My must read of the day is "A Fan Visits From Afar, and the Royals Come Alive," in the New York Times:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — How do I begin this story? How can I convince you that the greatest story for Royals fans in 29 years is unfolding before our eyes, and its protagonist lives a hemisphere away, speaks imperfect (but diligent) English and had never set foot in Kauffman Stadium until last Thursday? […]
But of course, that’s only half of the story. Because the other half is that ever since Lee arrived in Kansas City, the Royals can’t stop winning. They were already on a hot stretch before he arrived, having won nine of their previous 12 games.
But since he got here, the Royals have taken that to another level. There was the game last week against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which the Royals won, 12-2, hitting three homers with at least two men on base for only the fifth time in franchise history. The fifth inning of that game marked the first time the Royals had ever had a three-run homer and a grand slam in the same inning.
And then came last Saturday, with Lee in attendance for the first time. The game, against the San Francisco Giants, was scoreless in the middle of the fifth inning, which is when the Royals put Lee’s picture on the Jumbotron. The very next batter — Alex Gordon, leading off the bottom of the fifth — homered. The Royals went on to win, 5-0, as James Shields threw the Royals’ first shutout of the year.
The past two weeks have been a rough news cycle. There’s been a lot of news, but very few stories are described as anything less than "awful."
I needed a break from it, and this morning, I was convinced I could find a good story. So here it is: Lee Sung-woo and the Kansas City Royals.
Why do I like this story? As a devout Braves fan who has never stepped foot in Missouri, I’m not particularly concerned with Kansas City, the Royals, or the fan from South Korea who is known to the Internet as "KoreanFan" or @Koreanfan_KC. I do, however, love a good baseball story.
When I was a kid I lived in Decatur, Georgia. It wasn’t far from the Braves’ stadium, Turner Field, and one of my favorite childhood memories was when I was in the first grade; my Dad came to my school and checked me out (in retrospect, possibly unbeknownst to my mother) and handed me my teeny-tiny Cal Ripken Jr. glove as I hopped in the car. I remember having a moment in which I realized I didn’t actually have a doctor’s appointment and this was going to be the greatest day ever. I skipped school, he skipped work, and along with my sister we went to a Braves day game. I imagine the excitement of my six-year-old self is exactly how the last week felt for Lee Sung-woo.
There’s something wonderfully American about his entire story—it’s baseball, c’mon, but Americans also love to root for the underdog. Here it is in every sense of the word. This is a fan who stuck around for nearly two decades without ever making it to a game. He finally did; he was welcomed by an entire city, the team is playing "their best baseball of the season," and went on a winning streak that may send them to the playoffs—for the first time since 1985.
They won eight games, before losing last night—but now I kind of hope the Royals win the World Series.