We have become so used to calling the postseason a crapshoot that perhaps we miss it when a team possesses characteristics that remove some of the small sample-size randomness from the playoffs.
Joe Torre’s dynasty Yankees won 12 of 13 postseason series from 1996-2000. To chalk that up as luck is to disrespect the skills that group possessed to excel within the cauldron of this time of year. The Royals share many of those traits.
The formula is a long lineup that does not rely on the homer or one or two behemoths to produce runs plus a deep bullpen headed by an indomitable closer plus an indefatigable belief in the group as a whole.