Luck

“Luck is a big word that is used, and we see it all the time in society and in life.” Rex Hudler 

Royals fans should be well-acquainted with the odd sayings and mannerisms from Rex Hudler, their TV color commentator. Although there are people who compile a list of the odd things Hudler says, I think his description of the word luck above is pretty spot-on. Luck is a word that, prior to the Royals’ absolute demolishment of the Twins yesterday, many folks were using to describe the Royals start to 2015, as well as their World Series run in 2014. Seems that some people felt that the little old Royals, everyone’s favorite punching bag for the 29 years prior to 2014, were just a bunch of lucky ducks.

Well guess what idiots? That ain’t no luck. The Royals are playing phenomenal baseball and my pal Kevin, who has provided a guest post here, has a few words about luck he wanted to share with you all:

I guess the best way to introduce what I want to write about is the obligatory rhetorical question. What is luck? Is it an amazing extra-inning win against the A’s? Is it the ability to go on a 8-game winning streak in October? Many ‘experts’ in baseball believe the Royals had luck last year. These self proclaimed gurus of baseball explained the Royals’ 2014 season as luck. For this reason, many ‘experts’ have picked the boys in blue to finish fourth in the AL Central. I have even heard the opinion that the Indians will win the central, Detroit in second, the White Sox in third, the Royals fourth and the Twinkies bringing up the rear in fifth. The thought of this is laughable because of the reasoning the Royals were lucky last year.

To me, luck is human error in your favor. If you think about this definition you will realize its truth resides in its simplicity. Luck is something that is out of your control. Luck is something that happens to go in your favor. In baseball, luck happens when an umpire blows a call in your teams favor. There are many scenarios in baseball where a close call or blown call by an umpire can swing a game in your favor. This could be a close call on a steal of second that goes in your favor, and the follow-up hit brings in the winning run. As you ponder the many scenarios that can bring luck to your team, remember luck no longer exists in baseball.

The adoption of instant replay in baseball has killed luck. No longer can an umpire’s missed call bring game changing luck to a team. Manager’s now reserve the right to question a call, and stop game changing momentum. With this in mind, it is ludicrous to think that the Royals’ history making 8-game winning streak in October can be attributed to luck. ‘Experts’ refuse to acknowledge the evolution of baseball the Royals are ushering in with the three-headed monster (Herrera-Davis-Holland) to finish games after the sixth inning. Instead, they are stuck in the steroid era of baseball where cheaters like A-Roid and McGwire set records. ’Experts’ would rather criticize the Royals lack of home runs rather than recognize the talents of a great team. Instead of appreciating a solid starting rotation and league leading speed that brings steals, the ‘experts’ are fixed on power numbers. The tunnel visioned opinion of ‘experts’ should be the fuel for the Royals’ fans. Let their astigmatic opinions be the fuel that ignites our mantra; “Be Loyal, Be Royal.” #KCPride