NEW YORK -- For now, the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees can only hear about their past playoff battles, which only their respective managers were alive to witness. None of the current players are of age to recall the four times between 1976 and 1980 when Kansas City and New York met in the postseason. That will change Saturday, when the Yankees host the Royals to begin the best-of-five American League Division Series and rekindle a rivalry that has been smoldering for decades.
Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA regular season) will pitch for New York against fellow right-hander Michael Wacha (13-8, 3.35 ERA).
The renowned ALCS battles from years ago featured George Brett, Willie Wilson and Dennis Leonard starring for Kansas City against Yankees standouts Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson and Ron Guidry. The rivalry renews this year with Bobby Witt Jr. shining for the Royals against the New York power duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
"As a kid, Kansas City was another planet away for me," said second-year Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro, a native of Selkirk, N.Y. "That was out west.
They'd go out west, and they were tough games or whatever that kind of mentality." Wacha said he has learned to appreciate the rivalry even though he was born in 1991, more than a decade after the teams' most recent playoff matchup. "Definitely have seen some highlights over the past couple days once we knew the matchup," Wacha said.
"Yeah, it's great. It's great for the fans. To bring back th.