Baseball: Royals' Success Spawned In Northwest Arkansas

I know a salesman who attends games at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, even though he's not a big sports fan.

He goes mostly to entertain customers and show them a good time in an effort to gain their business. That's OK. The Northwest Arkansas Naturals want people in the seats, regardless of their motivation.

I just hope these sales people have paid some attention to the product on the field. If they have, they'll recognize many of the names competing this week in Major League Baseball's championship series.

There are 13 former Naturals on the 25-man roster for the Kansas City Royals, who won their fifth straight postseason playoff game Friday in Baltimore in game one of the best-of-seven series for the American League championship. Many have made significant contributions to the Royals, who've advanced to the postseason for the first time since 1985.

The list starts with Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson, who each played with the Naturals at some point in 2010. Danny Duffy and Kelvin Herrera also played for the Naturals in 2010, followed by Salvador Perez and Christian Colon in 2011 and Duffy and Colon again in 2012. Yordano Ventura arrived in 2013, and Brandon Finnegan played with the Naturals this year. Greg Holland was at Springdale in 2009, while Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Nori Aoki each made a pit-stops at Arvest Ballpark while on rehab assignment.

Although it's been painful to watch at times, the Royals decided to rebuild their team through the farm system under general manager Dayton Moore. That's contrary to the philosophy of some big-market teams such as the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

"The Royals have preached patience from the outset," said Justin Cole, Northwest Arkansas general manager, who's been with the organization for 11 years. "They drafted a lot of high school kids and got them in their farm system to polish them up. It's worked very well, and you're starting to see the results with what these guys are doing in the big leagues."

Winning is almost secondary to player development in the minor leagues. That's why fans will see a manager lift a pitcher with a no-hitter if he's reached a predetermined pitch limit. The goal is to get these guys in as many games as possible and help them reach their potential as professional ball players.

Few in the minors are better at this than former Northwest Arkansas manager Brian Poldberg, who spent the first six years with the Naturals. Poldberg has continued his success at Omaha, where the Storm Chasers finished as the Class AAA champions for the second consecutive year.

"Brian Poldberg's handprints are all over this," Cole said of the Royals' current success. "He's a veteran who's seen it all, and he knows how to handle players. He laid the foundation for this team in the six years he was here as the Naturals' manager."

Moustakas led a Northwest Arkansas team that won the Texas League championship in 2010. He made the all-star team after hitting .347 with 21 home runs and 76 RBIs. He's mostly struggled at the plate with the Royals, but he and Hosmer both hit clutch home runs in the series win over the Los Angeles Angels. He added a two-run home run Friday when Kansas City beat Baltimore 8-6 in 10 innings to begin the ALCS.

Moustakas was briefly demoted to Omaha this year, but the Royals refused to give up "Moose" by trading him midway through the season.

"A lot of fans were calling for the Royals to make some moves, but they liked what they had," Cole said.

There are plenty of reasons to attend minor league baseball games at Arvest Ballpark. The stadium is beautiful, there's activities for the kids and the prices are reasonable at the gate and concession stands.

Plus, if you pay attention, you'll see some young prospects destined to become household names in the big leagues.

RICK FIRES IS A SPORTSWRITER FOR NWA Media.

Sports on 10/12/2014

Upcoming Events