By Sean Perryman on October 23, 2014 at 9:35am
It seems that what started as a fun past-time turned into an addiction for much of the Kansas City Royals baseball team. After starting the season at the top of their division, a seemingly sudden drop in performance around the halfway mark left the coaching staff puzzled.
First base coach Rusty Kuntz was disheartened when he walked into the visitors clubhouse after the July 20 game against the Boston Red Sox (an especially disappointing loss for the Royals), he saw most of the team with the heads buried in their iPads playing "Clash of Clans." Though this had seemingly been a common scene for the last few months, after playing the way they did that night, he took it especially hard.
"At that time, in that situation, it’s really disappointing,” said Kuntz. “You just got to a point where you go, ‘What’s the priority here? Is this just three hours out of your time, spent away from what you’re actually being interested in?'"
To their credit, the players were able to overcome this challenge without sacrificing the rest of their season. The players held a meeting and decided as a team to re-prioritize and get their heads back in the game. They started by minimizing their iPad play sessions and vowed to focus on playing baseball again.
The Royals finished off their season strong, going undefeated in the playoffs and fighting their way to the World Series. They have a hard battle ahead of them: facing the formidable San Francisco Giants. If the last few months has shown us anything about the Kansas City Royals, it's that they are a team that can really turn it around.
Kansas City Star
