CHICAGO — When the Kansas City Royals won 11 of their first 15 games to start the season, first baseman Eric Hosmer sensed a familiar feel in the clubhouse.
While the Royals’ on-field success from last year’s American League championship carried over from the fall, Hosmer said he and his teammates continue to embrace the underdog tag that carried them throughout the 2014 playoffs and into the World Series.
“We’re playing with a chip on our shoulder,” said Hosmer, who drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning Thursday in Kansas City’s 3-2 win over the White Sox. “We realize how awesome that stage was last year and how it really and truly is every baseball player’s dream to play on a stage like that. We’ve pretty much got the same group back, and once you taste it, you want nothing more than to get back to that stage. That’s what we’re working for.”
After starting off the season with seven straight wins, the Royals (12-4) lost three of four before stringing together another three straight victories.
Of Kansas City’s 11 wins, six came in games decided by two runs or fewer.
Hosmer noticed that the Royals now possess an attitude that they can win at any time — even if they find themselves fighting from behind late in a game.
Hosmer said it starts with chemistry.
“It’s just the way the team has joined together, and the way the team has each other’s back makes it really fun and really special when you’re truly pulling for a guy to get a job done,” Hosmer said.
Count manager Ned Yost among those who have seen the way the Royals performed in the fall carry over into the new season.
“It’s not only attitude — it’s confidence,” Yost said. “There’s a huge degree of confidence in who they are now and their identity and in what they’re able to accomplish.”