In case you missed it yesterday, the Royals traded 1B/DH Brandon Moss to the Oakland A’s. The Royals, by doing so, removed the only true first baseman from their roster and saved $5M in cap space to boot. The move had rumors swirling, not just for the excitement of bringing back two cheap pitchers with upside, but because…Eric Hosmer is coming back to Kansas City…right?

Yes, I fully believe that Eric Hosmer will return to the Royals and no I do not have any insider information. This was a forgone conclusion to me on October 1, 2017. You see I had predicted the same result for Alex Gordon just two years earlier. Nearly all of Royals nation was elated when Gordon resigned with the Royals with a contract that could lead to him being a one team player by the time he retires. I believe the same thing will happen with Eric Hosmer too.

It’s 2015 and the Royals are in the midst of a run to the playoffs that will eventually lead them to winning the World Series. Once the World Series ends a homegrown hero is about to go into free agency and may not return to wear a Royals uniform ever again. He also happened to be one of the favorite players of myself and my son.

We had followed Alex Gordon’s baseball career since his college days at the University of Nebraska. The season was coming to an end and the Royals were playing their last home series before finishing the season on the road. It was a September 27, 2015 featuring the Indians at the Royals for their last home game of the season. It was the game where Chris Young started and pitched 5 innings of no hit baseball the day after his father died. The Royals also set a franchise attendance record that day with the final tally of 2,708,549 baseball fans for the season. In the bottom of the 7^th Alex Gordon came up to bat against Ryan Webb with Jarrod Dyson was on second. Gordon swung at Webbs first pitch sending it to the right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall while Dyson came home to score. That happened to be Gordons 1,134th career hit and 520^th career RBI, all having come with the Royals.

The special thing with this ball is that if Gordon did not comeback to the Royals it would be his last hit and RBI as a Royals player at Kaufman Stadium. I knew that if I had a chance to get that ball I would and thanks to Royals Authentic’s I was able to obtain the ball and add it to my collection. Later on he signed a huge deal with the Royals and Royals nation celebrated.

Alex Gordon’s last regular season hit and RBI ball at Kaufman Stadium on September 27, 2015.  A Single to right field and career hit #1134.

Fast forward two years later, it‘s the last weekend of the regular season and the Royals are out of playoff race. We as a fan base are in the midst of saying goodbye to some of the most popular and important players in Royals history and I was there with my son doing just that. On Saturday September 30, 2017 Eric Hosmer came up in the bottom of the 4^th against Arizona’s Taijuan Walker with Lorenzo Cain on first base. He hit Walkers third pitch to left fielder David Peralta sending Cain to second base. This would be Hosmer’s only hit of the game and the 1,131st hit of his career. The next day on October 1, 2017 after the fans in the stadium had given him a standing ovation he went to the plate and ripped a home run over the left field fence giving the Royals a 1-0 lead. It was a magical moment for the entire stadium and for those watching on TV or listening on the radio.

In an interview after the game Mike Moustakas, who was up after Hosmer, said he had tears in his eyes and could hardly see the pitches while he was batting. What a fitting ending that a home run would be Hosmer’s last hit of the season and possibly the last of his career with the Royals. What a way to go out. When his home run ball landed in the stands a lucky fan only a couple rows in front of me caught it. This is not what ties these two events together though and is not why I believe Hosmer is coming back to Kansas City.

The thing that makes me believe Eric Hosmer will be back is, thanks to Royals Authentics, I was able to get the ball Hosmer hit on September 30^th. That ball possibly signifies Hosmer’s last authenticated hit of his Royals career. In whatever stroke of luck was out there I was in the right place at the right time to get the last authenticated hits of both these players before they became free agents.

Eric Hosmer’s last authenticated hit ball of 2017 from September 30, 2017.  A single to left field and career hit #1131.

That is why I believe that Hosmer is destined to be a member of the Royals in 2018 and beyond. It is nothing scientific. It is not based on insider information. I do not have a friend of a friend who knows Hosmers cousins, neighbors, barber who was given any information. All I have are two baseballs with a similar story to tell. In the end I believe that those stories will end the same way except I hope Hosmer is able to hit better than Alex Gordon has after his big contract.