As of this writing, the Royals are 10-7 and all alone atop the AL Central more than 10% of the way through the 2021 Major League Baseball season. That is real. That is incontrovertible. No one can take that away from the team or from the fans. Still, a question lingers. Is this merely a mirage of competitive baseball or dare we get our hopes up that the Royals might have a legitimate shot at their first postseason in six years?
They might be lucky: Run differential
The Royals, before last night’s action, had a negative run differential through the first 17 games of the season.