He was told it was Relay the Way, with 2,500 fans tossing a ball along a 10-mile stretch through the city, culminating with the first pitch on opening night.
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But if the World Series parallels continue Tuesday in the series finale at Kauffman Stadium, it could bode well for the Mets. “When you experience what we experienced, the turnaround, the parade, playing in front of a fan base like this, it’s just so special”.
“It’s incredible how a baseball team can turn a city around”.
Still, the 23-year-old right-hander said he’s prepared for the hostile reception that likely awaits him when he’s introduced at Kauffman Stadium. It was as if everyone was still partying from last October.
Although it was a tough first inning for Mets starter Matt Harvey, he didn’t allow a hit after Hosmer’s RBI single until the fourth inning, when center fielder Lorenzo Cain hit a leadoff single. “But this has got a completely different feel”. Everybody is so fired up. On Opening Day, it felt like a playoff atmosphere. The Mets pitcher also had some issues with the Royals in the World Series when he hit Alcides Escobar in the Mets only win of the World Series. All of the Mets’ damage came against reliever Joakim Soria, who returned to the Royals this offseason after he left as a free agent during the 2012 offseason.
They’ll face the NL East in 2016, which should lead to more wins seeing the likes of Atlanta, Miami and Philadelphia. I loved (GM) Dayton Moore from the days I was a farm director with him.
In a scheduling quirk because the Houston Astros now reside in the American League and interleague play has become season-long, the two World Series combatants met on the following Opening Day for the first time in major league history.
The Royals realized it might get awkward for the Mets, what with the sellout crowd already in its seats and standing an hour before first pitch, watching replays of the final game.
“It was a good way to start the season off”, said firs baseman Eric Hosmer.
But in combining happenstance with a celebration of the end result of that matchup – with the Mets forced to watch as they stood on the third-base line – it created a prolonged moment that was, as The Kansas City Star called it, “a bit like sending your ex pictures of your honeymoon”. “We’ve got a little better”, third baseman Mike Moustakas told reporters.
Yost, who tried to downplay the festivities, still says it was eerie when he arrived to his office and opened up his binder.
“I just grabbed the wrong one”, Volquez said of his cap. In 2015, the Royals were still pegged as underdogs, with most pundits scoffing the franchise making it back in 2015, projecting them to finish fourth in their own division. “Not even in the bullpen”. Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes stuck his glove into the air, only to watch the ball skim off his leather and onto the grass. In both innings, a stellar play by one of the Royals’ corner infielders ended the rally. The two options are to either make another mid-season trade like a year ago for a quality player such as Zobrist, or hope an individual from inside the organization like Christian Colon can step up.
“It reminded us”, Wright said, “of what happened last season”.
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“You know, it’d sure be pretty cool to do this all over again”.
