There’s been a lot of hype about the Kansas City Royals surprising start this season. As most Cardinals fans and blood-bound fans of the Royals know, the Kansas City club has struggled to reach .500 for more than a decade.

Looking for a fresh start, the franchise wants to revive the glory of the old days. So the club purchased a couple new shiny toys to tout:

New Manager Trey Hillman. New renditions of the retro powder-blue jerseys. A crystal-clear Jumbotron, the world’s largest HD screen. New young talent stepping up to play. New over-paid divas not living up to their contracts.

The club has resurrected the moth-balled powder-blues for aesthetic and nostalgic purposes and gave them a new twist as the team debuted them two weeks ago.

Hillman and first baseman Billy Butler helped hand out Butler’s replica jerseys to suit up the fans in matching fashion.

Fans literally pounced on the opportunity as the 20,000-plus jerseys were gone less than an hour after the gates opened.

Almost instantly, thousands of fans sported Butler’s number 16 on their backs. Unfortunately, a number of Twins fans also nabbed the jerseys, leaving sweet, innocent Royals children robbed of their powder-blue joy.

Thankfully,under Hillman’s sage-like counsel, the Royals have started making improvements as a ball club.

He encourages “small ball,” making sacrifices to advance runners, aggressively stealing bases, and hustling to stretch singles into doubles.

The Royals are now in the business of manufacturing runs. However, the team has made its share of early-season mistakes while learning the art of smart base-running.

Dependable batters have made poor decisions trying to squeeze a double out of a single. Much to their dismay, they’ve often met a grinning second baseman, with ball in glove.

Of course, on the other end, Joey Gathright, a constant threat on the base path routinely turns expected outs into singles and already has six steals in just 13 games, only getting caught once.

Hillman has offered fresh hope to Kansas City with his contagious, upbeat attitude. Royals fans are anxious to discover if the early success will carry throughout the season or if Hillman will have to renew Kansas City’s faith next year.

Author’s Note: This article was written when the Royals were two games above .500. Now, at print time, they are two games below .500, and trying to end a losing streak. “Believe.” We’ve still got around five months of ball left.