Kansas City Monarchs
One team stands in the way of the Milkmen’s dreams this season, and it’s one steeped in history and tradition. Once the Kansas City T-Bones, the club took on a new name in 2021, one etched in baseball history and crowded with legends: The Kansas City Monarchs.
Founded in 1920, the original Kansas City Monarchs are one of the Negro National League’s most famous clubs. They won the first-ever Negro National League World Series in 1924, won 10 pennants and beat MLB to night games by five years with portable lighting. Take a trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, and you’ll see the iconic KC logo everywhere, with names like Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks and Buck O’Neil. And while the team shut down in 1965, its legacy lives on in history books and stadiums across the country.
This Monarchs team is a loving tribute to the city’s past, shedding its meat-inspired team name for a more lore-shrouded one in 2021. A portion of the club’s proceeds go to protecting that history at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and they’ve continued on their winning ways, too, with four league titles since their T-Bones days in 2008 with the Northern League and then 2018, 2021 and 2023 with the AAPB.
They finished the regular season with the best record in the league (59-41), finishing only behind the Milkmen in runs allowed (483) and third in the league with runs scored (631), a potent combination when it comes to playoff baseball.
En route to the final, the Monarchs caged the Sioux Falls Canaries in a best-of-three series before clipping the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in a best-of-five Division Championship Series. They’re headlined by infielder Luken Baker (.336 batting average), Ryan Garcia (8-4 with a 3.10 ERA) and Jimmy Endersby (7-4 with a 3.84 ERA). Together, they’ll look to take their third title in five years.
