On May 4th, 2011, the Royals played a baseball game. At the time, they were 16-13, a respectable start for a team with little to no expectation for the season. Alex Gordon was piping hot, honoring his promise to “dominate” that season and Billy Butler was doing Billy Butler things, but the rotation was bad. The winning record wouldn’t last. Beginning on May 13, a 20-18 Kansas City team lost 19 of 25 games.
But 2011 was never about winning. Sam Mellinger articulated that well.
“There may not be a lot of people who agree with this, but the Royals are still not the caliber of big-league team that should be judged primarily on wins and losses.