Time to move on, Royals fans

Phil Cobb

When Kansas City Royals leftfielder and World Series hero Alex Gordon became a free agent at the end of the 2015 season, my first reaction was, “Thanks for the memories, Alex. See you later. Let’s move on to the next crop of great Royals players.”

Then when Dayton Moore unexpectedly signed Gordon to a four-year deal, I let my emotions get the best of me and I got on board with what felt good at the time.

Man, I wish I would have stuck with my original thought, because I could have looked really smart right now, with the Royals still owing $44 million over two years to a player who only recently separated himself from the Mendoza line.

So, here we are again … on a much larger scale.

Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar and Jason Vargas all become free agents at the end of what has been a huge disappointment of a season.

We all love these guys, right?

We all remember all the errant throws Hoz has salvaged at first base, all the picks in the dirt, the clutch hits, the mad dash home in the World Series … the hair.

And who can forget all the diving catches by Cain, the 22-miles-per-hour sprints from first to home, the lean-back homers, the Instagram videos with Salvy?

Let’s talk about Moose and the magical run toward breaking — tying? — the franchise homerun record, the rifle arm from behind the bag, the 5-4-3 double plays, the Moose calls, the Moose antlers, the Moose-mobile.

And for how much Ned Yost overrated Escobar offensively, I believe he was equally underappreciated — at least outside Kauffman Stadium — for his elite defense. He made plays on balls that most shortstops just would have watched. We’ll remember Esky for all the pirouettes in short center to make a play at first, the jump-throws from behind Moose to a stretched-out Hoz for the 6-3 putout. Remember the time he was shifted over behind second base and sprinted all the way to foul territory past third base to make a sliding catch of a pop fly?

These guys have provided us with a lifetime of memories.

For crying out loud, they went to two World Series … and won one after we didn’t even sniff the postseason for 29 years.

They took us from being ecstatic that we almost made the playoffs in 2013 to being disappointed that we almost made the playoffs in 2016 and 2017.

Remember when we felt like we won the title any time we got above .500?

Remember when the most exciting news of the season was whoever was being called up in September?

Remember when we didn’t even think about questioning the in-game moves of the manager, because it didn’t really matter anyway?

That was an actual period of time that we all lived through.

This team changed us.

This team may have very well saved us as a fan base.

It certainly bred an entirely new generation of Royals fans.

And now we find ourselves on the backside of historically what is probably the second-best era in team history.

So, where do we go from here?

I think we should do what any maturing franchise should do — build on what we have … and move forward.

If we get only one thing from the Gordon contract, let it be the knowledge that the peek years of even the best professional athletes are fleeting.

We got the best years out of these players, it’s time to find the next LoCain, the next Hoz, the next Moose, the next Esky.

And it’s not like we are casting these players to the curb.

They will all make a lot of money elsewhere.

They might even have a number of good years for other teams.

That’s okay.

Don’t be surprised if Moose hits 50 homers for the San Francisco Giants next season.

Don’t be surprised if Hoz hoists a World Series trophy in a Yankees uniform, while in the early stages of a 7-year, $200 million contract.

If we want to experience the type of magic we experienced from 2013 through 2015, it’s not going to come from this bunch.

We have to accept that and move on.

The Royals need to develop a new core, not unlike this one, that has the energy to overcome the odds faced by a small-market team.

Give me nine Whit Merrifields … and spend the $200 million it would have taken to sign Hosmer on pitching.

Personally, I’m looking forward to the next phase.

I hope a good percentage of newly created Royals fans will join me through the rebuilding process.

We’ll still have familiar faces to cheer for in the meantime — Salvy, Gordo, Duffy, Two-hit Whit.

The way I see it, the team can spend a whole bunch of money and end up with more of what we’ve had the past two years or it can get busy making the next great Royals team.

Phil Cobb is the owner and publisher of the Maryville Daily Forum and The Post.