Royals Owner David Glass had to "accept his leadership pushed the Royals into becoming a punch line," and to make this journey to the World Series, he would "need help pushing them back to the top," according to Sam Mellinger of the K.C. STAR. The Royals have gone from a "joke of a franchise to the World Series in eight years," but "in reality, improvement came with setbacks, too." Glass: “We had to change the whole thing. We had to get a fresh start.” Mellinger: "Saying you have a plan is great. Sticking with it quite another, especially when it’s not working." Everyone tends to "focus on money, and that’s an important part of this." Money is an "important part of virtually everything." But Glass’ "fundamental change wasn’t just about spending more money." It also was about "spending money differently, with more of a consistent focus." It was about "making decisions differently." The Royals were "doing things they only talked about doing before," and GM Dayton Moore was able to "ask for things that his predecessors only dreamed of." This included a new minor-league team, new facilities in Latin America and beyond and an "enormous increase in staffing, with the money and freedom to hire scouts and executives with World Series championships on their resumes." However, of all the "changes that Glass funded -- more scouts, more spending on amateur talent, doubling payroll since 2006 and nearly quadrupling it from 2000 -- his private nature has endured." Eight years ago, Glass had to "admit he didn’t know what he was doing" and "hire someone who did." That is the "only way the Royals could go from baseball’s worst team to four wins from being its best" (K.C. STAR, 10/19).
STAYING THE COURSE: ESPN.com's Jim Bowden noted eight years and fourth months after being named Royals GM, Moore has "helped bring the franchise" an AL pennant. Eight years "might seem like a long time, but when you look at the history of other small-market teams who have succeeded," such as the A's, Nationals, Rays and Twins, "history shows it does take six to eight years, if done properly." The "best way to build a baseball team is through the draft with international signings first, then through trades to fill important needs and finally a few free-agent signings to put a team over-the-top." Bowden: "That's the exact formula the Royals followed" (ESPN.com, 10/17).
ROAD TRIP: MLB.com's Dick Kaegel noted the Glass family is "quietly arranging a trip for the work force, the associates in the Royals' office, for the middle three games of the World Series" in S.F. Glass: "These people really work hard and they really care about this team, so it's getting tickets for them and fixing it so they can go -- it's just a good thing to do" (MLB.com, 10/19). Meanwhile, Giants President & CEO Larry Baer also said that all full-time employees of the team are "going to go to Kansas City with a guest" for the opening games of the World Series. Baer: "At least they're going to be invited to go. Some of them will have work responsibilities and they may not be able to go." There is a "lot that goes into the overall effort, and having 42,000 people a night screaming is the work of a lot of folks upstairs" ("Yahoo Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 10/17).
