The Kansas City Royals shockingly fired president of baseball operations Dayton Moore on Wednesday afternoon.
At the moment of his dismissal, his Royals were 59-89, with one of the worst records in baseball.
Ownership had a different season in mind, especially when they finished at 74-88 in 2021.
The truth is that after their two straight World Series in 2014 and 2015, Kansas City hasn’t returned to the postseason, and they have finished with a losing record for six straight years.
Moore himself, speaking after learning the news, accepted that not winning in MLB usually leads to bad outcomes.
“Dayton Moore: ‘In baseball, when you don’t win enough games, change sometimes is required….we know that and accept that,'” Royals insider Joel Goldberg tweeted, quoting the former Royals executive.
Dayton Moore: “In baseball, when you don’t win enough games, change sometimes is required….we know that and accept that.”
— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) September 21, 2022
Moore arrived to the Royals in 2006 as the general manager.
Moore Deserves Some Praise, But Also Some Blame
He built a winning team in 2013, one that finished with an 86-76 record.
His Royals advanced to the World Series next year, losing to the San Francisco Giants, and again in 2015, this time defeating the New York Mets.
After that, everything went downhill.
Just last year, the Royals promoted Moore from GM to president of baseball operations.
Those plans are now part of the past.
The Royals have a strong group of young players led by Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez, Nick Pratto, and pitchers Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch, and Kris Bubic.
Player development, however, has been less than ideal, and Moore deserves some of the blame there.
All in all, Moore will always be remembered as the architect of that mid-2010s Royals team, but change was needed, as he said it himself.
NEXT: Royals Analyst Comments On The Shocking Dayton Moore News