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Ned Yost stood in the visitors' dugout of Citi Field in New York, hoping the Mets' Matt Harvey would take the mound as a tired pitcher in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series — while not being sure he really should wish for that to happen.
And then Harvey walked Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City's leadoff batter, and the Royals' manager figured, "Here we go."
Sure enough, Eric Hosmer followed with a double off Harvey to help the Royals eventually tie the game with two runs in the top of the ninth. They went on to a 7-2 victory in 12 innings, with former Taylorsville High School star Christian Colon driving in the go-ahead run.
The story gets better with every retelling, and Yost has enjoyed a "very fun, very busy" three months, he said Tuesday, appearing at the University of Utah baseball program's annual fund-raising dinner. The Utes brought in former Boston manager Terry Francona after the Red Sox's historic 2004 championship, 86 years since the team's most recent title. By comparison, the Royals' victory came only 30 years later, but it was a major breakthrough just the same.
Kansas City's championship followed the 2014 World Series loss to San Francisco, as the Royals left the tying run on third base in Game 7. So Yost, whose son lives in Park City, can measure the duration of the winter by the feeling of losing or winning at that stage. This offseason has been "very fast, very hectic," Yost said, and he's eager to get going again this month.
The Royals are embracing their status as defending champions. "They're really focused on making history," Yost said. "They continue to grow and get better every year. That's our goal, to go back to back."
Colon may have a more prominent role in Kansas City's title defense. Having spent much of the past three seasons at Triple-A Omaha and batted only once in the 2015 postseason, Colon will compete with Omar Infante for the starting job at second base. Known as Christian Rodriguez in 2005 when he played for Taylorsville as a sophomore shortstop, Colon has kept developing as a former No. 4 overall pick from Cal State Fullerton.
"There's nothing fancy or flashy about him, but everything he does is extremely solid," said Yost, crediting Colon with "two of the biggest hits in the history of our franchise."
In the 12th inning of an American League wild card game vs. Oakland, Colon singled to drive in the tying run, then stole second and scored the winning run.
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