A Lot Has Happened Since The Royals Last Saw October
It's been an exciting 24 hours in Kansas City, with the Chiefs destroying the Patriots 41-14, on Monday Night Football. Tuesday night, the Royals host the Athletics in the American League Wild Card game.
This is the first time the Royals have made the playoffs since all the way back in 1985. Back then, Kansas City beat their in state rivals the Cardinals in 7 games. Before the Royals experienced this long playoff dry spell, Hall of Famer George Brett led the franchise to October 7 times, from 1976 through '85. The Royals postseason drought was by far the longest in the four major American professional sports leagues, during this nearly 30-year period.
Remarkably, since the Royals last played in the postseason, the previously mentioned Cardinals have been to the playoffs 13 times (including this year), while Tuesday's opponent from Oakland has advanced to the playoffs on 12 occasions (including 2014).
The Wild Card contest features the great pitching matchup of the Athletics Jon Lester and the Royals James Shields. Lester has a stellar postseason ERA of 2.11, all playing for the Red Sox, while Shields' postseason ERA stands at 4.98.
The Royals took the season series 5-2.
The winner will play the Angels in the ALDS.
