(Editor’s note: This is one of several on-this-date posts that KoK will publish throughout the 2017 postseason. They will highlight the postseason success of the Kansas City Royals over the years with particular emphasis given to 2014 and 2015—given the strong ties to the current squad.)
By the time 1980 rolled around, the Kansas City Royals were consistently among the top teams in the American League. However, the franchise had yet to reach the World Series in its admittedly brief lifetime. That doesn’t mean the organization hadn’t come agonizingly close.
From 1976-78, the Royals lost three consecutive American League Championship Series to the Yankees.