Rejoice, Royals fans: Rusty Kuntz returning as first base coach in 2016

After the dust settled and the Kansas City Royals had established themselves as World Series Champions, attention turned to one potential high-profile departure OTHER than left fielder Alex Gordon.

First base coach Rusty Kuntz, a fan favorite in K.C. ever since he originally took on the position in 2012, told MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan that GM Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost pretty much did all they could to convince him to return rather than retire:

Kuntz will return to his post at first base and resume working with the club's outfielders.

As for beyond 2016? Kuntz told Flanagan that he envisions his 'dream job' would be remaining with the Royals as some kind of roving instructor - the rigors of an on-field manager at the MLB level, he says, are rather demanding:

He went even more in-depth in detailing the day-to-day grind of being a first base coach/outfield instructor:

Challenging or not, Kuntz is up to the task for at least one more year with the Royals.