KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Dayton Moore took over as general manager of the Kansas City Royals in 2006, one of the pillars of his approach was to change a failing culture (210 losses the previous two seasons, for starters) by seeking to establish a selfless mindset and spirit throughout the organization.
Part of that formula hinged on building through “energy givers,” people with contagiously upbeat and caring attitudes, whether within the front office or among coaches and, of course, within the team itself.
Those dynamics helped fuel the riveting American League championship runs in 2014 and 2015, when the Royals came from behind in eight of their 11 postseason victories to best the Mets for their first World Series title in 30 years.
Much of the everlasting beauty of those two seasons was that they were furnished by a group greater than the sum of its parts. A true team that played with palpable, multiplier energy and the resilience that it breeds — encapsulated nicely in the astounding and defining “keep the line moving” rally in Houston.
That’s how a collaborative made up of zero future candidates for the National Baseball Hall of Fame (but plenty for the Royals’ version) seized the moment and captivated anyone watching.
“They leaned on each other,” former manager Ned Yost said in a 2020 interview. “They trusted each other.”
Which brings us to today.
At the All-Star Game break, bummer enough that the Royals are languishing at 36-56. But they also have compelled further scrutiny of such matters as selflessness and energy-giving and chemistry in the wake of 10 players willfully missing the trip to Toronto because of their unwillingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
That’s more than double the most (four) any other team had to leave behind to go to Toronto because of Canada’s requirement that non-citizens flying into the country be vaccinated.
(To those saying this is a Canada problem, we’d note the United States has the same policy.)
So … now what?
Start with the fact the impact of their absentia was compounded by what we witnessed against the Blue Jays.
The Royals lost three of four, yes. Yet there was a sense of revitalization in the youthful makeup that included perhaps the most gratifying win of the season on Thursday and a hard-fought 6-5 loss in 10 innings on Saturday.
The long weekend was a small sample size, to be sure. But it also seemed a meaningful snapshot to see prospects Nick Pratto (4 for 14 with a double and a home run), Michael Massey (3 for 8), Nate Eaton (first career home run to help the Royals win 3-1 on Thursday) and others stoke this team.
That contrast conjures thoughts about what we haven’t been seeing much of this season as the Royals remain stranded in this tedious phase of rebuilding.
So if those three are to be part of the future, we wonder, why not engage the future now?
Even if it means the Royals, gulp, may somehow lose more than they have been, it logically would accelerate their development (ups and downs and all) and at least give the Royals some further gauge of what they have.
And an agitated fan base could get behind seeing a more extensive youth movement grow up before its eyes.
The Royals tend to be cautious about making such changes. But the front office sees and feels this broader point, too. With the trade deadline only weeks away, don’t doubt its working towards getting this realigned by making room for more rookies to join the prevailing wave of Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and MJ Melendez.
Clearing that space almost certainly includes trading All-Star Andrew Benintendi, who is scheduled to be a free agent after this season.
And most likely it means moving some other veterans, including perhaps Whit Merrifield (33 years old); Michael A. Taylor (31) and Hunter Dozier (30).
Each, you’ll note, was among the 10.
That disillusioning development in itself may not be a driving force in the equation. But it should figure in the extended calculus here as the Royals assess how to infuse the clubhouse with more juice and continue to focus on replenishing their minor league system.
Those notions all seem to converge in the form of Merrifield, who made it a point to say he might reconsider his vaccination status if “something happens, and I get on a team that has a chance to go play in Canada in the postseason.”
It was an unsavory thing to say, to be sure, and it struck a raw nerve with many fans and the front office and surely at least some teammates. Combine the heat of the moment with the purely dispassionate standpoint that the two-time All-Star deserves the chance to play for a contender as he steps into the twilight years of his career, and we think trading him is win-win.
And viewing this all through cooler reasoning should guide the Royals. Emotions notwithstanding, the Royals must be measured with how they navigate the cultural crossroads illuminated by Toronto.
Some of my email correspondents have condemned any criticism of the 10, arguing that they were merely exercising their personal freedom and have no broader obligation to the team.
Quite a few more, though, have blasted the players with some suggesting that each must be traded.
Seems to me the answer is between the extremes, especially since a punitive approach would be both petty and self-defeating.
This would have an entirely different feel to it if only two or three players had opted not to get vaccinated, after all, and players such as Melendez and Brady Singer surely are part of the presumed nucleus going forward.
And had it been just a few, this might have felt like a blip instead of a revealing trend. It would be something that a thriving clubhouse could simply absorb instead of something conspicuous to be reconciled.
But having nearly half the roster willing to sit out those games, despite elaborate efforts by the Royals to educate and encourage vaccination, tells us something about the state of the culture within, doesn’t it?
This isn’t to diminish anyone’s work ethic or effort, and there may or may not be trouble in the room. But this development, and what was so tangibly visible in Toronto, reinforces that there’s scant evidence of anything but a static collective identity right now.
If the clubhouse is a living, breathing organism, as Moore, now the team president, believes it to be, then it also must be replenished regularly. And injected, you might say, with new vitality.
The Royals will be well-served to reset with that in mind in the weeks to come.
Because for an overwhelming number of reasons now, it’s their best chance to galvanize both the fan base and a clubhouse in need of a jolt to make the most of an otherwise lost season.
