Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes hopes Royals ALDS series vs. Yankees can overcome his apparent playoff baseball curse
Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes hopes the Kansas City Royals can overcome his no-good postseason baseball luck. The Royals are in the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) for the first time since their epic World Series run back in 2015. They'll face the Yankees after an 86-win season, spurred by impressive offseason moves and in-season […]
Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes hopes the Kansas City Royals can overcome his no-good postseason baseball luck.
The Royals are in the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) for the first time since their epic World Series run back in 2015. They'll face the Yankees after an 86-win season, spurred by impressive offseason moves and in-season trade acquisitions.
Mahomes, who joined the Royals' ownership group in 2020, is looking forward to experiencing playoff baseball in Kansas City for the first time. He was just a sophomore at Texas Tech during the Royals' last playoff appearance.
"Yeah, I mean, it's awesome," Mahomes said on Thursday. "It's great for the city. I mean, I've heard all the stories about how awesome the environment was the last time they were in the playoffs. And they're going to go up against a great baseball team in the Yankees, a historic baseball team.
"I'm just excited for these guys. They're hungry, they're playing great baseball right now. And to be at The K, sold out crowd, hopefully, and I get to see that October baseball there it's going to be special."
Baseball holds a strong place in Mahomes' sports background as his first love. He grew up in clubhouses, with his father, Pat Mahomes Sr., pitching in the major leagues for 13 seasons. He's even talked about becoming a two-sport athlete himself and joining the Royals during spring training. He was once a standout pitcher at Whitehouse High School and was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 37th round of the 2014 MLB Draft. He opted for a different path, but that doesn't mean baseball isn't near and dear to his heart.
As the series with the Yankees gets underway on Saturday, Oct. 5, Mahomes hopes the Royals can deliver him a string of playoff baseball victories, not just as a member of their ownership group, but as a fan. He says he's experienced playoff baseball as a fan of the Texas Rangers in his youth.
However, those experiences only ended in heartbreak.
"I've been to a postseason baseball game back when I was in high school," Mahomes said. "The Rangers made the World Series a couple of times, and so I got to see them lose, I think game five, against the Giants one year. And then I watched them lose, or maybe win the game that I was at when they went up against the Phillies, and they ended up losing in game six, and that ball on the warning track. So, I mean, I've had some close heartbreaks there with the Rangers, but the Royals are going to turn it around for me."
Mahomes found himself rooting for the Rangers in the World Series in 2023, but at that point, they were no longer his team. Now, he's hoping that the Royals can deliver an improbable run in the postseason, just a season after they had the second-worst record in baseball.
Royals vs. Yankees is also Mahomes vs. Dieter
The upcoming ALDS series has also had Mahomes at odds with former Chiefs WR Gehrig Dieter. A long-time Yankees fan, Dieter, said on 810 Sports Radio that he'd be hitting up his good pal Mahomes for some tickets to the game. Mahomes had the perfect reason to gift him some tickets to see his Yankees face off against the Royals when they're in Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium.
"Yeah, man, I'll let him be there," Mahomes quipped. "Because when we hopefully win, I'll get to talk trash. So, no, he's a big Yankees fan. I think if the Yankees lost this series, he might have to move cities. So, let's see if we can do that for him."
Dieter responded to the comments from No. 15 on X (formerly Twitter).
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