Kansas City’s world championship did not come easy. The Royals forged a comeback which spanned an entire season after they were defeated in seven games by the San Francisco Giants in the 2014 World Series.
Never down and out, the Royals, who have won two consecutive American League pennants, march to the beat of their own drum. The Royals’ success came from the perfect combination of aggressiveness and patience.
The Los Angeles Dodgers could learn a thing or two from the Royals’ aggressive approach offensively, an important factor being swinging on the first pitch more often.
Alcides Escobar’s leadoff inside-the-park home run in Game 1 of the World Series came on the first pitch he saw from Matt Harvey, a 95-mph four-seam fastball.
Escobar swung at the first pitch more than 33 percent of the time during the regular season, batting .364/.367/.477 in such instances. The ALCS MVP collected six hits in the World Series, but the leadoff inside-the-park homer was the offensive starter that set the tone and revved up the Kansas City attack.
There was a time when the productive Kansas City lineup was experiencing growing pains. There were lofty expectations for Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. Moustakas, who at one point looked like a total bust, finally came into his own in 2015 while carrying over his postseason success to the regular season.
The Royals did not go out and sign a free agent to replace Moustakas, and their patience paid off as Lorenzo Cain, Hosmer and Moustakas not only met but exceeded expectations in 2015, culminating in the first championship for the franchise in 30 years.
The Dodgers saw Joc Pederson slump mightily in the second half, Corey Seager was thrust into the postseason scene just weeks after getting called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City and young hurlers Yimi Garcia and Alex Wood hit roadblocks as well.
The Dodgers have the talent in their system to compete for years to come, but finding the patience to wait for the prospects to be ready to compete at such a high level as the big stage of the World Series takes some time.
A Dodger team with Cody Bellinger at first, Seager at shortstop, Jose Peraza at second base, Pederson in center field, Scott Schebler in left field, Austin Barnes behind the plate and Julio Urias on the mound is not too far away.
It’s not all about the home runs. Finding different ways to score has been a key weapon of the Royals. The Dodgers cannot rely solely on the long ball. With a lack of speed and poor base running throughout the first half of the season, the Dodgers need to find alternative ways to produce runs moving forward.
The Royals have an uncanny ability to come from behind, and most of the comebacks have been thanks to stringing together base hits and incorporating speed.
The Royals finished 25th in the Majors with 139 home runs, while the Dodgers hit the most homers in the National League and sixth-most in baseball with 187.
CONTINUE READING: What The Dodgers Can Learn From The Royals
Los Angeles hit 10 more home runs than the NL Champion New York Mets this year, but once the postseason rolled around the Mets overpowered the Dodgers by clubbing seven home runs to just two from Los Angeles batters in the NL Division Series.
When the long ball was needed most, the power dried up for the Dodgers in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Mets finished with 20 home runs in their postseason run.
While the Royals may not be a big power club, they do know how to combine their superior defense with aggressive and thoughtful offense. Kansas City collected plenty of hits (second to the Chicago White Sox in 2015 with 1,497) and struck out the least in all of baseball (973).
The Royals also stole a ton of bases (104; fifth-most overall), and they only got caught stealing 34 times all year.
The Dodgers relied on slugging home runs or drawing walks (their 563 walks was third-most in the Majors), and their base running was poor for most of the season until about the time Ron Roenicke was brought in as third base coach.
The Dodgers only stole 59 bases all season (19 pre All-Star break and 40 post All-Star break) but were caught stealing 34 times.
Hopefully with more playing time for younger and faster players like Peraza in 2016 along with some new coaching, the Dodgers can continue to find improvements in their base running which we saw develop in the second half of last season.
The most valuable takeaway from the World Series win by the Royals is being able to rally from behind (with some luck thrown in for good measure) is a team attribute in which the Dodgers should strive for.
While they were improved when compared to the 2014 club, there weren’t many late comebacks by the Dodgers last season. Moreover, a world champion evidently can be a relentlessly consistent hit machine rather than a power hitting ball club like most of the Royals’ AL counterparts.
With a fresh outlook from a newly appointed manager and coaching staff, the Dodgers look to go younger and apply different strategies in order to strengthen the weaknesses in the roster.
By learning from the success of the Royals, the Dodgers can still retain their power but also add speed and versatility in the lineup in order so that they are not wholly dependent on the homerun ball and have the ability to come-from-behind and manufacture runs when needed.
Patience with the young players will also be important to the Dodgers, who are still tinkering with Pederson’s swing, waiting on the maturing of Urias and on the cusp of solidifying a middle infield which could include Seager, Bellinger and Peraza in the near future.
Covering third base on a shift will not be an issue for the future Dodgers, but we will have to be patient with the journey to get there.