Rany Jazayerli does a reality check on KC sportswriter Joe Posnanski, who is brimming with optimism about the Royals’ chances in the upcoming season. Rany regularly writes about the foibles of his accursed favorite team, which centers around the fact that they have never figured out that scoring runs is a good thing, and to score runs you must get on base. The Royals are almost always near the bottom of the league in runs scored, walks, and on-base percentage, and their management shows no indication that they understand that these are Bad Things.
Rany bemoans the blind spot that the 1985 World Series victory has given the Royals:
The shadow of 1985 still hovers over this franchise like a giant albatross, brainwashing the Royals into thinking that offense is strictly optional for World Championship teams. The Royals won a World Series with George Brett and seven defensive specialists…In some ways, winning a World Championship with Buddy Biancalana as the starting shortstop was the worst thing that happened to the Royals.
The irony is that Buddy Biancalana had 15 minutes of fame immediately after the World Series when David Letterman invited him on the Late Night show. Part of Dave’s schtick was showing highlights of Biancalana’s World Series performance. What clips did Dave show? The five times that Biancalana walked. (In dramatic slow-mo, of course.)
Admittedly, a couple (two, I think) of these were intentional, as Buddy batted before the pitcher. But still, rather than lament his role on the last Royal World Series winner, I think Rany should celebrate him and hold him up as the model of the next World Series winner, whenever that may be.