The Warning Track: The Blue Jays-Royals Series Has Potential for Fireworks
Posted Oct 16, 2015 10:26:48 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
This is the series we’ve all been waiting for. When the first round of the playoff schedule was initially released, many were hoping to would boil down to this; a Toronto Blue Jays/Kansas City Royals ALCS.
There certainly is no shortage of drama between the two clubs. Although they only faced off seven times this season, there were plenty of fireworks between the two teams during the series in Kansas City in mid-July, and then the following four-game set in Toronto just after the trade deadline.
Although there might be a tendency to have a heated rival within the division (like the Orioles or Yankees), the Blue Jays biggest rival this season has arguably been the Kansas City Royals. And it just so happens they will play to see which team will represent the American League in the World Series.
Contextually speaking, this looks to be a good series; both the Royals and Blue Jays were the best teams in the American League. Both are plucky, driven teams that have recently vanquished long playoff droughts. Both the Jays and Royals are out there with something to prove.
The Blue Jays want to show they were no fluke; and after a miraculous comeback in the ALDS against the Texas Rangers, they look to be deadlier than ever.
But the Royals are also out there with a lot on the line. After pushing the San Francisco Giants to the brink last year in the World Series, the Royals want to show what they’ve done is no fluke either. And after making consecutive trips to the ALCS, they appear to be a perennial contender in the making.
There is some bad blood in between these two names, namely due to that crazy beanball game back on Sunday August 2nd. Things got out of hand pretty quickly after the Royals and Jays pitchers traded blows before eventually clearing the benches and nearly having tensions boil over on the field.
However, the playoffs are not a time when emotions should get out of hand. The regular season is one thing, but the playoffs are a completely different animal. One would hope these clubs will remain cordial considering this is the peak of competition in the American League.
But if things begin to go sideways, I don’t think it will take very much for it to devolve into complete chaos between the Blue Jays and Royals.
These are two very proud teams with some very big personalities on the roster. The Kansas City Royals are a team that comes with a reputation. North of the border, they aren’t exactly revered as a well-liked team. But south of the border, the very same could be said of the Blue Jays.
Jose Bautista’s bat flip in Game 5 of the ALDS rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, which has led some to strongly dislike the Toronto Blue Jays as well.
Even though the Kansas City Royals finished with the better record during the regular season, the Blue Jays are actually slight favourites in this series. But Toronto was also favoured in the ALDS and they barely escaped that five game set.
This Blue Jays-Royals series may not be able to top the Blue Jays-Rangers ALDS, but at the very least, it will make for some great dramatics.
