The last time the Royals allowed fans into the ballpark, the Royals walked off the 101-win Minnesota Twins to send Ned Yost off into retirement. Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler and Hunter Dozier were all in the lineup that day, but that trio is all that will remain on the field for Thursday’s opener when fans can come back to the stadium again for the first time in 560 days. There wasn’t a lot of hope that day, but that’s changed quite a bit over the 18 months since then. Maybe the Royals won’t make the playoffs (okay, it’s more than maybe), but the direction is at least clearer and optimism, at least to some level, is warranted.
Lesky’s Notes: Opening Day is, like, soon
