Kansas Royals fire Dayton Moore, architect of 2015 World Series team

Longtime Kansas City Royals executive Dayton Moore, who turned a perennial doormat into a World Series champion in 2015, has been fired as the Royals president of baseball operations.

Team owner John Sherman made the official announcement at a news conference on Wednesday.

Moore took over as general manager in 2006, and slowly built the team into a playoff contender – culminating in back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015. However, the franchise has fallen back to also-ran status, missing the playoffs every season since winning the title.

This year, the Royals have a 59-89 record (.386) and are mired in fourth place in the AL Central division.

Last season, Moore was promoted to president of baseball operations with longtime lieutenant J.J. Picollo taking over as general manager.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dayton Moore fired as Kansas City Royals shake up front office