After finishing the 2025 Major League Baseball season with an 82-80 record, the Kansas City Royals found themselves on the couch this postseason. A season that saw some bright spots ended in disappointment as the Royals could never seem to find consistent success, only having four winning months out of seven.
The Royals started their season off on a decent note, going 2-2 in March and then going 14-13 in April, leaving them with a 16-15 record going into May. The start of May was arguably the team’s best stretch of the season, winning seven games in a row and putting them in their highest mark over .500 of the season, with eight games over. After that hot stretch, the Royals’ season began to take on a clear theme of inconsistency. Despite the hot start, the Royals finished May with a 15-13 record, making their season record 31-28.
This is where the season took a turn for the worse, as the Royals went 8-18 in June. The Royals put up the second-worst hitting stats for a month all season, slashing a line of .237/.291/.374 with a .665 OPS. This put them under .500 after a month for the first time all season, bringing their season record to 39-46. July, on the other hand, was their strongest month of the season as they went 15-9. The Royals entered the All-Star break with a 47-50 record, good for third in the American League Central Division, and put them 4.5 games back of the AL Wild Card.
After having another winning month in August with a 16-12 record, the Royals found themselves in the Wild Card race. August was their most effective hitting month as a team, slashing a .256/.332/.440 and a .772 OPS. At the end of August, the Royals had a 70-67 record, only three games back of the final playoff spot.
The only thing the Royals needed to do was to have a good September. They were capable, having already won four months during the season. The Royals had other plans, going 12-13 and ultimately missing the third Wild Card spot by five games.
Coming off a playoff berth for the first time in nine years in 2024, expectations were that the Royals would make it again this year. They did not, and it ultimately came down to the offense not being good enough, combined with some untimely injuries. One of those injuries being to starting pitcher Kris Bubic, who had a 2.55 ERA in 116.1 innings this season.
It was not all bad for the Royals. They had four All-Stars, including Bubic, Carlos Estévez, Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. The captain, Salvador Perez, showed everyone that he could still rake, hitting his second-career 30 home run season. If that wasn’t impressive enough for the 35-year-old, he also hit 100 RBIs. Vinnie Pasquantino had his best season to date, boasting a career-high in home runs with 32 and 113 RBIs.
This team has a lot of potential to do great things as they’re going into the 2026 MLB season with a chip on their shoulder and a lot of talent. If they spend their money right and push the right buttons, there’s no reason why they won’t make the playoffs next year. At the end of the day, Kansas City deserves more playoff baseball.
