One of the most tiresome things often heard in the last decade is that baseball needs a salary cap. This season should shut those critics up for a long time.

Think about it. Even before the postseason started, the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies all missed the playoffs. Earlier Sunday, the Baltimore Orioles reached the American League Championship Series for the first time since 1997.

Sunday night, the Kansas City Royals continued this unbelievable postseason, making it to the ALCS for the first time since 1985.

Now tell me again: Why does baseball need to shut the game down for a year when it already has a tremendous amount of parity?

The Royals have slowly built to this for several years. Ever since general manager Dayton Moore convinced owner David Glass to start investing in the farm system and scouting, the Royals have been among the teams to watch. Like any team that operates in fits and starts, however, the Royals took two steps back with every step forward.

This season, the Royals finally moved forward. If it wasn’t the rock-solid pitching of James Shields, the dependable bullpen that included closer Greg Holland, or sure-fire defense led by catcher Salvador Perez, it was the hitting.

Like with any team that plays out of the media spotlight, players like Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon are finally finding their way to the national spotlight. The Royals just swept the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in three straight games to set up what should be an ALCS to remember.

Sure, the critics will say this can’t last. Shields is likely gone after this season to free agency. Who’s to say the Royals may not make a run at him? The extra revenue from this postseason will spill over to much bigger crowds in 2015. And even if Shields takes off for “greener” pastures, what’s to say another pitcher might tell his agent that he wants to play in Kansas City?

There was a time when George Brett played for the Royals that Kansas City was a destination city. The Royals were rock-solid from the mid-1970s up to around 1990 before the team took a few steps backward.

Another era of success might be around the corner. Kauffman Stadium was rocking Sunday night when the Royals clinched the ALDS win over Los Angeles. No one wants to wake up in Kansas City. For once, the spotlight isn’t on the Kansas City Chiefs.

This is a baseball town. The Royals are living a dream.