Nearly two weeks ago, former Royal Whit Merrifield announced his retirement after nine seasons, the bulk of which he spent in Kansas City, the team that drafted him in the ninth round of the 2010 draft and called him up in 2016.
That season, of course, the Royals were defending World Series Champions looking to run it back. After winning consecutive American League pennants, the team decided to continue its run instead of pulling a 1997-Marlins-like teardown.
Ultimately, it didn’t work—while the Royals finished 81-81, missing the postseason for the first time since 2013. The following year, the front office decided to go for it once again, but the team fell to 80-82.