many whiffs on first round draft choices. And not enough hits on later round draft choices when compared to the Rays or Dodgers or Cardinals. And the free agent contracts all crashed and burned: Omar Infante, Ian Kennedy, Alex Gordon's final contract. What's concerning going forward is that the new G.M. was part of the decision process that chose not to draft Walker Buehler, Austin Riley, Mookie Betts et al in favor of Ashe Russell, Nolan Watson, Patrick Leonard.
I think it's hard to say any of the free agent contracts you mentioned "crashed and burned" considering the fact that Salvy's $82 million extension is the largest contract the Royals have ever given to a player (and, of course, he wasn't a free agent). Their free agent acquisitions have been small contracts offered to average players, and it's not fair to expect average players to play like superstars. That's not on Dayton or JJ, it's on the 2 billionaires who have owned the team since Dayton was hired.
As a reminder why we should never listen to these guys complain about losing money on their teams, David Glass bought the team in 2000 for $96 million and his estate sold it to John Sherman for $1 billion in 2019.
Great article. Thanks
I remember a couple years ago when MLB teams were cutting their payments to minor league players since after all “very few of them will make it to MLB”. Dayton insisted that the Royals would pay their minor leaguers in full. He further pointed out that the players that didn’t make it to MLB would return to become the High School, Community College, etc. coaches that are needed to mentor the next generation of ball players.
A long term focus on the long term good of the game that is desperately needed.
Hope there is another place for him. Baseball needs him.
My favorite story of Mr. Moore is when he and his wife were driving through the Country Club Plaza (a high scale KC shopping area) after being hired and he told her...."this is where we will have the World Series victory parade".
Does anybody remember Joe writing about Yuniesky Betancourt for basically an entire season? Maybe 2010? I recall him absolutely ripping on Dayton Moore, the entire team, and especially "Yuni." I don't mean he did it with a mean spirit, because obviously he didn't. But those were some funny columns, back in the days of KC hopelessness, and second guessing Dayton Moore.
It was at least ten years ago. Times have changed, but I still remember those columns, with a smile.
As a business book editor, I would tell Dayton that when he writes his book on success like THE EXTRA 2%, the book about the Rays, he should reorder his five principles as :
Character, Loyalty, Enthusiasm, Accountability, Respect; or CLEAR
Not LACER.
Yeah, I don't know if Poz listed them in the wrong order of if the acronym/initialism was something that just was never considered.
No one's gonna get behind (or remember) LACER or RC ALE or EARL C, but CLEAR is marketable!
Personally, I'd get behind RC ALE.
4 or 5 years ago I spent a few days in KC to visit the Negro League Baseball Museum. I also went to 2 ballgames. Wow! The ballpark experience was great: the fans, the staff, the atmosphere, all of it. Highly recommended.
Agreed, I did the same thing a couple of months ago. I was very impressed by the ballpark and the KC fans.
Yup, me three. Went to a weekend series vs. St. Louis. Had some wonderful interactions with the locals, who were very cordial even though we Cardinal fans had kind of taken over their park. Great fans, beautiful ballpark (albeit in a crummy location if you like downtown parks, it's way out in the burbs).
Me 4. KC is a great town to visit, which we did in early June. Even with gas at $4.35/gallon, it was a memorable trip.
Agreed, I live near Denver and pass through KC pretty much annually on road trips east to see friends and family. Usually if I stop it's just for Joe's BBQ but sometimes I spend a little time and see some of the sights.
Dayton was and is one of the good guys.
Great guy, IMO a poor GM. In baseball, the postseason is now more random than ever The key to me is being in the hunt consistently. Rays, As, Twins, Cleveland all did / do this way better than KC. Give the Royals credit- the only 2 playoff appearances they made it count but like I said, I think the postseason is a crapshoot.
And you need talent AND character.