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All-Century Roster: Royals
By Gary Brooks
SportsLine Baseball Editor
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In 31 seasons, the Royals have reached the World Series pinnacle, sustained
a strong run of contending years and had MVP and Cy Young winners, but the
only dominant theme of the franchise's existence is George Brett.
 | | | George Brett won a batting title in three different decades.(Allsport) | |
Brett was the first Royal inducted into the Hall of Fame in July of '99
after 21 seasons in Kansas City that brought three batting titles and 13
All-Star selections.
"When it came to national exposure, George Brett is synonymous with Kansas
City more than any other player," said Royals all-century team pitcher
Dennis Leonard.
Brett, Bret Saberhagen and Dan Quisenberry are the only Royals who would be
in competition for All-Century spots on any other team.
Brett is likely to be the only player identified as a Royal in the Hall of
Fame for quite a while. Though two of his most well-known incidents aren't
exactly flattering -- his hemorrhoids problem in the 1980 World Series and
his pine-tar home run rage at Yankee Stadium -- his performance over two
decades was remarkable and earned great respect.
Even fellow 1999 Hall of Fame inductee Robin Yount said, "If there was one
player I ever wanted to be like, it was George Brett."
Brett's team records of games (2,707), hits (3,154), runs (1,583), doubles
(665), RBI (1,595) and homers (317) might never be caught.
Lineup
| Darrell Porter, C, 1977-80 |
| Porter was an All-Star in three of his four seasons. In 1979, he had a
combination rarely found in catchers. He passed the 100 mark in runs (101),
RBI (112) and led the AL with 122 walks. Only Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane
had ever reached triple digits in the three categories. Porter hit .291
with 20 homers and a league-leading .429 on-base percentage in '79. |
| John Mayberry, 1B, 1972-77 |
| Mayberry was the lone slugger on a team of gap hitters, averaging 24 homers
and 94 RBI in his six seasons. He was the first Royal to hit 30 homers,
hammering 34 in 1975 when he drove in a career-high 106 runs, his third
100-RBI season in four years. He was an All-Star in 1973 and '74. |
| Frank White, 2B, 1973-90 |
| White was a five-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner who provided
his best work in the greatest era of Royals baseball. He was the MVP of the
ALCS in 1980. He and Roberto Alomar are the only second basemen to win six
consecutive Gold Gloves (1977-82). White had a steady but not spectacular bat
but provided speed to the Kansas City lineup. As the speed faded a bit late
in his career, he had back-to-back 22-homer seasons and in 1986 earned an AL
Silver Slugger award. White's 2,006 hits are second to Brett in team history. |
| Fred Patek, SS, 1971-79 |
| At 5-foot-4 and less than 150 pounds, Patek was the smallest player of his
generation. His fielding and speed made him a valuable member of the Royals
and earned him three All-Star selections. His 336 steals are third in
team history. In 1977, his 53 swipes led the AL. He's one of five Royals to
have hit for the cycle. |
| George Brett, 3B, 1973-93 |
| Brett was the Royals player of the year eight times, the AL MVP in 1980 when
he hit .390 and the only player ever to win batting titles in three different
decades (1976, '80 and '90). He's the only player in history with 3,000 hits,
300 homers, 600 doubles, 100 triples and 200 stolen bases. Many pitchers
wanted to avoid his quality at-bats as often as possible resulting in Brett's
229 intentional walks, most in AL history. He was also an outstanding
postseason player with ALCS career records in slugging percentage (.728),
homers (9), total bases (75) and runs (22). |
| Willie Wilson, OF, 1976-90 |
| Wilson holds the Royals single-season records for hits (230), runs (133),
steals (83) and triples (21). He stole a Royals-best 612 bases in his career
and hit 13 inside-the-park homers. Wilson led the AL in triples five times
and in batting (.332) in 1982 when he was selected to his first of two
All-Star teams. |
| Amos Otis, OF, 1970-83 |
| >Otis was named the Royals player of the year in 1971, '73 and '78. Only
George Brett earned the honor more times. He's in the top five of almost
every career offensive statistical category. He won three Gold Gloves and was
a five-time All-Star selection. |
| Bo Jackson, OF, 1986-90 |
| There isn't any doubt Jackson is the finest athlete to ever wear a Royals
uniform. It's just too bad that's not the only uniform he'd ever worn. If
he'd concentrated on baseball instead of doubling as a pro football player
and injuring his hip, he might have reached Brett-like stardom in Kansas City. He hit 109 home runs
in less than four full seasons of games. In 1989 he hit 32 homers and drove
in 105. He was also the MVP of the All-Star Game that season after hitting a
long home run to center field off of Rick Reuschel. |
| Hal McRae, DH, 1973-87 |
| It was obvious during his career that McRae had the qualities to be a manager
and he parlayed his aggressive, team-first style and strong bat into three
All-Star selections. He hit over .300 six times, topping out at .332 in 1976
when he lost the batting title to Brett by a point. His 133 RBI in 1982
is a Royals record. McRae wasn't much of a fielder but found a comfortable
spot as a designated hitter and won three DH of the year awards. He drove in
over 1,000 runs as a Royal. He played in 35 postseason games and hit .400 in
17 World Series games. |
Pitchers
| Kevin Appier, SP, 1989-99 |
| Appier missed the Royals' run of competitive teams but still managed to win
12 or more games six times. His 114 wins are fifth most in team history. From
1990-93 he was 58-34 highlighted by an 18-8 record in 1993 when he led the AL
with a 2.56 earned-run average. He's the only pitcher in Royals history to
make six Opening Day starts. |
| Bret Saberhagen, SP, 1984-91 |
| As a skinny 21-year-old in 1985, Saberhagen burst into the baseball spotlight
winning 20 games and the first of two Cy Young Awards. He gave up one run in
two complete games in the World Series as the Royals won their first
championship. He was the youngest AL pitcher ever to win the Cy Young Award
and added a second in 1989 when he went 23-6 with a 2.16 ERA. Saberhagen was
an outstanding control pitcher who also had great velocity. In his final
season with K.C., he threw a no-hitter against the White Sox. |
| Dennis Leonard, SP, 1974-86 |
| From 1975-81, Leonard was the winningest right-hander in the majors with 130
victories and three 20-win seasons. He is the Royals career leader in
complete games (103) and shutouts (23). His 144 wins are No. 2. Damaged knees
limited him to just 31 starts from 1982-85 and he was done after an 8-13
season in 1986. |
| Larry Gura, SP, 1976-85 |
| Gura was a soft-throwing, unintimidating left-hander who won more of his
decisions than any other Royal. His .587 winning percentage (111-78) is the
best in team history. In 1978, he went 16-4. In 1980, he won 18 games for the
first of two times and was an All-Star. From 1976-82, playing on four
division winners, he was 88-49. |
| Paul Splittorff, SP, 1970-84 |
| Splittorff's 166 wins are the most in team history. So are his 143 losses. He
was the first 20-game winner in Royals history, going 20-11 in 1973. He led
the AL in winning percentage (.727) in 1977 when he went 16-6. The lefty was
never an All-Star but generally provided reliable performances over 15
seasons. |
| Dan Quisenberry, RP, 1979-88 |
| Quisenberry helped revolutionize the closers role with his submarine
delivery. He was the best closer in the game from 1982-85 and won five
Fireman of the Year awards. He led the AL in saves five times and his 2.55
career ERA is the best in Royals history. |
| Bench |
| Cookie Rojas, Kevin Seitzer, Danny Tartabull, Mike Macfarlane, Wally
Joyner, Willie Aikens, John Wathan, Gary Gaetti, Chili Davis, Lou Piniella,
Dean Palmer, Brian McRae, U.L. Washington, Al Cowens, Steve Balboni, Johnny
Damon, Jose Offerman |
| Best season |
| The 1985 Royals don't hold any team records in offense,
pitching or fielding. Their Opening Day lineup wasn't particularly
impressive, what with Onix Conception at short and Pat Sheridan in right,
Darryl Motley in left and Jorge Orta at DH. None, in the overall history of
the team, would make a significant impact. Nonetheless, the group that
surrounded the key cogs of George Brett, Bret Saberhagen, Dan Quisenberry,
Willie Wilson and Frank White turned out to be the only one that would win
a World Series. The young pitching staff, led by Saberhagen, who won Series
MVP honors, held the St. Louis Cardinals to a .185 average in order to
become just the fifth team to win the Series after losing three of the
first four games. Kansas City had beaten the Blue Jays in a seven-game ALCS
and won 91 games in the regular season for the AL West title. |
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| Worst season |
| The 1999 season was awful, with 97 losses and possibly the
worst relief pitching in history, but the team did have a strong offense
and set a club record for runs. That leaves the 97-loss 1970 team as the
franchise's low point. Bob Oliver, Amos Otis and Lou Piniella had decent
seasons but the only pitcher to reach double digits in wins was Jim Rooker
who went 10-15. |
| Best individual season, player |
| Brett's 1980 season provided much of the
inspiration for former Royals general manager John Schuerholz to say:
"George Brett could roll out of bed on Christmas morning and hit a line
drive." His swing was so consistently productive, Brett rarely appeared
fooled. During the '80 season he had a 30-game hitting streak and hit .420
after the All-Star break, keeping his overall average above .400 until
Sept. 19. His .390 finish was the highest in the final 60 years of the
century. Brett also drove in a career-high 118 runs and hit 24 homers in
just 117 games. |
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| Best individual season, pitcher |
| Bret Saberhagen's strange rotation of
outstanding seasons in odd years and poor ones in even years hit a high
point in 1989 when he led the AL in wins (23), ERA (2.16) and complete
games (12). He won his second Cy Young Award, receiving 27 of 28
first-place votes. |
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