The KC Royals, who haven’t played postseason baseball since winning their second World Series title in 2015, teased everyone early this season by leading the American League Central for 19 days in April and five more to begin May.
But Kansas City, living up to realistic expectations, dropped out of first May 5 and haven’t been there since. Their playoff hopes disappeared long ago, so the Royals are simply playing out the season and thinking about 2022.
Things are different for two of their minor league franchises, though. Double-A Northwest Arkansas and High-A Quad Cities both made the playoffs and began play in best-of-five formats Tuesday night.