Royals quickly becoming postseason darlings

KANSAS CITY -- Manager Ned Yost is getting the idea that large segments of the country are adopting his Royals as the darlings of the postseason. Definitely not in the Baltimore area, of course, but blue fever seems to be spreading.

"I think the Midwest knew this team and knew how exciting it was. I don't think anybody else in the country knew," Yost said before Wednesday's workout at Kauffman Stadium.

"But from what they've seen in the last few days, I think that the nation has fallen in love with this team. They love their energy, they love their excitement, they love the way they play the game. They make the game fun. They can tell this club is playing hard for each other, that they're enjoying each other's successes and playing the game in a daring way and having success doing it. That's very appealing for everybody."

Fans with St. Louis or San Francisco allegiances probably aren't real fired up about the Kansas City club, either, but it's different in other National League cities.

"Officially all in on KC now that Dodgers are out," pitcher Jeremy Guthrie read in a text from a radio personality acquaintance in Los Angeles.

Royals fandom seems to be growing.

"Everybody who wins games gains fandom," Guthrie said. "That's just the way it works. That's why they came up with that term, 'bandwagon.' That's why that term exists."

Or perhaps it's the popular appeal for an underdog.

"I don't know if they think we're the underdog or something, but we don't feel that way," said closer Greg Holland. "When you play good baseball, you always have more people rooting for you, it seems like."

Third baseman Mike Moustakas hasn't followed much national media but has enjoyed how Kansas City feels about its first baseball playoff team since 1985.

"Just walking around town down here, you can kind of feel how the city's gravitated toward us and how much love these people have for baseball and the Kansas City Royals. It's awesome. These people out here are unbelievable fans," Moustakas said.

"I haven't been around the country that much since we started the postseason, but my friends back home [in California] are saying that everyone's with the Royals and my family's saying it, too, so it's a cool deal."

The Royals' next stop is Baltimore for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night, so the country can tune in to check out its darlings.

"Everybody sees how hard we play and it's pretty cool to be adopted as America's favorite team," Moustakas said.