Glass thrilled with Royals' World Series title
Patience rewarded as GM Moore's vision of championship club realized
NEW YORK -- David Glass was beaming as he viewed the Commissioner's Trophy, awarded each year to the World Series champions.
"You know, I liked the [American League] trophy," the Royals owner said, "but I just asked everyone if they could get me the one with all those flags on it. That's the one I really wanted."
A few minutes earlier, Glass was holding the trophy, presented to him by Commissioner Rob Manfred.
"I couldn't be more excited. It's really an honor for me tonight to accept this trophy on behalf of the entire Kansas City organization," Glass said, celebrating the Royals' first Series title in 30 years. "The players, the coaches, all the front-office people and particularly for the fans of Kansas City, who were fantastic.
"We had a mission. The players told me in Spring Training that they were going to do it this year so we could all put last year behind us. Guys, mission accomplished."
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Glass expressed his appreciation for general manager Dayton Moore, who oversaw the building of the team that has won the past two AL championships and capped it all Sunday night with their 7-2 win over the Mets.
"Dayton built this with the long term in mind," Glass said. "He was very patient when a lot of the media wasn't being patient. He knew there would be some hard times ahead, but he was patient enough to see it through. He knew what the reward could be, and we're seeing it right now."
It was two years ago when the Royals broke through with their first winning record under Moore and their first winning season in 10 years. That's when Moore uttered the emotional words so well known to Royals fans, words that originally were ridiculed:
"In a small way, it feels like we won the World Series," Moore said then.
Well, Moore now can boldly say it for real. Moore, who became general manager in 2006, laid the foundation for the franchise. It was a long wait for Moore, and one he surely will relish. But even he seemed somewhat unsure of how to enjoy it.
"This is pretty good, right?" Moore said, looking out over the celebration.
Moore never forgot the distaste in his mouth after the Royals lost Game 7 of last year's World Series to the Giants. Now he has an entire offseason to savor the ultimate victory.
"But it's just a credit to the Glass family, the players, the coaches, the scouts, everyone in the organization," Moore said. "You don't get here if you don't all pull together."
But while Moore tried to deflect the attention during the victory celebration, others were more than happy to credit him with the franchise's rebirth.
Video: Moore and Swanson discuss WS win on MLB Tonight
"Dayton is the guy you want to play for," third baseman Mike Moustakas said. "He believes in all of us."
Hall of Famer George Brett gushed over Moore's accomplishments.
"He set this whole thing up," Brett said. "He rebuilt this organization and returned it to a championship-caliber organization. You can't say enough about him."
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Brett said he couldn't wait to celebrate the accomplishment with the rest of Kansas City, a city he has made home for more than 20 years.
"Most of these guys don't know anything about that 1985 team," Brett said, "so it's so nice to be able to have a new championship. This is one of the most entertaining teams I've ever seen. They sure were fun to watch. Now let's have some fun tonight, and then go home to the parade."
That parade is scheduled for Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m. CT.
But as fun as that parade will be, Moore already is looking ahead to next year. Seriously.
"We've got meetings on Wednesday," Moore said, smiling. "But seriously, the real fun part for me is building it all. That's the fun part for all of us."