It’s a long way for a Mets team that just barely survived the Wild Card round to think about the World Series and who they might play. But just because the Mets can’t do it doesn’t mean that the fans can’t. And it’s hard not to notice that one of the ALDS series features the last two teams the Mets played in the World Series – the Royals and Yankees. Painfully, the Mets lost both of those matchups, suffering a 4-1 setback to Kansas City in 2015 and a loss by the same margin to the team from the Bronx in 2000.
Most Mets fans think losing to the Yankees in the Series is about as bad as it can get. There’s really not a lot to argue with that, given how unbelievably obnoxious Yankees fans are in real life. Still, my hope is that we get a shot at revenge for the 2015 series. My very first piece here at Mets360 was about that 2015 series. Maybe I’m just obsessed with it. My viewpoint was that the 2000 Yankees were a dynasty and the 2015 Royals were just incredibly lucky. That one just sticks in my craw more.
But what about the 2024 Royals?
The Mets played them in mid-April and took two of the three games that were played in Citi Field. The first victory was a blowout and the second victory was a 2-1 game. The middle game of the series and only loss was an unusual bad outing for Sean Manaea, who gave up eight runs and was knocked out of the game in the fourth inning. The Mets had a 3-1 lead in the game but ended up losing, 11-7.
Despite the series loss to the Mets, the Royals got off to a strong start and kept that up thru most of the year. After a win on August 27th, they were 75-58. But in the final 29 games of the season, the Royals went just 11-18. They essentially backed into the playoffs because the Twins played even worse down the stretch. It seems to be a theme with the Royals, playing lousy but coming up smelling like roses because another team played even worse.
The Royals advanced to the ALDS by sweeping the Orioles in the Wild Card round. They advanced thanks to their pitching, as they won Game 1 by a 1-0 scored and took Game 2 by a 2-1 margin. Their bullpen, comprised of a bunch of guys you never heard of before, combined for 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB and 8 Ks versus an Orioles team that won 91 games during the regular season.
In terms of runs per game, the Royals were above average in both hitting and pitching. They scored 4.54 runs per game, compared to the MLB average of 4.39 runs per game. And their pitching allowed 3.98 runs per game – making it their team strength.
Their rotation includes two ex-Mets who were very good in Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. Those two combined for a 29-17 record, with both having ERAs in the low threes. Lugo wanted to be a starter but the Mets wouldn’t let him, so he left as a free agent. Wacha was terrible for the Mets in 2020 and only slightly better the next year for the Rays. But in the last three seasons, somehow, he’s gone 38-14 with a 3.30 ERA.
We all know how the Mets got off to a tough start and have been on fire ever since. At first it was their offense that carried them but down the stretch they’ve been more pitching-oriented. If the offense could show out like it did in June, the Mets would waltz into the World Series and destroy whichever team they faced.
But we haven’t seen anything close to that offensive eruption since. Still, it’s been enough to make it to the NLDS against the Phillies and there remains the chance that Pete Alonso or J.D. Martinez or Brandon Nimmo can get hot and carry the team to their first World Series appearance since 2015.
My dream is that the Royals make it that far and we give them the beating they so richly deserve. And if the Mets beat them in 2025, too, then it’ll feel like the proper justice has been delivered.