MLB

The Kansas City Royals went from one of the worst teams in MLB last year to the playoffs this season. They lost the American League Division Series to the New York Yankees three games to one.

The Kansas City Royals have defeated the Baltimore Orioles in two straight games in the 2024 American League Wild Card Series. Now, they'll move on to face the New York Yankees in the next round.

Few might have guessed the Kansas City Royals would be competing in the MLB playoffs in 2024, after last season's near-last-place finish. Matt LaMar, editor of Royals Review from SB Nation, told KCUR's Up To Date the key moves that led to the historic turnaround season.

The Kansas City Royals tied the worst record in team history last year, with 56 wins and 106 losses. Just one season later, they're on pace to make the playoffs.

The Royals are the latest team to adopt the MLB's Go-Ahead Entry facial recognition system, addressing fan complaints about the slow-moving ticket scanning process at entry gates.

Lawmakers in the state of Kansas are working to convince the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs to move to their side of the state line. Mayor Tyrone Garner says he's all-in on luring the teams to Kansas City, Kansas.

Just five days ahead of the 3/8th-cents sales tax vote in Jackson County that would help provide funding for a new Royals downtown ballpark, the Up To Date team broadcasted from Kauffman Stadium on Opening Day.

Business owners in the Crossroads area, where the Royals want to build a $2 billion stadium and entertainment complex, fear the district known as a haven for artists will lose its character. "You can imagine people who are counting on this neighborhood for their livelihood, are very worried and concerned about how this plan is going to affect them," said one owner.

Just one online fundraiser brought in $145,000 to replace a bronze statue of Jackie Robinson that was stolen from a park in Wichita. Fire crews found burned remnants of the statue a few miles away. Police are still searching for those responsible.

Kansas City has been waiting for months to hear where the Royals want to build their proposed new stadium, while the question of funding remains up in the air. Mayor Quinton Lucas expects that "final deals and arrangements" could come in the days ahead.

Following a 56-106 season that placed the Royals near the bottom of Major League Baseball, the team is uncharacteristically spending serious money to improve the team.

Despite a historically bad season on the baseball field, fans are more focused on the team's impending move to a new stadium in either downtown or North Kansas City. Many of them are unifying over what will be lost when the Royals change zip codes.