Magic Royals moments, 1989: An under-the-radar heads-up play by Boone

Bob Boone finished up his 19-year career with the Kansas City Royals. A maneuver he pulled in a 1989 game was called by Orioles manager Frank Robinson about as smart a play as a catcher can make.

By Phil Ellenbecker
  I can remember a kind of sneaky, sly grin playing on venerable Hall of Famer Frank Robinson's face, a chuckle as he sat in the manager's office of the visiting clubhouse at Royals Stadium. The Baltimore Orioles manager could afford to be in a good mood, his team having won 4-3 in 13 innings on a Friday night, July 28, 1989. He was recalling a play made by Royals catcher Bob Boone in the top of the 13th inning when the Orioles scored what proved to be the winning run.
  Robinson said it was about as smart a play as you will ever see a catcher make. Yet it was largely unappreciated -- because it didn't win a game, the way it unfolded was somewhat unusual, and its implications weren't immediately clear. The way it reads on the retrosheet.org  play by play masks what happened. "Montgomery threw wild pitch [Orsulak scored (error by Boone) (unearned), Traber out at third (center to third)]."
  What Boone did, at least as far as I can remember: Jeff Montgomery uncorked a wild pitch that went back to the screen with Jim Traber on first base and Joe Orsulak on second. So wild was the pitch that Orsulak decided to try to advance two bases instead of the customary one and score the go-ahead run.
  And Boone, instead of picking the ball up and trying to get Orsulak trying to score, unhesitatingly turned around and whipped the ball to second to try to get Traber. Except — and again I'm relying on memory because I don't think I realized what was happening and not too sure others did — I don't think anybody was at second to cover because the throw wasn't expected. So it went on into center field, where it was retrieved by Willlie Wilson, who threw to Rey Palacios to retire Traber trying to advance to third. It was the third out of the inning, leaving the Royals behind 4-3 with one last chance in their half of the 13th.
  I think Robinson was chuckling because he realized the gathered writers didn't realize how smart a play that was. Boone was thinking ahead as he chased the ball back to the screen, passed up the obvious play and went with the unexpected to try to get Traber. Only instead of being rewarded for his alertness, he was charged with an error and Montgomery with an unearned run. But the play did indirectly get the Royals out of the inning, and possibly saved a run with just one to catch up.
  And then Boone, who was in the first of two years with the Royals wrapping up a 19-year career, was the first one up in the bottom of the inning and flied out to right. Gary Thurman also went out to right, Wilson popped to the catcher, that was the ballgame. And Boone's wily ruse had gone for naught, off into the middle-of-the-season meaningless Friday night to be forgotten.
  But not by Robbie. I wonder if Frank still remembers that play?
Beyond
  Actually, the Orioles and Royals had a lot to play for at this point of the season. After this game the Orioles stood 54-46 (.540) while the Royals were 55-47 (.539). Baltimore wasd first in the American League East, 3 1/2 games over Cleveland, while Kansas City was in fourth, 7 1/2 back of California.
  The Orioles would end up in second, two back of Toronto, and Robinson would be named Manager of the Year is his first full year as skipper, having been hired midway through 1988. But the O's finished fifth and sixth the next two years, and Robinson was gone 38 games into the 1991 season.
  The Royals would also end up second in '89, seven back of Oakland, for their best finish since winning the World Series in 1985. At this point the Royals were still hopeful of being an annual contender in the division and league races. But K.C. fell back to sixth place the next two seasons, and manager John Wathan, who'd come on in 1988, like Robinson was gone in 1991, also 38 games into the season. And the Royals were never really the same until 2014.
Like a rock
  That Bob Boone should be credited by Frank Robinson with making one of the smartest plays he'd ever seen by a catcher isn't surprising.  Boone ranks fourth all time among catchers in Gold Gloves won with seven, and fourth among catchers in total zone runs (a metric measuring the number of runs above or below average the player was worth based on the number of plays made).
  He's also among the most durable backstops ever, ranking third in number of games caught, even though he didn't catch his first game in the major leagues until age 25. He wasn't on the disabled list until the last of his 19 years, in 1990.
  And the Stanford graduate was always considered one of the smartest players in the game, perhaps too smart for his own good when he became a manager with the Royals in the late 1990s. Boone caught some heat for perhaps overthinking the game at times. Perhaps like he was on July 28, 1989.
  Ironically, Boone was involved with a play involving the Royals as the opponent on which he didn't look so alert, and Pete Rose did, in the 1980 World Series.
  With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6, Frank White sent a pop-up into foul territory toward the first-base dugout. Boone and Rose converged on it and Boone appeared to have it, but the ball popped out of his mitt. But Rose was there to catch it. And Wilson then struck out for a then-record 12th time, giving the Philadelphia Phillies their first World Series title ever.
  And everybody raved about what a heads-up play Rose made. See it here at https://www.mlb.com/video/rose-helps-boone-get-the-out/c-19987965. But take a look at the replay and you'll see that Boone had to go a lot farther for the ball than Rose did. So you could say it was really Pete's ball and Boone was covering up for him, only to have Rose seemingly save his ass.
  Poor Bob Boone. So misunderstood.

Magic Royals memories, 2014: It happens one night

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez reaches way out to connect with a 2-2 slider from Oakland's Jason Hammel in the bottom of the 12th inning of the American League wild-card playoff game at Kansas City on Sept. 30, 2014. (YouTube screen grabs)

Perez's shot gets by a diving A's third baseman Josh Donaldson into left field for the game-winning run in the Royals'  9-8 victory. Third base umpire  Bill Welke says it's a fair ball.

Christian Colon, who'd singled in the tying run and stole second, streaks across home plate with the winning run as his teammates go crazy.

George Brett, centerpiece of all the glory the Royals achieved in the 1970s and 1980s and now the team's vice president of operations, reacts with joy and disbelief at watching Kansas City move on in the playoffs for the first time since Brett led the  Royals to the World Series title in 1985.

Colon is engulfed by a mob scene as the Royals celebrate advancing to the AL Division Series in their first trip to the postseason since 1985. Kansas City went on to win the division series and ALCS before losing the World Series in seven games to San Francisco. To the right is Yordano Ventura, who'd given up a three-run homer in the sixth inning and was saved from him and manager Ned Yost being fitted for goats' horns by the Royals' comeback from a 7-3 deficit.

Jarrod Dyson slides safely into third base around the tag attempt by Josh Donaldson and avoids sliding past the base in the bottom of the ninth inning. Dyson scored the game-tying run and sent the game into extra innings when he scored on Nori Aoki's sacrifice fly.

By Phil Ellenbecker
  There's a 29-year gap between the last installment in my series of favorite Kansas City Royals memories and this one. That's because there wasn't much truly memorable for the Royals in the meantime, and if there was I don't remember it much, because I quite frankly stopped caring about the Royals after a while. Call me a fair-weather fan.
  But the Royals began to have the look of a legitimate contender in 2013— let's forget the fluke of a 2003 season in which they finished third in the American League Central— and began to follow through on that promise in 2014 by qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 1985.
  I say began because all the Royals did that season, to begin with, was earn the wild-card spot for the AL playoffs, which meant they earned the right to play an elimination game with Oakland at Royals Stadium for the right to move on. The game was at K.C. by virtue of its finishing one game in the wild-card standings ahead of Oakland, which led the league in wins midway through the season before swooning in the second half, despite a couple of trade-deadline moves made with designs of reaching the World Series.
  If the Royals would have lost this game, the dearth of personal memories may have continued. Nobody remembers who was eliminated in wild-card playoff games. It's almost as if you didn't make the playoffs.
  But the Royals did win, and it's pretty well accepted that what they've accomplished since then — a trip to the World Series in 2014, a World Series title in 2015, a re-establishment as a respectable and respected franchise — was all made possible by what happened that magical, manic Monday night, Sept. 30, in a game won by the Royals 9-8 in 12 innings. This tied the record for the longest (by innings) winner-take-all game in postseason history, shared with Game 7 of the 1924 World Series, according to wikipedia.org.
  While there have been several postseason games that have gone beyond 12 innings, this one has to rank right up there on the improbability scale. The Royals looked as dead as Trey Hillman trailing 7-3 going into the bottom of the eighth inning.
  Alcides Escobar got the Royals started on the comeback trail by singling and stealing second, the second of seven stolen bases the Royals had on the night. Six of them came off Derek Norris, who took over at catcher in the third inning for Geovony Soto, who had to leave with an injured thumb.

  (It should also be noted that three of those steals came off A's starter Jon Lester, notoriously noted for his adversity to throwing over to first to hold runners on.)
  Lorenzo Cain singled Escobar home and also stole second. After a walk to Eric Hosmer that ended Lester's night, Billy Butler cut the margin to 7-5 with a single off Luke Gregerson that scored Cain. Terrance Gore ran for Butler and stole second, too. A wild pitch scored Hosmer and advanced Gore. Alex Gordon walked, and the Royals had the tying and go-ahead runs at second and third after Gordon stole the fourth base of the inning. But Gregerson struck out Salvador Perez and Omar Infante to stop the bleeding.
  (The Royals set a major league postseason record for stolen bases in an inning with their seventh-inning rampage, and their seven on the night tied the postseason record.)
  The Royals sent the game into extra innings off Sean Dootlittle in the ninth. After pinch hitter Josh Willingham led off with a single, pinch runner Jarrod Dyson moved to second on Escobar's sacrifice bunt, stole third and scored on Nori Aoki's sacrifice fly to right. Dyson held on for dear life and barely avoided getting caught off the bag when sliding into third on his steal.
  (This was Willingham's last splash as a major leaguer. A Silver Slugger winner two years before with Minnesota, he was a late-season pickup by K.C. in 2014. After going 0 for 1 in the ALCS and 0 for 2 in the World Series, he announced his retirement the next month, ending an 11-year career.)
  Kansas City moved runners to third in the 10th and 11th, but Perez grounded out to end the 10th, and Jayson Nix struck out to close the 11th. (Nix, a late-season pickup, wasn't called on in the championship series, batted twice in the World Series and hasn't been in the major leagues since, presumably bringing an end to a seven-year career with eight teams.)
  Meanwhile, pitcher Brandon Finnegan was saving the season for the Royals. Drafted out of TCU earlier that year after helping the Horned Frogs reach the College World Series, Finnegan retired seven of nine batters he faced before being replaced with one out in the 12th, with Josh Reddick at second on a walk and sacrifice bunt. Jason Frasor wild-pitched Reddick to third, and pinch hitter Alberto Callaspo regained the lead for the A's at 8-7 with a single.
  But the Royals not only stayed alive but moved on in their half of the 12th, gaining new life when left fielder Jonny Gomes and center fielder Sam Fuld collided on Hosmer's drive to left-center that fell for a triple with one out.
  Christian Colon got Hosmer home with an infield single, making it 8-8. Gordon popped to third for the second out.
  Up came Perez, who'd looked useless at the plate in going 0 for 5 up to then, and who'd been notoriously way out in front on pitches the second half of the season. After Colon got yet another stolen base for the Royals, Perez wasn't too far out in front when Jason Hammel was way outside on a 2-2 slider. Perez stroked it down the left-field line, barely past a diving Josh Donaldson, for the game winner.
  And with that, Ned Yost's job was safe. Many thought the Royals manager was a goner after he'd called in Yordano Ventura to relieve starter James Shields in the sixth inning. Shields, who'd yielded a two-run homer to Brandon Moss in the first inning, had started off the sixth by allowing a single by Fuld and a walk to Donaldson.
  On came Ventura, the promising young starter moved to the bullpen for this winner-take-all game to give the Royals an extra power arm. It was Ventura's second relief appearance in his major league career, and it didn't last long. Moss, the first batter he faced, blasted his second homer of the night, pushing the A's ahead 5-3. Reddick followed with a single, was wild-pitched to second and advanced to third on Jed Lowrie's fly out, and out came Ventura for Kelvin Herrera, normally the Royals' seventh-inning guy. The damage continued as consecutive singles by Norris, Eric Sogard and Coco Crisp brought the score to 7-3.
  Herrera settled down, Wade Davis and Greg Holland filled their eighth- and ninth-inning roles (although Holland had a shaky ninth), and the Royals began to make magic on offense. And kept making it happen through sweeps of the AL Division series against California and the ALCS over Baltimore, and almost on through the World Series in a seven-game loss to San Francisco.
  And on into next year with a first World Series title since 1985.
  And it all started with the wild affair on Sept. 30. As the title of the Best Picture of 1934 said, "It Happened One Night."