Royals assistant DeRenne to make MLB playoff debut

Major League Baseball's regular season came to a close on Monday, finalizing the playoff picture, which will feature two teams with ties to Hawaii.

A total of two players and two coaches with Hawaii connections will take part in the MLB postseason, all in the American League. The Cleveland Guardians feature rookie pitchers Joey Cantillo, a Kailua native, and UH alum Cade Smith, along with field coordinator Kai Correa from Hilo. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals have assistant hitting coach Keoni DeRenne, an Iolani graduate.

For DeRenne, this marks his first career postseason appearance. In his three years as Kansas City's assistant hitting coach, he has helped guide the club back to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

"Is it the icing on the cake? Right. I mean, there are so many different levels to baseball and what it has done for me that I'm so blessed," DeRenne said. "From the time I was in youth leagues to high school, college, playing professionally, coaching, and, you know, the epitome for sure is to experience anything at the major league level."

He added, "But for us to go and advance to the playoffs is truly something special. Considering where we were the last two years, flipping our 56-loss season last year and turning it 180 degrees, now we get a chance to play in the postseason. It's literally a dream come true, but it's because of a lot of people."

DeRenne and the Royals will face the Baltimore Orioles in a best-of-three Wild Card series starting Tuesday. The winner will face the New York Yankees in the next round.

The Guardians will take on the survivor of the Houston-Detroit series.

For a complete look at the MLB postseason bracket and schedule,.