NEW YORK - Just over a year ago, the Kansas City Royals were a collection of newcomers to baseball’s autumn postseason tournament, wide-eyed and a touch naive about what to expect from an experience they’d only dreamed about.
Sunday night, the Royals took the field against the Mets for their 30th playoff game in the last 13 months, older, wiser and way more discerning, a team that knew what it wanted and how to get it.
They didn’t just beat the New York Mets Sunday night, they broke their hearts. They waited until it looked as if the Mets had staved off elimination behind some spectacular pitching by Matt Harvey, then they drove the dagger right between the Mets’ shoulder blades with a come-from-behind 7-2 victory to wrap up the World Series in five games.