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From the Guys Who Were There

The Kansas City Royals

by Bill Althaus

$18.95 USD / $23.95 CAN
For 365 days, the Kansas City Royals have lived with the specter of the 2014 World Series hanging over their heads.

Game Seven. At home. Bottom of the ninth. Madison Bumgarner on the mound and Royals star Alex Gordon 90-feet away on third base, representing the tying run. And as dramatic as that all sounds, it really does no justice to the remarkable, record-setting journey the Royals traveled through the 2014 season, a thrilling victory in the Wild Card game, and the playoffs in order to reach that moment for the first time in three decades no less.

Any fan knows how it ended. With Gordon's feet planted firmly on third base as Salvador Perez, the team's All-Star catcher, faced Bumgarner the seemingly invincible left-hander of the San Francisco Giants and popped out to end the game, the series, and the hopes of the 40,000 fans in attendance.

But 2015 was a new year, and a new opportunity. And these weren't the same Kansas City Royals as before; the underdog catching everyone by surprise with their resilience and tenacity. These Royals expected to win, which they did.

Big time.

Cruising to their first division title in 30 years, the 2015 Royals proved their mettle in the post-season time and time again, setting records for comeback victories and proving the old adage that, indeed, it's never over until it's over.

Now, fans have a new opportunity to share every moment of the 2014 and 2015 seasons through the eyes of the players, coaches, scouts, and front office staff who made them happen.

From the Guys Who Were There: The Kansas City Royals takes you inside the clubhouse and onto the field, as the Royals recount the moments that mean the most to them.

If you are a Royals fan, this is a must-have for your sports library.

As an added bonus, the players who helped the Royals become a powerhouse from 1976 through 1985 discuss the secret to their massive success and share how special it was to follow their younger brethren last year.
From the Guys Who Were There

About the Author

Bill Althaus

Bill Althaus is an award-winning sports writer and columnist from The Examiner in Eastern Jackson County, Mo. He has been a member of The Examiner’s staff the past 33 years and has been honored by United Press International, the Associated Press, and the Missouri Broadcasters Association for his work on the Sonic Locker Room radio program. The Simone Awards Committee named him the first print winner of the Gordon Docking Award for Sports Excellence in 2006, and he won the Morris Excellence in Journalism Award the following year. This year, he was named the top Class II columnist by the Missouri Press Association, his seventh individual honor from the committee.

The Independence, Mo. native lives with his wife, Stacy, in Grain Valley. They have two sons, Zach and Sean. This is Bill’s eighth book. He has covered the Kansas City Royals since 1976 and was the team’s beat writer from 1982 to 2003.

Specifications

Language
English
ISBN10
978-0-9966742-1-8
ISBN13
978-0-9966742-0-1
Genre
Sports
Extras
16-page photo insert
Trim Size
6 x 9, softcover
Page Count
272
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