Some might argue that any proclaimed connection between the Monarchs and the Royals is a little forced. The Monarchs, after all, were an all-black team (although their owner, J. L. Wilkinson, was white). The Royals have only three African-American players, although that is a lot by current major league standards. And all three — Lorenzo Cain, Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore — are among the most dangerous base runners on the team.

Image Kansas City and Hillsdale before the opening game of the 1924 Negro leagues series. Credit... J.EGladstone Collection, Library of Congress

In fact, Dyson, who had a team-leading 36 stolen bases this season, and Cain, his fellow outfielder, who had 28, are two of the reasons Kansas City led the majors in that category in 2014. And the Royals did not stop running when the postseason began. When they beat Oakland, 9-8, in that memorable 12-inning wild-card game, they tied a postseason single-game record with seven steals. One of those seven was Dyson’s do-or-die theft of third base in the bottom of the ninth that allowed the Royals to tie the score on a sacrifice fly.

“You have to have great athletes to pull off this style of play, and the Negro league teams in that era had access to some great athletes,” said Kendrick, who noted that Dyson and Cain had visited the museum. “But you also have to have a manager who has confidence enough in his players to let them play their game.”

That would be Ned Yost, who has managed the Royals since May 2010. On Monday, Yost acknowledged that he lets his players pick their spots to run, that he lets them be as bold as Robinson once was.

“This might shock some people, but I don’t think I’ve put a steal sign on all year,” he said. “All of our running is green-light stuff.”

He added: “I get a bunch of criticism on bunting too much, but probably over half of the bunts we put on, they’ve done themselves. It’s the ability to let players have the freedom to play the game, especially when they’re good. We play to win, not to play safe, not to cover our tails. We play to win. The players having the freedom to do that has been very successful for us.”