Royals outlast Mets in Game 5 to end 30-year World Series title drought

Royals outlast Mets in Game 5 to end 30-year World Series title drought

They had no pitcher who won more than 13 games and no batter with more than 22 home runs. Among those qualifying for the titles, they had no pitcher with an ERA below 3.55 and no batter with a .500+ slugging average or an OBP above .363. In a world of fast-swinging, fast-throwing hares, the Kansas City Royals played the part of the winning tortoise.

The only guy on the team with star numbers is one you probably never heard of before the World Series, unless you're a superfan, because who can name the great set-up men? Wade Davis is his name, and he saved four of the Royals' post-season victories with a perfect 0.00 ERA, while winning one to boot. His lifetime post-season ERA is 0.84. His ERA during the past two seasons was not much more than that. In 2014, he was 9-2 with a 1.00 ERA. This year he was 8-1 with a 0.94 ERA, and that ERA dipped as low as 0.24 during the summer, which was actually kind of a slump for him, because it had been 0.00 at the end of May. He allowed only 33 hits in 67 innings this year, which was almost identical to his performance the previous year. Somewhere around mid-August of this year, with closer Greg Holland in a slump, KC's manager finally figured out that a guy who never allows any runs might be useful as a closer, whereupon Mr. Davis finished with 17 saves in 18 opportunities in the regular season and the aforementioned 4-for-4 in the post-season.