KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This spring began with hope in Kansas City. The Royals were the youngest team in baseball, and they seemed ascendant in the AL Central.
A 22-year-old slugger at first base, Eric Hosmer, was poised to become the next big thing, and 21-year-old catcher Salvador Perez was right on his heels. They had one of the top closers in baseball in Joakim Soria, and young flamethrower Danny Duffy seemed to have the potential to become a top-of-the-rotation starter. Alex Gordon was coming off a career year, while Billy Butler posted his third straight season of 44 or more doubles, and, at 28 and 26, the pair qualified as grizzled veterans for this team.
All signs pointed up. And the team's slogan for 2012 — "Our Time" — didn't even seem too premature.
But here they are, at 3-8 one of the worst teams out of the gate. Soria's season ended before it started with Tommy John surgery, and Perez tore a meniscus in his knee and isn't expected back until the All-Star break. Pitching has been lackluster, giving up 32 runs in a three-game set with the Cleveland Indians last week. Local sports radio is already erupting with "wait ‘til next year" talk, with criticism of the starting rotation and with musings that while manager Ned Yost may have been the man to take this franchise out of the doldrums — he sure ain't the man to take this team to the heights.
Which is all a load of hokum.
Instead of overreacting to these April bumps, all the Royals have had to do the past few days is look into the visitors' dugout to see how quickly a franchise's fortunes can turn in Major League Baseball.
It wasn't too long ago that the Detroit Tigers weren't just the worst franchise in baseball — they were among the worst teams in baseball history. The 2003 Tigers lost 119 games, one fewer than the New York Mets' modern record of ineptitude in 1962. (The Tigers had lost 106 games in 2002.) At one point in September, the 2003 Tigers were 80 games below .500, and they ended the season with three starting pitchers who had 17 or more losses.
Three years later, the Tigers were in the World Series. And they've only been below .500 one time since then, developing into one of the most reliable franchises in baseball. This year, with the addition of free-agent masher Prince Fielder, they're a fashionable pick to win the World Series.
Sure, it's a different blueprint than the Royals will follow. The Tigers have the fifth-highest payroll in baseball, more than double the Royals, who rank 27th. The Tigers have built a powerhouse through various ways: Smart trades, such as their acquisitions of hitting machine Miguel Cabrera, speedy center fielder Austin Jackson, left fielder Delmon Young, and starters Doug Fister and Max Scherzer. Draft picks that struck gold, such as ace Justin Verlander, catcher Alex Avila and right fielder Brennan Boesch. And, oh yeah, $214 million to buy a Prince.
The Royals can't buy a team, but they can draft a team. Include the injured Perez, and six of the Royals' typical starting nine were drafted by the organization. General manager Dayton Moore is preaching patience to his ownership, telling them that the youngsters on this 2012 team may not start hot but they'll improve as the season goes on. He's looking at a team that should contend in 2013 or 2014.
And while the Royals will have to draw up their own blueprint for lasting success, what the Tigers serve as is a lesson in hope.
"We've got wave one in the big leagues now, and there's another wave right behind them with good young players," Royals Hall of Famer George Brett told FOXSports.com. "And I know Dayton is planning on another wave. Because that's how we gotta do it. We can't go out and buy expensive free agents. We gotta build within."
Some picked the Royals as a sleeper team this year. That's premature. A realistic goal would be for the Royals to flirt with .500 into September and satiate a restless fan base that's only seen one .500 season in the past 18 years (to go with four 100-loss seasons).
"Every organization is different," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "The Royals are really full of good young players now. A lot of people have them rated as one of the best if not the best organizations for young players."
It's not easy for a fan base to stay patient. Ask fans of the Baltimore Orioles (14 losing seasons in a row) or the Pittsburgh Pirates (19 and counting, an ignominious big league record). The pundits in the local media pounce at every indication when things don't appear to be going as planned, and in Kansas City they have already, less than two weeks into the season.
But the thing that separates baseball from, say, basketball is that pushing a young prospect to the big leagues too quickly is a recipe for disaster. Baseball is a game of subtleties and patience, and those are things that must be learned in the minor leagues over a course of years. It means that a small-market team such as the Royals has to be patient, too.
"In Milwaukee, we pushed our kids," said Yost, who for six years managed the Brewers, another small-market franchise that he turned from a loser into a contender. "And kids got there before they were ready to play in the big leagues. They had areas where they really needed to improve in to be solid major league players. That's not the case here. These kids can all play the game. They all understand the two-strike approach. They all understand how to run the bases, how to play fundamental baseball."
So even though the Royals may be green with envy at the loads of greenbacks teams such as the Tigers can throw at free agents, that's not the Royals' way. This is a team that, out of necessity, must be homegrown. They'll be slow-cooked, not microwaved. And should the Royals find success next year, or the year after, baseball should celebrate that. Because there's something beautiful and nostalgic about a franchise that finds success the right way.
You can follow Reid Forgrave on Twitter @reidforgrave, become a fan on Facebook or email him at reidforgrave@gmail.com.
