At a quarter to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, less than three hours after his team clinched the American League pennant, the manager of the Kansas City Royals left Kauffman Stadium in search of dinner. Ned Yost piloted his family toward the Capitol Grille on the Country Club Plaza. Awaiting him was a reception he had neither expected nor ever before experienced.

Before Yost could dine on steak, lobster mac and cheese and French fries, he feasted on a wave of adulation.

The reaction was immediate, intense and emblematic of the good feeling inspired by the team’s berth in the World Series.

Once upon a time, Yost used a fake name at Starbucks to avoid recognition. Now he cannot dodge it.

“I walked in, and the whole place went nuts,” Yost said. “I mean, everybody came out of the bar, everybody came out of their seat in the dining area. We just couldn’t get past that desk there. We were high-fiving, hugging, taking pictures. It was a tremendous experience.”

The evening called for a victory lap. The Royals have stormed through October, with eight victories in eight playoff games, the only team ever to complete that feat.

They bounced the Orioles out of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday and ignited a celebration that swept both east and west across the plains.

The next morning, Yost rose before the sun.

By 6 a.m. he was on the phone with his close friend Jeff Foxworthy.

And his boss, general manager Dayton Moore, was up at 4:45 a.m. There was business to attend to, even as a city and region woke up from the hangover induced by this baseball club.

When the Royals clinched a berth in the American League Wild Card Game on Sept. 26, they ended the longest postseason drought in the major North American sports. When they recovered from a four-run deficit against Oakland in the play-in game, they infused themselves with a confidence that has yet to waver. The victory over the Athletics ignited this unprecedented winning streak.

So much has changed in these two weeks.

Once lampooned for their lack of offensive firepower, the Royals now receive garlands for their defense. The Wall Street Journal branded Yost as a “dunce” before this series started.