Former Royals player shoots down cheating insinuation

An author on baseball statistics implied Kansas City was among the first teams to use videotape to gain an unfair advantage on the baseball diamond during the team's World Series runs of 2014 and 2015. A former Royals catcher denied the insinuation, and the author has subsequently apologized.

June 18, 2021 - 2:49 PM

Pitcher Wade Davis, right, of the Kansas City Royals is congratulated by catcher Erik Kratz won a game in 2015. Photo by Jamie Squire / Getty Images / TNS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ryan M. Spaeder caused quite a stir among Royals fans on Wednesday.

Spaeder, who co-authored the book, “Incredible Baseball Stats: The Coolest Stats and Facts In Baseball History,” shared a message on Twitter that insinuated the Royals cheated during their 2015 World Series championship season.

According to a biographer for that book, Spaeder is “one of the leading baseball researchers in alternative media.”

Spaeder wrote on Twitter: “The Royals were the first team with a full analytics and video department close by their dugout, doing so in 2015, their World Series Championship year. How they used it, I do not know.”

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