After falling flat on their face in the second half of the 2010s decade (after winning the World Series in 2015), the Kansas City Royals appear committed to doing things the right way.
Part of doing things correctly involves having faith in building things slowly, but with sustainability in mind.
Giving things time to correctly grow and develop should be the way to go, and the Royals are trusting Mike Matheny, their current manager, to lead them to the postseason sometime in the next two seasons.
“The Royals have exercised their club option on manager Mike Matheny’s contract for the 2023 season,” the franchise wrote on Thursday on its official Twitter account.
The Royals have exercised their club option on manager Mike Matheny's contract for the 2023 season.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) March 31, 2022
Matheny often drove St. Louis Cardinals fans crazy with some of his decisions, but we shouldn’t have short memories: from 2012 to 2015, the Cardinals made the postseason every year, with three division titles in four years, two National League Championship Series (NLCS) losses, and one World Series defeat.
He didn’t win, but his Cardinals were extremely competitive.
Results weren’t so good from 2016 to 2018, and he was fired.
The Royals Are Trusting Matheny
The Royals gave him a chance before the 2020 campaign, and while he has a sub-.500 record with them in two years (100-122, .450 winning percentage), they are on the verge of being relevant again.
They have numerous impact prospects (Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez, Nick Pratto, Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch, etc.) and some solid major leaguers.
They are making win-now additions, with Zack Greinke and Amir Garrett as prime examples.
They are giving Matheny the tools to build something good over time, and it starts with trust.
The organization is now showing that trust by picking up his 2023 option.
Now, it’s his turn to return that faith.
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