With talk of expansion and realignment heating up, I took a look last week at what that could mean for the Kansas City Royals
in the years ahead. Expansion and realignment could mean a very different looking division for the Royals. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has talked about realignmeent in terms of geography to reduce travel and create better TV times, but I think the league will also consider rivalries.Which team is the Royals’ main rival? And will the Royals be matched in a division with that
team once realignment hits?
Before I get to that, I’d be remiss not to share with all of you a post I found. It’s about, of course, realignment, which seems to have pundits in a tizzy. Some of them are going about it smartly. Some of them are going it about it…well, the opposite of smartly.
This is from Flippin’ Bats Pod’s Ben Verlander, brother of future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander.
Please note the AL South: the Rangers, Astros, Royals, and Twins.
The Twins—who play in Minnesota. Which borders Canada. Which is our neighboring country to the [checks notes] north.
It should also be pointed out that the Twins play farther north than every team listed in the AL North and NL North, which includes the only team from Canada.
Anyway, I thought you’d all appreciate the dumbest idea yet on realignment.
Back to the issue at hand—who’s the Royals’ biggest rival? Which may not exactly make it a rivarly.
See, for another team to be a rival, one just has to hate the other. But for a rivalry, it takes two to tango. Let’s take the Kansas City Chiefs, for example. The Chiefs hate the Raiders and the Raiders hate the Chiefs. Presto—rivalry.
But while the Chargers may hate the Chiefs, do the Chiefs hate the Chargers? I mean…as a Chiefs fan, I think of the Chargers about four times a year. First, before the season, to laugh when analysts to do well. Second, when they lose to the Chiefs for the first time of the year. Third, when they lose to the Chiefs for the second time of the year. Fourth, when their season ends way before the Chiefs’ season ends.
That’s no rivalry.
Here’s a list of teams who I think could be a rival to the Royals, and whether a rivalry exists between the two teams:
New York Yankees
Should Royals fans hate them? Oh, yeah. As well we should. They’re enemy number one for a reason. This is a franchise that has tormented Kansas City baseball—not just the Royals, but the Athletics—for decades. And they’re just one of two teams to be undefeated against the current iteration of the Royals, going a smooth 6-0 in 2025.
Are they close geographically? They are not.
Should Yankees fans hate the Royals? Uh…let’s just saw that in the clip below, the Royals aren’t Don Draper.
Is this a rivalry? Nope.
St. Louis Cardinals
Should Royals fans hate them? Well, they shouldn’t, but a majority does. The Cardinals, until recently, have had a string of success that would indeed make other fanbases jealous. They’ve hit hard times the past couple of seasons, though. The Royals can take advantage of it by winning and becoming the go-to team in the state. Easier said than done, of course.
Are they close geographically? It’s an awfully boring drive but yep!
Should Cardinals fans hate the Royals? No, and they don’t. It’s not to the level of Yankees fans not giving us a thought, but why would Cardinals fans bother hating us? Before interleague play, we’d faced each other once, in the 1985 World Series. That was 40 years ago, and it remains the only meaningful series between the franchises. Cardinals fans hate the Cubs, as they very well should.
Toronto Blue Jays
Should Royals fans hate them? Back in 2014 and 2015, sure. Both teams were good back then, and that 2015 ALCS between the clubs was heated. It was actually the second time the Royals beat the Blue Jays to capture the pennant, the first coming in 1985. Hey, it’s good luck when we beat these guys in the Championship Series!
Are they close geographically? Toronto is 848 miles away. Which, to a Midwesterner, is peanuts.
Should Blue Jays fans hate the Royals? Maybe. As mentioned, the Royals have defeated them twice in the pennant, but as also mentioned, one of those times was 40 years ago. Seems like water under the bridge. And the Blue Jays are a completely different team from 2015. A couple of World Series titles in the early ’90s probably helps ease the pain, as does playing a division with much more hostile fanbases.
Chicago White Sox
Should Royals fans hate them? These days, why bother? They’re super bad. They’ve never really been good at the same time as the Royals, either.
Are they close geographically? Comparatively.
Should White Sox fans hate the Royals? I don’t know, so I asked one! He said, “No,” and then mentioned the White Sox’s true rivals are the Cubs and have been since…1906. So, maybe 1985 isn’t water under the bridge. He then added he’d “travel the country to root against the Cubs.” Dude really hates the Cubs, but not the Royals.
Cleveland Guardians
Should Royals fans hate them? Cleveland has been so good for such a long time that it feels like we should hate them, but when it comes to actual feelings about Ohio’s American League Club, I don’t feel much of anything. I asked a friend about his feelings toward the Guardians. He responded with such keen insight as, “Meh.” Another friend, when asked the same question, stated that Jose Ramirez is his favorite non-Royal. That’s not exactly dripping with hate.
Are they close geographically? I honestly don’t know where Ohio is.
Should Guardians fans hate the Royals? I can’t imagine why they would. They’re probably busy enough hating their own team for picking such a stupid nickname.
Minnesota Twins
Should Royals fans hate them? My eighth-grade religion teacher is the only Twins fan I’ve ever met, and he was a super nice dude. No ill feelings. Shout out to Kramschuster.
Are they close geographically? Over 400 miles to the north, Ben Verlander, not south.
Should Twins fans hate the Royals? Not much has happened between the clubs. Excluding 1994, which was the first year of the new divisions but also the strike year, the Royals and Twins have finished with winning records in the same season only three times. It’s usually a fight for the cellar. I can’t imagine those fans getting too up in arms about that.
Detroit Tigers
Should Royals fans hate them? It’s getting there! Detroit started a rebuild right around the same time as the Royals and completely bottomed out in 2019 when they finished an abysmal 47-114. That same year, they drafted a pretty good outfielder fifth overall named Riley Greene—three spots after the Royals grabbed Bobby Witt Jr. Detroit finished strong last year, ending with the same record as the Royals. This year, they’ve surged by, leading the American League Central by 10.5 games. They’re the team to beat.
Are they close geographically? Detroit is located in Michigan, which is another state that borders Canada. It’s about 750 miles northeast of Kansas City.
Should Tigers fans hate the Royals? Not yet, at least. If the Royals make some noise here to end the season, that changes things. Knocking the Tigers out of the playoffs—assuming the Royals make it in—would go a long way toward making this a true rivalry. But it’s hard to get other fanbases to even think of you when you’ve only had five winning seasons since joining the same division.
Houston Astros
Should Royals fans hate them? No, but it gives me a reason to post this clip:
Are they close geographically? Sure, but it’s super hot down there.
Should Astros fans hate the Royals? Nah, they have their piece of metal. They’re fine.
Overall, I wouldn’t consider any of the teams currently in a division with the Royals to be their rivals. Is the baseball season so long so as to have killed intra-division rivalries? I don’t think so. See the Cardinals and Cubs, the Yankees and Red Sox, the Dodgers and Giants, or, more recently, the Dodgers and Padres. Not a lot of teams listed there, but rivalries still exist.
I just can’t think of a compelling one for the Royals. It’s getting there with Detroit, but it still has a way to go.
The teams we hate don’t hate us. And really, does any team despise the Royals? Why would they?
Let’s just keep hating on the Yankees and Cardinals and, to a lesser extent, the Tigers. It’s fun.
If you disagree, as I’m sure many of you do, hit up the comments and let me know who you think the Royals’ biggest rival is, and whether you want to see them in a division with the Royals once realignment occurs.
