Samad Taylor gave the Royals a reminder of what could be — and his parents of what was

Samad Taylor stood a few feet outside the home dugout at Kauffman Stadium, as the man responsible for this venue’s reprieve from an onslaught of anguish, with his uniform drenched.

“I don’t remember anything,” he would say.

Fortunately, a teammate had taken care of that. Moments earlier, Bobby Witt Jr. sprinted to the center-field fence to ensure Taylor would have a baseball to forever help jog his memory.

But for now, in the aftermath of Taylor providing a walk-off hit in the Royals’ 10-9 comeback win against the Angels — his first career hit, by the way — Taylor’s attention turned elsewhere.

His parents.

He spotted them in the second-level of the Kauffman Stadium suites, held two arms in the air and pointed in their direction.

“Couldn’t be here without my parents,” he would say.

His dad had tried to live in the moment. If you haven’t seen his reaction, you should take a half-minute.

Couldn’t help it though.

“Everything just starts coming back into your head — from the kid in the backyard to this,” said Shehib Taylor, Samad’s father, visibly emotional during a conversation with The Star. “I can’t put that into freaking words.”

Shehib Taylor stepped into Kansas City fewer than 24 hours earlier, one of five who made the trip — Samad’s father, mother, sister, girlfriend and uncle comprised that group. It had been a journey to get here in time for Taylor’s debut — they live in Corona, California, and his uncle flew in from St. Louis. Mom took care of those arrangements.

Shehib, though, considered the other journey.

His son’s.

Samad had played baseball since the age of 3, he estimated, often the smallest guy on the field. They enrolled him in other sports and, at one point, some thought maybe it would be a better idea to continue to his speed on a soccer field.

But he just couldn’t quit baseball. Not then. Not after some ups and downs in Little League. And not after seven seasons in the minor leagues that too shared some peaks and valleys. At times, his family wondered if the grind would ever have its payoff.

And then came Saturday.

“To see that now, and how he just finished that game,” Shehib Taylor said, “I’m trying to give you a quote, but I can’t put it into freaking words.”

The Royals trailed by six at one point. Even manager Matt Quatraro acknowledged the dugout felt more like, “Here we go,” and he left out one word:

Again.

The Royals had lost 10 straight, and on Saturday afternoon, they were hoisting their newest player in the air on the field, then throwing every food item in the kitchen on him as part-celebration, part-inauguration.

Taylor started his MLB debut in left. Thought he might have collected his first career hit in the middle innings, but a review showed his liner down the third-base line to be just inches foul.

His game-winner in the ninth traveled 401 feet in the air, one of those that left no doubt what had happened.

“He’s a 5-foot-8 giant,” his uncle, Orlando Askins, quipped.

Taylor had his moment. And at long last, the Royals had one too.

Look, it’s been a trying season — to date, the most trying season in this organization’s history, and that’s not for a lack of competition.

Taylor provided a snapshot of what can make this game great, despite all of its frustrations. Nay, because of all its frustrations.

The trickle-down effect of one swing left his family on the verge of tears. He and his family met on the field about half an hour after the game, with Samad and Shehib squeezing tightly on a hug that it seemed neither of them wanted to end.

But Taylor also provided a reminder of what this all could be. A reminder of this city’s starvation for more days like this — he took the plate to a crowd chanting from its collective feet. And, yes, a reminder of what has not been.

Who knows if this will propel anything in these Royals — the standings show that would be against the grain — but, man, these kinds of afternoons have been missing. Even in the doldrums of 19-51, there need to be at least flashes that brighter days could follow.

Taylor was at the center of one Saturday, but not the entire story. A collection of young guys were not just involved in the comeback, they comprised its conclusion.

The Royals trailed 8-2. Tied it at 8. Trailed 9-8 in the ninth. And, well, maybe it’s best if we just reconstruct the bottom of the ninth.

Edward Olivares blooped a single to left before giving way to pinch-runner Dairon Blanco, whose MLB experience consists of four more days than Taylor’s 48 hours. Blanco immediately stole second and then catapulted to third when the throw shot into center field. On a seven-pitch at-bat, rookie Maikel Garcia singled him home to tie the game. Garcia stole second and moved to third on Nicky Lopez’s bunt.

That set up Taylor.

Quatraro remarked at how calm he appeared, but the truth is Taylor would joke he blacked out on the way to home plate.

If only he’d known what awaited.