The baseball story of 2014 will be defined by some of the names we expected to hear — there was Derek Jeter and A-Rod and Clayton Kershaw. But there were even more that surprised us — the Kansas City Royals, Hank the Dog, 50 Cent, and the all-too-soon loss of Tony Gwynn. As we prepare to flip our calendars to 2015, Big League Stew is here with our annual look back at the year that was in baseball, from Madison Bumgarner's legendary postseason performance to Mo'Ne Davis' sizzling summer. We thank you, once again, for following the biggest stories and oddest moments right here on Big League Stew. We'll hope you do the same in 2015 because, as you might know, pitchers and catchers report in 51 days. Previous best of Big League Stew retrospectives : 2013 , 2012 , 2011 , 2010 , 2009 , 2008 * * * STORY OF THE YEAR (ON THE FIELD) The Kansas City Royals end playoff drought, then go all the way to the World Series. Fans of the San Francisco Giants will surely dispute this, but the Kansas City Royals were the story of the 2014 baseball season. A team that had long been a punchline rebounded by playing its own brand of baseball, and advanced to the playoffs for the first time in...