Kansas City Baseball Vault

Since we're waiting on the end of the 2016 season, we found a chat that we hadn't shared with you before. In this episode, we're sharing some insight from Curt Nelson, Director of the Royals Hall of Fame. Nelson talked with us about Alex Gordon's impact on the franchise, on the greatest Royals playoff moments, retiring numbers of Royals greats, and a comparison of the 1985 and 2015 World Series Championship teams.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

This week, we wanted to take a look at the upcoming offseason and started by checking out potential departures after 2016. This lead to the potential approach to some mutual options in player contracts, the strategy about issuing the qualifying offer, and the fate of a few players after this season and after 2017.

We also addressed some of the chatter about payroll. The Royals always say payroll will drop, but with most of a contending team returning, can they add to the roster without adding on last year's payroll? 

Finally, we shared thoughts on the current state of the MLB playoffs and news of a potential international draft.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Cubs' win over the Giants in Game 4 felt...familiar. So on the one year anniversary of the Royals' comeback win over the Astros, Jeff and Mike reminisced a bit about Royals comebacks, added a little about bullpen usage, and really just shot the breeze about interesting playoff matchups.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals season is officially, for real, definitely over, and we now enter playoff baseball withdrawal.

This week, we talked about the weird AL Wild Card game briefly and then discussed some of the surprised and bright spots for the Royals this year. In the second segment, we reviewed our preseason Over/Under predictions as well as our Bold Predictions. We did...so-so, kind of like the Royals year.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals were officially eliminated from playoff contention this week, so we tried to put the 2016 season in perspective as it approaches its end. 

In the second segment, Jeff and Mike shared their memories of the first Royals game they attended (or, at least, the game they were old enough to remember going to.)

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

So the Royals are going to miss the playoffs, but the Royals are still giving fans some things to watch out for. 

Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales are aiming to become the second set of teammates in Royals history to each hit 25 homers and drive in 100 runs in the same year, Danny Duffy is nearing 200 strikeouts, and these accomplishments led us to discuss the chances that Duffy and Morales may sign up to stay in Kansas City well beyond 2016. 

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

Have a seat.

I don't want to break this news to you but the Royals are probably not going to make the playoffs again in 2016. In this episode, we look at why that is.

Yes, some of that is Joakim Soria, who, of late, has been bad in key situations. Some of that is a bad July, and some of that is just a combination of multiple factors. Above all, the Royals have been inconsistent.

We'll see how the season ends and what the Royals do for 2017, but for now, buck up. August was fun, right?

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals ran into a rough patch at home with some awkward bullpen situations and some painful one-run losses. That put them on the outside of the wild card chase, but with the way schedules finish up, one big hot streak might get them back to the playoffs. We explain how it might work out better if the wild card teams end up around 91 wins rather than, say, 87. It seems weird, but work with us here.

In the second segment, we went over how the Royals have struck out more in 2016 and what impact that has had on the lineup this season.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

The Royals had one of their best months ever in August and it put them back in the hunt for a playoff spot. They still need a lot to go their way, though, and we looked at the scenarios, from a crowded wild card picture to a still-possible division title.

September might be epic or it might just be stressful, but it's probably going to be interesting if August is any indicator.

And yes, we talked - briefly - about the Rally Mantis. Jeff loves the Rally Mantis.

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.

Just when it seemed the Royals were settling into a disappointing finish, they woke up. Behind strong pitching and some offensive performers starting to warm up, the Royals are possibly, maybe, kind of back in the playoff picture. 

It's still a tall hill to climb up, and they'll need some help, but we looked at what got them back in it, what lies ahead, and what the reasonable best-case scenarios might be.

We also ended up on a tangent talking about baseball movies. 

Follow the Vault at @KCBaseballVault. Follow host Jeff Herr at @TheJeffReport, co-host Michael Engel at @michaelengel. You can also email feedback to [email protected]. Email us a question and if we answer it on the air, we’ll send you a gift certificate to our friends at Kelly’s Westport Inn.