For most of the 17 years that Ryan Lefebvre has called Kansas City Royals games, the team was predictably lousy. But their unexpectedly fast ascent to play in last year’s World Series and their 28-18 start this season have added a missing dimension.

“The feel in the ballpark is different,” he said Tuesday at Yankee Stadium before the second game of a three-game series, which was ultimately swept by the Yankees. “Fred White, who preceded me and broadcast the games during the glory years, used to say when you’re broadcasting in front of a sellout crowd, it’s like playing with an orchestra.”

He added, “The buzz of the crowd adds so much to the broadcast.”

The Royals are drawing more fans to Kauffman Stadium (up 57 percent, to an average of 31,815 a game). And larger audiences are watching the games on Fox Sports Kansas City: The number of households watching has more than doubled, to 113,000 a game.

At the same point of the season five years ago, only 28,000 were watching.

But now, the Royals’ ratings are ranked No. 1 in baseball, although the size of the Kansas City market means that its viewership is ranked lower.