KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Former Royals infielder Christian Colón is a postseason legend for his heroics in the 2014 American League Wild Card Game and the 2015 World Series — and now, he’s back in Kansas City as an assistant coach with the Monarchs.
Colón’s 12th-inning RBI single to center field provided the game-winning run in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series — the series-clinching game — at Citi Field in Queens, New York.
It came in his only at-bat during the entire 2015 postseason, but it’s not his favorite career highlight with the Royals.
“I want to say it’s the World Series, right? But I think, I think it means more to me — the Wild Card Game — just because that's kind of where things turn around for us as an organization and as a group,” Colón said Thursday during an interview at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas.
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Kansas City ended a 29-year playoff drought in 2014 — hosting the Athletics in the Wild Card Game, a game in which the Royals trailed 7-3 midway through the fifth inning.
Terrance Gore had pinch-run for Billy Butler in the eighth inning, leading manager Ned Yost to scan his bench in the 10th inning and insert Colón as the designated hitter. That first at-bat, Colón laid down a sacrifice bunt.
Two innings later, it was a swinging bunt that scored Eric Hosmer from third base to tie the game. Colón stole second and scored the game-winning run later in the inning on Salvador Perez’s RBI single down the left-field line.
“It (the 2014 Wild Card Game) gave us that confidence that we needed for those two years to make that run,” Colón said. “Without Hosmer hitting that triple, nothing would have happened, but I was glad that I was able to come through, put the ball in play, and make some happen.”
The Royals ultimately came up short in the World Series that season, but Colón made something happen again a year later. His game-winning single ignited a five-run frame that put the game and series out of reach.
But Colón still doesn’t fully grasp his place in Royals postseason lore.
“Not really, because I'm still in this, and you get lost in the grind of everything and helping other guys achieve their goals,” Colón said. “Every once in a while, I get to thinking, and I have conversations with people, and you get to reminisce about those times. Just blessed — all I could say is we got put in a really good position by the front office.”
Now, Colón hopes to instill championship swagger and confidence in the Monarchs’ lineup as the team’s hitting coordinator after three seasons working in the minors for the Royals and Mariners.
He retired after the 2021 season before spending two seasons with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals as an assistant hitting coach in 2022 and a bench coach in 2023. He served as manager of Seattle’s Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers, last season.
The Kansas City Monarchs open the 2025 season Friday, May 9, at Legends Field in KCK.
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KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
