No one can cast stones at Royals owner Glass' house any more

Now, the man long denounced as most responsible for the mess stood back from a delirious celebration at once-barren Kauffman, the place to be in Kansas City as the Royals lead the New York Mets 2-0 in the World Series.

In the matchup of Wall Street vs. the former Wal-Mart president's men, Glass now is fixated not on the novelty of all this but the civic duty to atone -- atone! -- for his once-inept franchise falling short in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series against San Francisco.

He still hasn't gotten over that game, Glass likes to say.

"Didn't quite finish; hopefully we can do a little better this year," he said, adding that he really wants "one of those trophies with the little flags on it, the round one."

As he inhaled the moment and allowed as how it felt "a little bit unreal," as if on cue a moment later along came one-man swarm Mike Sweeney, the exuberant Royals Hall of Famer whose rotten luck it was to play here during the tortured years.

"I've got to give him a hug!" Sweeney said as he closed in. "Mr. Glass, yeah, buddy! Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Congratulations. I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

Considering the celebration around them on the field and in the stands, Sweeney added, "Look at all this! That's because of you and what you've done here. Thank you!"

All of this would have seemed a preposterous vision not long ago.

But all of it also is testimony to a central redemptive message in the Royals' revival.

Glass changed and grew and probed what's possible and maybe even reinvented himself some, depending on just how you interpret his first years of ownership.

Even if the man formerly labeled a tightwad likely wouldn't put it that radically, at least in part because he initially was gridlocked in this enterprise by having to execute the terms of Ewing Kauffman's charitable trust, it's clear that Glass' commitment to winning changed when he hired Dayton Moore as general manager in 2006.

It can't be overstated, first of all, how astute the decision was to hire Moore, who not only has contoured a team to a stadium but to a community by prioritizing character as well as talent.

That has come to pass because in the process of recruiting Moore, Glass acquiesced to numerous conditions for him taking the job, including revitalizing the Royals' dormant Latin American operations and intensifying and expanding scouting overall.

Most of all, though, Glass was called upon to trust Moore's judgment, which helps account for an offseason free-agent spending spree of about $55 million for Edinson Volquez, Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios.

That burst alone for contracts of various lengths was $20 million more than the Royals' entire payroll in 2011 and made for a 2015 opening day payroll around $120 million -- once-unfathomable numbers for this market under Glass' leadership.

In addition to cultivating a homegrown nucleus, Moore was enabled to make a series of trades that have borne fruit, including sending Wil Myers to Tampa Bay for James Shields and Wade Davis and Zack Greinke to Milwaukee for Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, the last two ALCS MVPs.

"When I see Zack," Glass said, smiling, "I'm going to thank him for being a good enough talent that we could get those pieces."

More seriously, he added, "The real gratifying thing is Dayton had a plan when he came in and stuck to the plan even though he got beat up a lot (and when people said) 'do some of the short-term things to make us better right now.' "

It isn't just Glass and Moore, of course, who have emerged from cynicism and adversity.

For a long time, manager Ned Yost was mocked as a doofus whose mere presence was sabotaging the team.

Now, aided by his willingness to loosen up with his players and trust his own coaching staff, he's won the most games by any manager in franchise history and is set to manage the American League All-Star team for a second straight year.

He also is on a remarkable roll of hunching things to ... just ... work ... out, like the Wade Davis win last Friday night based on a decision process about the weather that apparently included a Farmer's Almanac and possibly an Ouija board.

The Royals have become this phenomenon in part because their collective personality and game eclipses the sum of even their considerable parts.

But if you get right down to it, virtually to a man, they, too, are a study in transformations.

Gold Glove left fielder Alex Gordon had to recondition himself from being a third baseman after reaching the big leagues, peerless reliever Davis was a flawed starter and catcher Sal Perez was a flop as an infielder at a tryout in Venezuela when an instructor suggested he try going behind the plate.

Cain didn't play baseball until his junior year of high school, and Ben Zobrist was done with the game after his senior year of high school before he used $50 of birthday money to go to a tryout camp that changed everything.

Third baseman Mike Moustakas was demoted to Class AAA Omaha in 2014, and pitcher Yordano Ventura was relegated to the same ticket this season only to have the trip canceled by an injury to Jason Vargas.

Danny Duffy, Luke Hochevar and Volquez have had Tommy John surgeries. Kris Medlen had two and hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2013 _ a season Chris Young sat out as he contended with thoracic outlet syndrome.

All of which was a lot more recently than Ryan Madson had played after retiring in 2011.

Meanwhile, most of the Latin American players have their own improbable tales of discovery and determination, perhaps none more vivid than Morales needing 13 tries to escape Cuba.

Beyond all this, the Royals have triggered a metamorphosis in their fan base, too.

They've gone from always assuming a trap door was waiting to fly open to always having a reason to believe, as last year's AL Wild Card Game against Oakland attested with ample evidence since.

This season, the Royals set attendance and TV ratings records, none of which adequately measures the way this captivating team is in the bloodstream of the city.

"They are long-suffering, but they stuck with us," Glass said, adding that other owners come to The K now and are "amazed" by what they see. "They're a great crowd, they're a well-behaved crowd ... (and) you can talk to any of these players and they'll tell you the tremendous energy that they feed off from the fans."

Now, Glass says, there's only one thing left to complete this flipped script _ win the World Series.

"It's unpredictable, but we're going to do it this year," he said, pausing briefly before adding, "Hopefully."

And who's to say they won't in this new world order that has synthesized fantasy into reality?

All triggered by the will to change in so many _ starting with Glass.