Started doc on the Kansas City Royals
Read article “The good, the bad ... and the Tigers: Ranking all 30 MLB teams based on their 2019 goals”
- Won their first World Series in 2019
- Culmination of an era for the team beginning in 2009 and 2010 with drafting of Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper
- Since then, eight consecutive winning seasons, four division titles and five playoff appearances
- In May 2019, they were in last place (in the division?), but made playoffs
- Won wild-card game for American League, and came within one game of beating the Houston Astros in the division series
- Built strong bullpen out of pitchers “almost nobody had heard of a year ago”
- Nick Anderson- find out why he is “the trade of the season”
- Won 97 games, the most since 2003
- Took NL East division title for the second year in a row
- Two young, top players, Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies, signed extensions carrying through 2027 and 2028
- Spent all but seven days in first place (in the division?)
- Unusually successful new hires for manager and pitching coach
- Best players:
- Miguel Sano
- Byron Buxton
- Max Kepler
- Tyler Duffey (relief pitcher)
- Mitch Garver- 31 home runs in 311 at-bats as a catcher
- Low-performing first half of the season
- Team’s most valuable offensive players were hitting below expectations
- Significant turnaround, but still the worst team to make the division series
- First division title since 2012
- Despite many players disabled by injury, their replacements (some listed below) ended up performing unexpectedly well:
- Gio Urshela
- Mike Tauchman
- Cameron Maybin
- DJ LeMahieu
- Mike Ford
- Traded a player named Goldschmidt for two named Carson Kelly and Luke Weaver, effectively increasing WAR
- Traded away player named Zack Greinke for two other valuable players, and ultimately won three more games than in 2019
- Overall, their season could be considered a “re-build.”
- “[P]robably the best Dodgers team in history”?
- Franchise record for wins