Rivalry renewed: Blue Jays, Royals set for ALCS showdown
If there's one matchup that could possibly top the intensity of Toronto's dramatic series with Texas, baseball fans have it.
The Blue Jays and Royals are set to resume their budding rivalry Friday in the American League Championship Series when the two teams meet for the first time since their dramatic four-game tilt in August.
For a certain generation, the rematch is 30 years in the making.
Three decades after the Royals clawed their way back from an improbable 3-1 deficit in the 1985 ALCS, the Blue Jays will get their revenge on the heels of a wild division series against the Rangers. And for fans of a new era, the rivalry is as raw as ever.
The last time these two clubs met, benches cleared, batters were hit, and words were exchanged. That was back on Aug. 2, when Josh Donaldson was nearly hit twice by Edinson Volquez, Troy Tulowitzki wore a Ryan Madson fastball on the arm, and Aaron Sanchez was ejected after plunking Alcides Escobar.
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
"He was crying like a baby," Volquez said about Donaldson, who homered twice and hit three doubles in the series. "He's not Barry Bonds. He's got three years in the league."
Donaldson isn't Barry Bonds, but he might be the AL's MVP.
Toronto's third baseman posted a 1.132 OPS in August to help the Blue Jays surge down the stretch in a chase for the league's best record and AL East pennant.
Donaldson and the Blue Jays would eventually fall short of the top-seeded Royals, who possess home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after finishing with the most wins in the AL.
The last time these two teams met in the postseason will be 30 years ago Friday, when the Royals knocked out the top-seeded Blue Jays to clinch a berth in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. It turned out to be the Royals' first and only title.
Much has changed since that fateful October night at Exhibition Stadium, but what's at stake hasn't. A trip to the World Series is on the line, and there are no two better teams to fight for it.