San Francisco Giants’ Hunter Pence, left, and teammate Michael Morse, right, prepare for batting practice during a workout Monday, Oct. 27, 2014, in Kansas City, Mo. The Giants and Kansas City Royals are scheduled to play Game 6 of baseball’s World Series on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A 2-foot-tall image of deer in multicolored neon with a bulls-eye on its tail is affixed to a wall in the Kansas City Royals locker room. It hangs between the stalls of Aaron Crow and Tim Collins, and has a “W” underneath a crown.
Pitcher James Shields ordered it custom made, and after wins veterans select a “King of the Game” to flip the switch that lights up the so-called “Texas Heart Shot” while a smoke machine perched atop a refrigerator fills the room with a fog more befitting a night club than a clubhouse.
Trailing 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, the Royals hope to light up that sign two more times this week. But if they do come back to win their first title in 29 years, it’s unlikely there will be time for their usual clubhouse ceremony given the champagne-fueled chaos.
“I doubt it. It’s going to be crazy around here if we win both games,” outfielder Lorenzo Cain said Monday.
Kansas City turns to a 23-year-old rookie to save its season, but not just any 23-year-old rookie: the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in the major leagues.