Why KC Royals newcomer Pham could provide needed lift: ‘Tommy has the experience’

Tommy Pham doesn’t need a GPS to navigate the postseason. He was there just 11 months ago with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pham, 36, was a key part of Arizona’s run to the World Series. He batted .279 with three home runs, four RBIs and a .772 OPS (on-base plus slugging) in 16 postseason games.

Now, Pham is aiming to make another trip to the postseason. Only this time, if things break right, it’ll be with the Kansas City Royals ... whom he said remind him of the D’Backs.

“It does pick you up,” Pham said of joining the Royals. “I’m looking forward to playing with these guys because watching and playing against them, I feel like they can help me. Believe it or not, I feel like they are going to help me more than everyone realizes.”

Pham is a seasoned 11-year veteran. He has traversed the league and picked up a few things from different organizations along the way.

The Royals, however, present a unique challenge. KC hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2015 season and sought out veterans like Pham to provide some guidance.

Pham’s intensity and passion are hallmarks of his forthright personality. But every veteran can learn new tricks of the trade.

Pham believes the Royals can help rekindle a spark deep inside himself.

“Playing the game harder and with fun,” Pham said of what he can learn. “When I got to the D’Backs I would run down the line like 70%, and playing on the D-Backs I’m like, ‘I’ve got to go 100%.’

“You know, all these guys are flying down the bases and flying around the bases. So it’s little stuff like that. It’s just the reiteration.”

The Royals play with a similar relentlessness. Comparing this year’s KC club to last season’s Diamondbacks, however, they’re really quite different. Pham nonetheless believes they share a trait that’s a prerequisite for doing something magical, like making a postseason run.

“This team (the Royals) creates all kinds of problems,” he said. “And the pitching staff, we have the starters to make a run. As I just saw recently, they have added some pieces in the bullpen to help solidify games.

“So we could really surprise some people, but we’ve got to stay focused and get in (to the playoffs). We’ve got to win some ballgames.”

The Royals are in the thick of the American League playoff race. They hold a sizable lead in the AL Wild Card standings over the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers.

The AL Central crown is not out of reach, but the Royals would need a strong finish to catch the Cleveland Guardians.

Pham arrived last week alongside fellow in-season veteran acquisitions Robbie Grossman and Yuli Gurriel. All three men would be eligible for the postseason.

Pham drew interest from the Royals at the trade deadline. It’s clear the organization valued his maverick characteristics. He brings an edge that can fuel a team for long stretches.

The Royals hope to lean into Pham’s leadership over the next several weeks, and perhaps longer. He admittedly hates to lose and that mentality is necessary when games matter most.

“If I could get 27 more guys on the team to hate losing like me and bring more of a winning culture,” he said, “that can be very beneficial for us in this race.”

The Royals slumped to open the month of September. Before Wednesday’s win against the Guardians in a series finale at Kauffman Stadium, they were mired in a seven-game losing streak.

Pham remained productive through the cold spell. He has ascended the Royals’ lineup and provided consistent at-bats. On Wednesday, his three-run homer drove in three of the Royals’ four runs.

It was his first home run with the organization.

“Tommy has the experience,” Royals teammate Paul DeJong said. “He’s got the heart, he’s got the hustle and he knows how to play the game. He wants to win, he wants to play every day and he wants to do well for our team. And, that’s all you can really ask for.”

Pham has played for nine different teams in his career. He played alongside DeJong with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox.

He was also part of the Tampa Bay organization when current Royals manager Matt Quatraro and bench coach Paul Hoover were on manager Kevin Cash’s Rays coaching staff.

The familiarity there could be another boon for the Royals.

“Tommy’s super competitive and he is a great worker,” Quatraro said. “When he sees how hard these guys work and how they prepare, there is not going to be like, ‘Oh you need to follow what I do.’ They do that stuff already and I think he is going to be really happy with what he sees.”

The Royals have 21 games left. They’ve been knocking on the door of the postseason and Pham was summoned to help kick it in.

That’s exactly what he plans to do.

“Playoff baseball is special,” he said. “I think whenever guys get a taste of it, you just want to go back. Just want to be back in the postseason. Because once you get in, as you saw last year with the D’Backs, anything can really happen.”

The Royals have stood outside waiting to get in for eight years. Pham and KC’s other baseball veterans — both longtime Royals and more recently acquired ones — are determined to end that drought.

“I just want to bring some consistency and help this team win as bad as possible,” Pham said.