By Jeremy Kahn

The last time the Kansas City Royals were in the World Series, there were only 26 teams in the major leagues and there were no teams in Colorado, Arizona and Florida.

Fast forward 29 years, and the Royals not only returned to the playoffs for the first time since defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in a thrilling seven-game series, but now they are just four wins away from winning the World Series for the second time in team history.

The Royals’ opponent in the World Series is the San Francisco Giants, a team that is making their third World Series appearance in the past five years.

Things were looking bleak for the Royals, as they fell to 48-50 on July 21; however from the next day until August 19, the Royals won 22 out of their next 27 games , including passing the three-time defending Central Division Detroit Tigers on August 11, the latest that the Royals were in first place since August 29, 2003.

Ned Yost’s team was in first place until September 12, when the Tigers passed them to take the Central for the fourth consecutive season.

The Royals finished the season with a record of 89-73, the most for the team since 1989, and clinched their first ever wild card appearance.

In the wild card game, the Royals defeated the Oakland A’s 9-8, when catcher Salvador Perez hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning.

The Royals trailed the A’s 7-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning.

After defeating the A’s in the wild card game, the Royals swept the American League Western Division Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in three games, moving on to the American League Championship Series for the first time in 29 years.

Awaiting the Royals in the ALCS was the AL Eastern Division Champion Baltimore Orioles, who swept the Royals division rivals, the Tigers.

In the ALCS, the Royals turned the same trick that they did against the Angels and swept the Orioles in four games to clinch their first AL pennant in 29 years.