The clock had just struck 11 p.m. when the feet of Jarrod Dyson squelched across the Royals clubhouse amid the stream of Budweiser, Dom Perignon 2004 and Ten Bucks Sweet Spumante.
“Outside!” Dyson shouted, his voice rising above the din after the Royals clinched their first division title in 30 years and their first-ever American League Central crown. “Everybody outside!”
The group piled out the door and hustled down a staircase toward the diamond. Along the way, the stars of Thursday’s 10-4 victory over Seattle, and the stars from this season, emerged to the roars of the thousands who stayed behind in the stands to greet them.