Why Speed Will Make the Kansas City Royals Unstoppable in the World Series

The Kansas City Royals have been speeding through postseason opponents on the way to their first World Series trip since 1985.

Emphasis on the word "speed." 

Quickness has been a key to the team's eight-game postseason winning streak that has seen it sweep the likes of the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. Speed on the field and on the basepaths also will make the Royals unstoppable in the World Series. 

From a statistical standpoint, Kansas City is leaps and bounds above the remaining playoff teams in terms of stolen bases in both the regular season and playoffs. Getting runners on base and in scoring position is vital to playoff success, and no team has been better than the Royals at doing that.

Team	Stolen Bases in Playoffs (Rank)	Stolen Bases in Regular Season (Rank)	Infield Hits (Rank)
Kansas City Royals	13 (1st)	153 (1st)	7 (T-1st)
San Francisco Giants	3 (3rd)	56 (29th)	7 (T-1st)
St. Louis Cardinals	0 (10th)	57 (28th)	4 (4th)

The Royals will be tested in the basepaths with either the Cardinals or Giants in the World Series. Buster Posey ranked fifth for qualified catchers in the regular season with a .298 caught-stealing percentage for the Giants. If the Cardinals advance and Yadier Molina is healthy, he carried a monstrous .477 caught-stealing percentage this year, according to ESPN.com. 

If Kansas City is stifled a bit in stolen bases, it doesn't mean its speed won't play a factor in the other aspects of the game. The Royals' 16 infield hits this playoff season prove as much.

Kansas City will get plenty of opportunities to show its speed. The team led the majors in the regular season with the lowest strikeout rate, according to Time.

Being fleet of foot in the field also will favor the Royals. According to FanGraphs.com (h/t Time), Kansas City players collectively finished with the highest Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR)—an advanced metric that measures defensive value—in the league.

The Royals also feature three-time Gold Glove winner Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain in an outfield that lets practically nothing touch the grass.

Gordon's presence was felt in the series-clinching finale of the American League Championship Series against the Orioles with his excellent play on a ball hit by J.J. Hardy.

Opponents average a miniscule .060 average on balls in play when Gordon, Cain and late-inning defensive replacement Jarrod Dyson are patrolling the outfield grass. According to Ben Lindbergh at Grantland.com, that's .024 lower than the major league average.

It's been a long 29 years since the Royals last made the playoffs. They've certainly made up for lost time. If Kansas City can continue to utilize its speed and small-ball mentality, it doesn't matter if Buster Posey, Yadier Molina or Johnny Bench is behind the plate. You're not going to stop them swinging the bat, defending the field or on the basepaths. They'll go out in a blaze of glory.