As the Royals celebrated the American League pennant, their first since 1985, Alex Gordon and Billy Butler, after spending countless years imagining this moment, couldn’t quite believe it.

Lorenzo Cain’s hot bat and clutch defense earned the Royals’ center fielder the American League Championship Series MVP Award on Wednesday.

Royals president Dan Glass sounded the theme for ownership and the club’s front office: “We couldn’t have done it without the fans. That’s where it all starts from. It’s time to celebrate.” His father, owner David Glass, realizes that Kansas City fans have waited a long time for the American League pennant won on Wednesday.

The Royals will face either the Cardinals or Giants, who remain embroiled in a hotly contested National League Championship Series, on Tuesday in Game 1 of the World Series at Kauffman Stadium.

The 2014 Royals are making defense cool again. They don’t just excel at it; they embrace it, revel in it and salivate at the opportunity to take away hits. They proved it, once again, throughout their American League Championship Series sweep of the Orioles.

It has been a magical run, as manager Ned Yost’s Royals reeled off their eighth straight victory in this postseason, edging the Orioles, 2-1, on Wednesday in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series to advance to the club’s first World Series since 1985. Here’s five reasons they won the AL pennant.

Within Kansas City’s first four hitters in the first, it grabbed a two-run lead on Wednesday in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series. The manner in which the runs scored embodied the head-scratching way the Royals managed to produce runs this season: infield single, hit by pitch, sacrifice bunt and a fielder’s choice.

After pulling out yet another nail-biter in Game 4 to sweep the Orioles in the ALCS, the Royals let loose on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium, celebrating the club’s first trip to the World Series since 1985.

A twisting slide at second base allowed outfielder Hunter Pence to steal a bag in the fifth inning of the Giants’ 6-4 win in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday, despite Cardinals catcher A.J. Pierzynski’s throw beating him to the spot. Second-base umpire Bill Miller called Pence safe, and the call was confirmed after a review.

The Royals earned their first trip the World Series since 1985 with a 2-1 victory at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday to sweep the Orioles in the American League Championship Series

The Royals — on this stage for the first time in 29 years — are the first team in history to start the postseason with eight straight wins, topping the seven amassed by the 1976 Reds and 2007 Rockies.

Statcast technology illustrated just how Alex Gordon made an incredible catch in left field during the Royals’ 2-1 win against the Orioles in Game 4 of the ALCS on Wednesday.

The Royals clinched their first World Series berth in 29 years on Wednesday as they finished off their AL Championship Series sweep of the Orioles with a 2-1 victory. Here is a look at some of the more intriguing facts to come out of Game 4.

Once their beloved Royals — their hometown team — had advanced to the American League Championship Series, there was simply no way Naftali and Yoni Schwartz were going to miss Games 3 and 4 at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals moved within one win of a World Series berth on Tuesday night with a 2-1 triumph over the Orioles in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. Here is a look at some of the more intriguing facts to come out of Game 3.

When Major League Baseball announced its new Pace of Game Committee, Tuesday night’s Arizona Fall League contest between the Surprise Saguaros and the Salt River Rafters that lasted two hours, 14 minutes may have been exactly the type of game it was envisioning.

Here’s a breakdown of the starting pitchers for Game 4 of the American League Championship Series today between the Royals’ Jason Vargas and the Orioles’ Miguel Gonzalez.