Royals are comeback kings who have earned their World Series crown

This week, the news converges: The Kansas City Royals celebrate their first World Series title in three decades and the Nationals will announce that Bud Black will be their new manager.

Black, a left-handed pitcher, was the Royals' No. 4 starter in 1985, the year the Royals beat St. Louis in seven games in the World Series. Black started Game 4 in Busch Stadium, getting beaten by John Tudor 3-0. Black pitched five innings and gave up home runs to Willie McGee and Tito Landrum.

Black is known for communication. This year's Royals are known for comebacks:

* They are only the third team in history to win a clinching game being down two runs in the ninth inning - and it doesn't happen often. The last two teams to do it were the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics and the 1939 New York Yankees.

* Of the Royals' 11 postseason wins, seven were comebacks of at least two runs. That's never been done before.

* In the five World Series games, the Royals were behind in all five games, but won three after trailing as late as the eighth inning.

* In six of their 11 postseason wins, the Royals were losing in the sixth inning.

* The Royals are the first AL team since the 1961 Yankees to lose Game 7 of the World Series one year and return the next to win the title. The Yankees lost to Pittsburgh in seven games in 1960 and then beat Cincinnati in five games in 1961.

In addition to the comebacks, the Royals will be remembered for tenacious at-bats and aggressive baserunning.

The defining moments from the Royals: Alex Gordon's Game 1 home run; Edinson Volquez pitching while grieving his dad's death; Eric Hosmer's dash from third to score the game-tying run in the ninth inning of Game 5; Lorenzo Cain's steals; Christian Colon getting the game-winning RBI after not playing for 28 days on his only at-bat of the postseason.

Royals Hall of Famer George Brett, a team executive who was on the 1985 title team, said this year's Royals team is better than the one in 1985.

"They are a more complete team," Brett says. "You can't beat the way these guys play defense. And their attitude is amazing. They work hard, have fun and just pound opponents."

Last year, Madison Bumgarner of the Giants ruined the Royals' chances of winning the World Series.

The 30-year-drought is over. Now the clock is ticking on other droughts. The Pirates haven't won the World Series since 1979, the Orioles since 1983, the Dodgers since 1988, the A's since 1989.

The Cubs, of course, haven't won since 1908, Cleveland's last title was in 1948. The Nationals haven't won since they were created as the Montreal Expos in 1969.

The Mariners' first season was in 1977 and they've never been to the World Series. Texas has been there twice, but hasn't won.

The Mets were trying to win for the first time since 1986.

Last offseason, the Royals lost pitcher James Shields and DH Billy Butler as free agents. This year, their free agent list will include Johnny Cueto, Ben Zobrist and Alex Gordon.

Cueto and Zobrist are likely gone and who knows about Gordon, one of the faces of their franchise? Maybe he ends up in Baltimore?

This World Series title will not be forgotten. Brett loved how the fans never wanted to leave the ballpark. After the Royals' 14-inning win in Kansas City, Brett left the ballpark quickly, hoping to beat traffic.

He watched the last out and hustled down several flights of stairs. Then, when he got to his car, the parking lot was void of people. The roads were clear.

"Every one was in the ballpark,'' Brett says. "Nobody wanted to leave.''

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