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(479) 927-4900

KANSAS CITY ROYALS RELEASE ROSTER FOR WILD CARD GAME

13 former Naturals on Royals 25-man roster for first playoff game since 1985
By Naturals PR Department
September 30, 2014

Led by starting pitcher James Shields, acquired, along with Wade Davis, by the Kansas City Royals in December 2012 for former Northwest Arkansas Naturals Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery, the "Kings" of Kansas City take the field at Kauffman Stadium against the Oakland Athletics tonight for their first playoff game since winning the World Series 29 years ago. While tonight's starter Shields has never played for the Naturals, 13 members of the Royals 25-man roster for the tonight's Wild Card Game have called Arvest Ballpark home at one point in their careers.

Of the 13 players on tonight's roster, some have past playoff history with the Oakland Athletics. In 2009 the Naturals lost to the Athletics Double-A Affiliate, the Midland Rockhounds, in the Texas League Championship Series. Current Royals closer Greg Holland saved eight games for the Naturals in 2009, while Royals outfielder Alex Gordon made his lone appearance with the Naturals during a rehab assignment in July of 2009. Outfielder Jarrod Dyson played with the team throughout the season, and would eventually face Athletics' third baseman, then Midland catcher, Josh Donaldson in the Championship Series. Donaldson played with Midland through the 2009 season, before debuting with Oakland in 2010. He earned a trip to the 2014 MLB All-Star Game this season, and finished fourth in AL MVP voting in 2013. 

One year later, Dyson, along with third baseman Mike Moustakas, first baseman Eric Hosmer and LHP Danny Duffy each played with the Naturals at some point in 2010 during their Texas League Championship run, in which they defeated Midland. After Duffy picked up a victory in game one of the series by allowing only two earned runs in five innings, Hosmer hit a go-ahead two run home run in game three of the series to give the Naturals a one game lead over Midland, which they would later win in four games.

In addition to Myers, Odorizzi and Montgomery used to acquire key pieces on the Royals' playoff roster, former Natural Will Smith was traded this past offseason to the Milwaukee Brewers for current Royals starting outfielder Norichika Aoki. He earned the final victory in the 2010 Texas League Championship with 6.2 shutout innings against Midland. Aoki made a brief rehab appearance with the Naturals this season.

Following 2009 and 2010, MLB Gold Glove and All-Star catcher Salvador Perez, joined by infielder Christian Colon, RHP Kelvin Herrera made their Naturals debuts in 2011. Lorenzo Cain made a rehab appearance with the Naturals in 2012, while RHP Yordano Ventura, coined "Ace" Ventura during his time in Northwest Arkansas, broke on to the scene in 2013. Then in 2014, after the Royals selected him in the first round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, LHP Brandon Finnegan made eight appearances with the Naturals this season.

In the opposing dugout tonight, the Oakland Athletics feature 11 former Texas League players, including 2014 Midland Rockhound Billy Burns and 2009 Texas League Champion Donaldson.

Season 8 of Naturals baseball will begin with a six-game road trip to Midland and Frisco before returning to Arvest Ballpark for their home opener on Thursday, April 16 against the Midland RockHounds (Double-A Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics). 

The Season 8 promotional schedule, game times and other details on discounted ticket plans as well as group information will be made available throughout the off-season. For any questions regarding our 2015 season, please give us a call at (479) 927-4900.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.

-Naturals-