KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Tuesday the Royals Hall of Fame opened a new exhibit which captures the special moments made so far this postseason.
Items to be seen include mementos from the night the Royals clinched a playoff spot, and from the Wild Card game against the Oakland A’s, which now are in a glass case at the hall of fame, along with a front page of the newspaper and team gear.
There’s also the baseball pitched by closer Greg Holland that Chicago White Sox left fielder Michael Taylor popped up to Salvador Perez for the final out of the Royals’ playoff clinching win. There are also lineup cards from the same game and, of course, the champagne bottles and goggles the players wore to celebrate the team’s first playoff appearance in 29 years.
Fans who stopped in were delighted to see the memorabilia.
“Twenty nine years and been a die-hard Royals fan, and it just brought tears to my eyes. I loved it. And we were looking at this exhibit and it was kind of cool, just what was going on that night, that was quite a game,” said fan Dave Tolen.
One thing still sitting in the hall of fame is an old standby, the 1985 Commissioner’s Trophy from the Royals triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. The way crowds have packed Kauffman Stadium during this postseason run rekindled memories for one fan.
“To see the stadium full and everybody cheering and yelling for the Royals, which they were in ’85, and then to come back this year and see it in this series, it’s just really exciting,” said fan Jack Rowe.