Royals fans, let us enjoy the ride in 2025

Each time I find myself flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race

Welcome to 2025, Royals fans, the first time since—what?—2016 that there are high expectations for our beloved franchise. That’s the blessing and curse of winning baseball: itt leads you to believe that more winning baseball is on the horizon.

And it very well might be true.

Then again, baseball, like life, isn’t linear. There are ups and downs and zags and zigs and cuts and valleys and peaks and all other sorts of shenanigans between Opening Day and September 28. The Royals could start out hot (or cold), get cold (or hot), battle for the postseason all year long, reach the playoffs or miss the playoffs.

That’s baseball. Riding high in April, shot down in May, but you know the Royals will change that tune, when they’re back on top, back on top in June.

That’s life.

Keep in all in perspective. As Royals fans this season, we get to watch on a daily basis one of the best, if not the best, positional players in all of the American League, let alone Major Leagues. That’s nothing to take for granted. It’s nothing that’s happened to Royals fans since the halcyon days of George Brett. Win or lose (but hopefully win), enjoy the greatness that is Bobby Witt Jr.

And enjoy such a stellar starting pitching staff, one this team hasn’t boasted since that glorious year of 2015. Michael Wacha battled back to return to his former glory in 2024, helping the Royals capture a Wild Card spot. Maybe he keeps it up, maybe he regresses, maybe he holds the line. Regardless of which comes to fruition, cheer on a pitcher who looked destined to retire early as he guts it out at age 33.

The same for Seth Lugo, a long-time reliever who’s making the best of it as a starting pitcher as a 35-year-old. Last year, in just his second season as a full-time starter, he finished second in Cy Young voting. What’s in store for 2025, a season after which he can opt out of his contract?

Of course, we should also enjoy Cole Ragans, perhaps the biggest steal acquired by the Royals in a trade since…since…well, ever? I don’t know. Maybe. Dude’s had one TJ already, but since coming over for over-the-hill Aroldis Chapman, Ragans has been this team’s ace. Enjoy watching this southpaw chew up and spit out hitters while trying to capture the Royals’ fifth Cy Young Award.

Then there’s the ageless wonder behind the plate, who sometimes mans first base and moonlights as a Designated Hitter: Salvador Perez. Could this be his last year with the Royals or even in the Majors? Perhaps. Savor the Salvy as much as you can, just in case. He deserves. Heck, after all these years, you deserve it, too.

There are so many other players to enjoy this upcoming season. Jonathan India and Mark Canha make their Kansas City debuts, as does Carlos Estevez. Hunter Renfroe tries to maintain his decade-long career as MJ Melendez tries to, once again, finally click in the majors. Vinnie Pasquantino, hammy be damned, looks to pick up where he left off before injury derailed his 2024. Maikel Garcia tries to finally hammer down the hot corner, a position that’s caused the Royals many fits since the Days of Moose.

On the horizon are pitching prospects like lefty Noah Cameron, Steve Zobac, and Ben Kudrna while catching prospects such as Carter Jensen, Blake Mitchell, and Ramon Ramirez try to climb the ladder.

But most enticing is last year’s first-round draft pick, a behemoth of a slugger who bashed his way through Spring Training. When will Jac Caglianone reach Kansas City? Not on Opening Day, it appears, but probably sooner than anyone imagined when the Royals grabbed him with the No. 6 pick out of Florida. Oh, yeah, he also pitches.

Quite the season is ahead for the Royals and Royals fans. At different points, the Royals will be a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king. My prediction is they’ll finish closer to being a king than the rest, but there will be those games when it seems otherwise.

Enjoy the close games, the Dog Days, the bullpen games, the slugfests, the 5-3 ballgames, the pitching duels, the games without home runs.

Enjoy the playoff race, the Wild Card race, the trade-deadline rumors, the games against the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees as much as the ones against the Colorado Rockies and the Nomadic Athletics.

Enjoy the wins, the losses, Caglianone Watch, the pitching debuts, Q’s bullpen decisions, Bobby Witt Jr. vs Mason Miller with the tying run on third with two outs and two strikes in the ninth just as much as you enjoy Michael Massey working the count in the fourth inning of a Thursday afternoon game in June.

When the Royals are struggling, have faith.

When the Royals are winning, keep it in context.

2025 is going to be one helluva ride.