Former Mets GM Sandy Alderson Has Spot-On Take About 2015 World Series Loss to Royals

The 2015 New York Mets made an exciting run to the World Series that featured a 3-2 NLDS victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS. The team was stacked with talent, including in the rotation, and was back in the World Series for the first time since 2000.

The Kansas City Royals won the American League pennant for a second straight year and opened up the Fall Classic at home. The result was a nail-biting 5-4 Game 1 victory for the Royals that ended in the 14th inning. Kansas City got it to extras with one run in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a blown save by Jeurys Familia. Former Mets GM Sandy Alderson believes that game swung the entire series.

The Mets had the game wrapped up until Jeurys Familia blew the save in the ninth. New York couldn't steal a game on the road and the result was a 4-1 series loss.

A Game 1 would have changed everything as the Mets would have returned home with a 1-1 series split as the worst-case scenario. The team would've also had the chance to take the series in New York, and that would have easily boosted morale.

Losing Game 1 in such dramatic fashion was followed by a 7-1 Royals victory that sent the Mets home in an early 2-0 hole. The team did take Game 3 at home, but instead of being up 2-1 they were down by that margin and a Game 4 loss essentially ended all hope.

It's easy to forgot how fast a seven-game series can swing in any sport. Game 1 is especially crucial and one blown save may have cost the Mets their first title since 1986.