The relentless Kansas City Royals earned their second World Series title in a convincing five-game triumph over the New York Mets thanks to their own ability to come through at the plate in the late innings—and the Mets' failure to make plays when the game was on the line.
The Royals had come close in 2014, as they finished the World Series with the tying run on third base as the San Francisco Giants outlasted them in seven games. The Royals collectively said that falling short had motivated the team to get back to the World Series and win it this year (h/t Fred Kerber of the New York Post).
Throughout the postseason, the Royals' ability to string rallies together played a key role in victories over the Houston Astros in the American League Divisional Series, the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series and the Mets in the World Series. They outscored those three teams 51-11 from the seventh inning on.
The difference was even more pronounced during the Fall Classic, as they outscored the Mets 15-1 from the seventh inning on.
They put the exclamation point on that differential when they scored five runs in the top of the 12th inning in Game 5, which turned out to be the clinching margin.
The Mets certainly had their chances to come through during the series, but their inability to get the clutch hits cost them dearly in this series. They might have been able to overcome this issue, but their fielding let them down at key moments throughout the series.
Mets third baseman David Wright said the Royals' ability to put late rallies together weighed on his team.
“No lead is safe with these guys,’’ Wright told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. “You know they are going to make a run.
“This hurts, there’s no doubt about it. You’re talking about getting close to winning a World Series and that’s everybody in here’s dream, everybody in here’s goal. And then when you fall just short, it’s different emotions."
Fielding was a big issue in the 2015 World Series. The Mets committed six errors, while the Royals made just two. However, the Mets were not charged with errors on several questionable plays.
First baseman Lucas Duda threw wildly to home as Eric Hosmer dashed in from third base to score the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning, but he was not charged with an error. Neither was center fielder Yoenis Cespedes when he kicked Alcides Escobar's first-game, first-inning drive and turned what could have been a spectacular play into an inside-the-park home run.
Daniel Murphy had been one of the Mets' postseason heroes in the rounds leading up to the World Series with his surprising power bat. However, he made key late-inning errors in Games 4 and 5 of the World Series.
Daniel Murphy again! For the 2nd straight game, he fails to field a grounder in a clutch situation.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 2, 2015
The Mets appeared to have an advantage with their flame-throwing staff of starting pitchers at the start of the series. But the numbers show that the Royals starters were as good or better than their counterparts.
New York ace Jacob deGrom had an earned-run average of 7.20 in the five-game World Series, while Noah Syndergaard registered a 4.50 mark, followed by Steven Matz with a 3.60 ERA and Matt Harvey's 3.21.
The Royals starters were led by Johnny Cueto, who pitched a two-hit, complete-game gem in Game 2 and had a 1.00 ERA, while Edinson Volquez had a 3.00 mark, and Game 4 starter (and Game 1 reliever) Chris Young had a 2.57 ERA. The Mets lit up Yordano Ventura (13.57) in Game 3, but he was the only Kansas City starter that the Mets were able to hit hard.
The Royals also had a huge edge behind the plate, where Salvador Perez won the World Series Most Valuable Player award and outplayed Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud by a significant margin. Perez was 8-for-22 and batted .364 in the World Series with two RBI and two doubles. He also threw out two of three baserunners who attempted to steal.
The Mets' catcher could not compete with his counterpart. d'Arnaud was 3-for-19 at the plate (.158 batting average) and he had one RBI. Royals baserunners also took liberties with his arm as they stole seven bases without being thrown out. d'Arnaud did not come close on any of those stolen-base attempts.
On the surface, it seemed like the Mets had the edge in power, as they hit six home runs in the five-game series, while the Royals hit just two. However, the Royals lashed 13 extra-base hits, while the Mets had just seven (one double in addition to the six homers).
In the end, this World Series and the postseason will be remembered for Kansas City's ability to come from behind and win. They trailed in eight of their 11 postseason victories, and seven of those comebacks were by two runs or more.
That's the exclamation point for a championship team that was on a mission from the first day of spring training until the last night of the season.
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