Royals owner John Sherman speaks on KC’s success ahead of ALDS Game 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — FOX4’s John Holt sat down with the Kansas City Royals owner, John Sherman ahead of today’s ALDS Game 3 against the New York Yankees. It’s the first time the Royals are playing at home in the postseason since 2015.

“Last offseason, JJ (Picollo) had some very specific goals, he went to work on them, he accomplished them all,” explained Sherman.

“And we’ve been fortunate enough to stay healthy, and obviously being here; to bring October baseball back to the K, we’ve already played four games in October, but this is the first one back here, and this is really what we’re most excited about.”

Sherman finalized the deal to make him the majority owner of the team back in 2019. This move was followed by a global pandemic, and a 106-loss season just last year.

According to Sherman, the key to this unheard-of comeback is a wide variety of things, but bringing in leadership from outside the organization has especially stood out.

“You know, I think it’s all of that, John,” he said, talking about effective pitching, stingy defense, advanced analytics and more.

“JJ, with intentionality, brought some people from outside the organization when he took on this job two years ago. Matt Quatraro, our manager came from Tampa, our new pitching coach Brian Sweeney came from the Cleveland organization. And I think those were organizations that perhaps were a little bit ahead of us in those areas.”

However, that doesn’t mean this team is any less Kansas City than it’s ever been.

“People ask me a lot, ‘You want to be like Tampa? You want to be like Cleveland?’ Sherman said.

“We want to be the Kansas City Royals and our own brand of baseball. So I think that is really the key, we have found an identity, which is based upon excellent pitching, good defense, baserunning and then timely hitting. And so far in the playoffs, we’ve been able to do that.”

Sherman also spoke on the recent drama surrounding the location of the Kansas City Royals, but he’s more focused on the playoff push than anything. With the Royals tied 1-1 with the Yankees in the ALDS, that’s certainly not a bad thing.

“I certainly hope it helps,” he said, in regards to the Royals’ success and its impact on a potential new stadium.

“But, you know, right now we’re really focused on beating the New York Yankees this afternoon. And there will be plenty of time to talk about that once the season is over, but it’s all exciting. I’m really just so excited for our fans and our community and really proud of the players and coaches and staff.”

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