Yankees-Royals ALDS matchup is set to reignite one of baseball's best rivalries

For the first time in 44 years, the Kansas City Royals will play the New York Yankees in the postseason. Over the past three decades, the Royals have been one of the worst organizations in baseball, with long stretches of abysmal play including just two playoff appearances from 1986 to 2023. The Yankees, on the other hand, won four of five World Series from 1996 to 2000.

But baseball is a crazy game. Since 2000, the two franchises have had the same number of World Series championships — one. New York last won in 2009, and Kansas City took the crown in 2015.

At one time, however, these two teams had a tremendous rivalry. Though brief, it was a fun rivalry that seemed to culminate on the biggest stage every year.

The Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees had a passionate rivalry in the 1970s

The Yankees, of course, have historically been great. From 1923 through 1962, New York won 20 championships. Then, there was a drought of zero titles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Royals were an expansion team, playing for the first time in 1969. They became competitive quickly, and by 1976, they took on the mighty Yankees in the ALCS for the first time.

Their first best-of-five series was a classic. The Royals were led by a budding young superstar named George Brett, who led the league in batting average and hits, and finished second that season in MVP voting. The Yankees featured stars like Thurman Munson, Chris Chambliss and Catfish Hunter.

Game 5 was a classic. In the 8th inning, Brett blasted a three-run home run to tie the game, but in the bottom of the ninth, Chambliss outdid Brett with his second home run blast of the series, this one a Yankees walk-off — and the crowd went nuts. The Yankees would eventually lose to Johnny Bench and the Big Red Machine in the World Series.

The rivalry intensified as the Royals and Yankees met again in the ALCS in 1977. This series featured several dust-ups between the players. In game 2, Royals slugger Hal McRae barrel-rolled into second base to break up a double play — the type of violent slide that was soon outlawed in the majors — and players had to be restrained from retaliation.

In game 4, Graig Nettles and the Yankees got their revenge as the New York third basemen took out Frank White on a double play attempt like an offensive lineman pancaking a defensive end. Tempers were flaring on both sides.

All of the tension culminated in Game 5. Brett hit a triple and slid into third base with a lot of momentum. He tried to pop up but bumped into Nettles and fell to the ground. Nettles then kicked Brett in the face. Brett leaped to his feet, fists flying, and one of the best baseball melees ever ensued.

Amazingly enough, neither player was ejected. Both were warned and play resumed. Ultimately, the Yankees prevailed again, as they did for the third straight year in 1978.

The 1978 series featured several incredible moments, including three home runs by Brett in Game 3. In that game, however, Thurman Munson hit a two-run shot in the ninth to secure a victory for the Yanks. Game 4 featured two great defensive plays by Mickey Rivers and Munson, securing the series win in four games.

In 1979, the two teams decided they needed a break from each other, but they returned to duke it out in the 1980 ALCS. This time, the Royals prevailed in a sweep of the mighty Yankees. The deciding Game 3 featured a home run by Frank White and an upper-deck monster blast from Brett in Yankee Stadium. That was the last postseason game played between these two franchises.

Just because the two teams were no longer meeting in essential postseason series didn't mean the rivalry ended. Billy Martin instigated the infamous Pine Tar Bat incident when he called attention to the level of pine tar on Brett's bat after he hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of a game in 1983. Brett's reaction remains perhaps the most lasting image in baseball history.

The Royals remained a relevant, competitive franchise into the early 90s, while the Yankees struggled by their standards. After the strike in 1994, the economics of the game changed, and with it, the paths of these two franchises went opposite directions. The Yankees returned to the successes of yesteryear, while the Royals fell apart due to gross mismanagement and an unwillingness to pay for good players.

The Yankees have remained relevant and competitive for the last two decades, even while winning just one championship. The Royals had a brief, shooting star-like resurgence in 2014 and 2015 before falling back into MLB obscurity.

The Royals today, led by another young, budding superstar in Bobby Witt Jr., have made a miraculous turnabout. After losing 106 games in 2023, the Royals find themselves in the ALDS, facing the Yankees for the first time in the postseason since 1980. The Yankees have superstars Aaron Judge and Juan Soto to lead them into the fray.

Judge is the favorite to win the AL MVP this season, and there is a good chance that Witt and Soto will finish second and third. This series should be fun, if for nothing else than to see the best the American League has to offer battling one another on the field.

It is exciting to see this old rivalry rekindled after so many years. Only time will tell whether the new installment brings the excitement and passion the old rivalry had, but we will be watching no matter what.