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HomeTeam HistoryAmerican League TeamsKansas City Royals


KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Author: 
Frank Fleming

69 mins
October 31st, 2023
Bet With Confidence
Ad Disclosure

 * 52nd Season

 * First Game Played April 8, 1969

 * 1 Royal Way, Kansas City, MO 64129

 * (816) 921-8000

 * http://www.kcroyals.com


HISTORICAL MOMENTS

1968:After the Athletics bolted Kansas City for Oakland following the 1967
season, Major League Baseball, which was looking to expand to 24 teams, grants
Kansas City one of its four expansion slots. The new team was to begin playing
in 1969, due in part to pressure from Missouri Senator Stuart Symington who
threatened to revoke baseball’s antitrust exemption.

1969:Playing their very first game in the place the Athletics once called home
Kansas City Municipal Stadium, the Royals rally from a 3-1 deficit to win in
extra-inning against the Minnesota Twins. The Royals would not win much that
first season, but they would put a respectable 69-93 record for an expansion
team. In fact, of the four new teams debuting throughout baseball, the Royals
would post the best record, and would even see Lou Piniella get individual
honors by winning the Rookie of the Year.

1970:In their second season, the Royals take a step backward, finishing in
fourth place with a 67-95 record.

1971:In just their third year of existence, the Royals post their first winning
season, finishing in second place in the American League Western Division with
an 85-76 record. This is the fastest an expansion team at that time accomplished
such early success.

1972:The up and coming Royals take another step backward, and fall to fourth
place again, with a disappointing 76-78 record.

1973:The Royals move into their very own stadium called Royals Stadium. The
stadium’s prominent feature is water fountains beyond the outfield fence. They
are added to the stadium because Kansas City is known as the city of Fountains.
That first year at the stadium, the Royals also host the All-Star Game, which is
won by the National League 7-1. The new stadium is installed with Astroturf, and
Royals management begins to build a team around speed and pitching, a move that
would pay off within a few years. The year also sees the debut of a young Third
Baseman named George Brett, who would become the centerpiece of Royals baseball
for the next 20 years. The Royals would show some of that promises in that first
year, finishing in second place with a solid 88-74 record.

1974:The Royals take another step backward as they finish the season in a
tailspin after playing above .500 for most of the season as they win just nine
of their last 26 games on the way to finishing in fifth place with a 77-85
record.

1975:After a disappointing finish, the Royals were off to a slow start, when
Manager Jack McKeon was fired and replaced by Whitey Herzog. The move pays off
as the Royals get back in the race before settling for second place with a 91-71
record. With a team built around developing players like George Brett, Frank
White, Willie Wilson, and Dennis Leonard, the Royals put together a solid
nucleus that will stay together and remain mostly intact for the next decade, in
which the Royals were a perennial playoff contender.

1976:With Whitey Herzog taking the reigns from the start of the season, fans
throughout Kansas City were optimistic that the Royals were ready to take the
next step. Led by George Brett, who wins his first Batting Crown the Royals
would not disappoint, winning 90 games to beat out the Oakland Athletics by
three games to claim their first division title, with a 90-72 record. In the
ALCS, the Royals would be matched up against the New York Yankees who’s
postseason history is unmatched by anyone in baseball history. In the first
postseason game in Kansas City, a pair of George Brett misplays and Catfish
Hunter’s dominating pitching handcuffed the Royals. The Royals would bounce back
in front of their home fans the next night as Paul Splittorff’s five and
two-thirds innings of scoreless relief enabled the Royals to tie the series at
one game apiece heading to New York. After losing Game 3, the Royals would
bounce back to rough up Catfish Hunter in Game 4 to send the series to a fifth
and deciding game. In Game 5, the Royals and Yankees would each trade two runs
in the first inning. The Yankees would score two runs in the third inning and
twp in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead into the eighth. The Royals would not show
any quit as George Brett blasted a three-run homer down the Rightfield line off
Yankees Reliever Grant Jackson to tie the game. Unfortunately for the Royals,
Chris Chambliss would end the Royals season with a leadoff series-winning homer
in the bottom of the ninth.

1977:The Royals as a team don’t have any one-individual player put up
spectacular numbers. Instead, they have the whole team contribute to substantial
numbers, as the team wins it’s second straight American League Western Division
Title with a franchise-best record of 102-60. The Royals would move on to face
the New York Yankees again in the ALCS. The Royals would get off to a fast
blowing out of the Yankees 7-2 in Game 1 at the Bronx. However, the Yanks would
bounce back to win Game 2 and send the series to KC tied at a game apiece. In
Game 3, lead by the hitting of Hal McRae and the pitching of Dennis Leonard, the
Royals won 6-2 to get within one game of their first trip to the World Series.
However, the Yankees would bounce back behind the relief efforts of Sparky Lyle
to force a fifth and deciding game. In Game 5, the Royals would take a 1-run
lead to the ninth inning, but the Yankees would score three times, to beat the
Royals for the second straight season.

1978:For the third year in a row, the Kansas City Royals are masters of the
American League West domain with a 92-70 record, as everyone seems to contribute
again. In the ALCS for the third year in a row, the Royals opponents are the New
York Yankees. Going into this year’s series the Royals have an advantage since
the Yankees had to battle through a tough one-game playoff against the Boston
Red Sox the day before the start of the ALCS. The Royals are unable to
capitalize as the hitting of Reggie Jackson, and two hit pitching of Jim Beattie
and Ken Clay combine to beat the Royals in Game 1. The Royals would bounce back
to take Game 2 to even the series at one game apiece, meaning for the third year
straight year the series would be tied after two games. In Game 3, thanks to
three home runs from George Brett, the Royals would lead 5-4 into the eighth
inning of a back and forth affair in the Bronx. However, a two-run home run by
Thurman Munson would doom the Royals. The next night the Royals would only
manage one run on seven hits as they watched the Yankees advance to the World
Series for the third straight season.

1979:Royals pitching struggle and the Royals manage to the only post an 85-77
record. However, they would stay in the race until the final week of the season,
falling only three games back of the California Angels. After the season, Royals
management determines a change is needed, and Jim Frey replaces Whitey Herzog as
manager.

1980:The change of managers seems to work as the Royals bounce back to dominate
the American League Western Division again with a 97-65 record, winning the
division title by comfortable 14 games. Leading the way is George Brett, who was
hitting over .400 as late a Labor Day. Brett would fall off only a little and
end the season with an outstanding .390 Batting Average earning him the American
League MVP. In the ALCS, the Royals would face the New York Yankees for the
fourth time in five years. The Royals would get off to a fast start as Larry
Gura allows only two runs despite giving up ten hits in the Royals Game 1
victory. In Game 2, the Royals would stay hot as four straight third inning hits
led to a 3 -0 lead. The Yanks would cut the lead to one, and the game went to
the ninth inning with Royals leading 3-2. In the ninth inning Royals relief ace
Dan Quisenberry came on to save the game, but it would be a bumpy ride. With two
outs Yankees 2B Willie Randolph raced home with what seemed to be the tying run.
However, he was out, and the Royals took a 2-0 series lead heading to the Bronx.
In Game 3, the Royals would complete the sweep, and dust off the monkey on their
backs thanks to a majestic seventh inning three-run Homer by George Brett. After
finally beating the Yankees, the Royals face the Philadelphia Phillies in their
first trip to the World Series. In Game 1, the Royals would take an early 4-0
lead, but could not hold it as the Phillies erupted for five runs in the 3rd to
beat the Royals 7-6. The Royals would grab a lead in the Game 2 as well, but
even Dan Quisenberry could not hold it as the Phillies took a 2-0 lead with
series heading to Kansas City. In Game 3, the Royals would take 3, 1-run leads
only to be tied the very next inning, as the game went deadlocked into extra
Innings. The Royals would win the game in the 10th inning thanks to Willie
Aikens’ game-winning triple. In Game 4, the Royals would take an early 5-0
thanks to Aikens’ second two home run game of the series. The Phillies would
make it close, but Quisenberry would hold them off to knot the series at two
games apiece. In Game 5, the Royals would take a 3-2 lead to the ninth inning,
but Quisenberry was unable to hold it as Del Unser, and Many Trillio drove in
the tying and go-ahead runs in the ninth inning. However, The Royals would load
the bases in the bottom of the inning off a tiring Tug McGraw, but Tug would
harness every bit of his strength to strike out Jose Cardenal to send the series
back to Philly with the Phillies leading 3-2. The loss in Game 5 would end up
being the end, as the Royals would fall 4-1 in Game 6.

1981:The Royals would get off to a bad start losing 30 of their first 50 games
when the season was halted because of a player’s strike. When play resumed two
months later, Major League Baseball decided to have a slit season, and the
Royals were given new life. Through the first 20 games, they were only at .500,
and manager Jim Frey was fired and replaced by Dick Howser, who was fired by the
Yankees after the 1980 ALCS. The moved paid off, as the Royals would win 20 of
their last 33 to win the division by a game over the first half winner Oakland
Athletics, despite a mediocre overall record of 50-43. In the Division Series
between two American League Western Division Champs, the Royals would put up
little challenge falling in three straight games.

1982:Led by Willie Wilson, who leads the American League in hitting, and Hal
McRae, who leads the league in RBI, the Royals win 90 games again. However, it
is not enough as the Royals fall three games short of the Division title.

1983:On July 24th in a game in New York against the Yankees, George Brett hits a
two-out home run in the ninth inning to give the Royals a 5-4 lead. However,
Yankee catcher Rick Cerone and manager Billy Martin argue that Brett had too
much pine tar on his bat. (Pine Tar is a sticky substance that batters use to
get a good grip on the bat.) The Umpires examine the bat and determine that
there is more than the allowable 18 inches of pine tar on the bat and use on an
obscure rule to overturn the home run and give the Yankees the game 4-3. Seeing
this makes Brett go ballistic, and he runs out of the dugout to argue with
umpires. Brett is so enraged he has to restrained by several players and
coaches. The Royals would protest the umpire’s decision, and the American League
agrees, and the call is overturned, and the game is resumed three weeks later.
In the resumption, Dan Quisenberry sets the Yankees down to win the game 5-4.
The Yanks make a mockery of the league’s ruling by playing several players out
of position, including Pitcher Ron Guidry in Centerfield. However, the season
would otherwise be a big disappointment for the Royals, who finished 20 games
out of first place in second place with a disappointing 79-83 record. Off the
field, the Royals had a bumpy season as Willie Aikens, Vida Blue, Jerry Martin,
and Willie Wilson spent part of the season in a Florida prison on drug charges.

1984:Despite only posting an 84-78 record, the Royals finish in first place in a
mediocre season for the American League Western Division. Highlighting the
season is Dan Quisenberry, who saves a then-record 44 games. In the ALCS, the
Royals would face a juggernaut team in the Detroit Tigers who make quick work
sweeping them in three straight games.

1985:The Royals led by 30 home runs from Steve Balboni, and George Brett, find
themselves in a tight pennant race throughout the season. On the mound, Bret
Saberhagen wins 20 games and the Cy Young, as Quisenberry leads the American
League in saves yet again. The battle for the division would go down to the wire
as the Royals won 91 games to beat the California Angels by one game. In the
ALCS, the Royals would face the Toronto Blue Jays. Things get off to a rocky
start when the Royals are blown out in Game 1, and Dan Quisenberry blows Game 2
to give the Jays a 2-0 series lead. In the third game, the Royals bounce back to
win, behind the 4-for-4 efforts of George Brett. A 1-0 lead in Game 4 disappears
as Al Oliver drives in three runs of Dan Quisenberry. Had the loss occurred a
season before the series was over, the Blue Jays would be off to the World
Series with three games to one series victory. Fortunately for the Royals,
Baseball moved the ALCS from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven, and the Royals
still had faint life. In Game 5, the Royals sent the series back to Toronto with
a complete game shut out by Danny Jackson. The Royals would show even more life
in Game 6 when George Brett delivers a home run to put the Royals ahead to stay
to force a seventh and deciding game. In Game 7, the Royals would stun the Jays
again as Jim Sundberg’s bases-loaded triple broke the game wide open and sent
the Royals off to their second World Series. In the World Series, Missouri
became the center of the sport’s world as the Kansas City Royals met up with
their Show Me State rival St. Louis Cardinals in the I-70 World Series, named
for the highway linking the two cities. In Game 1, the Cardinals get off to a
fast start beating the Royals 3-1. The Royals would fall further behind after
Dan Quisenberry blew another ninth-inning lead. This would put the Royals in a
position no team has ever come back from losing the first two World Series games
at home and coming back to win the series. The Royals would gain some revenge
winning Game 3 in St. Louis 6-1. However, the Cards bounced back to take Game 4,
and the Royals faced another 3-1 deficit. As he did in Game of the ALCS, Danny
Jackson kept hope for the Royals alive pitching a complete game victory to send
the series back to Kansas City. Game 6 would start as a pitcher’s duel between
the Cards Danny Cox, and Charlie Leibrandt, it would end as one of the most
controversial games in World Series history. The game was scoreless until the
Cardinals broke on top 1-0 in the 8th inning. The game would go to the bottom of
the ninth inning with Cards leading 1-0 and being just three outs from a
championship. Jorge Orta would lead the inning off by beating out an infield
single despite replays showing he was out. The Royals would then capitalize
after a single and a passed ball set up runners on second and third, as Dane
Iorg hit a game-winning single to force a decisive seventh game. Ironically,
Orta would be erased on a fielder’s choice. Despite the frustration of the St.
Louis Cardinals, the umpire’s mistake was only a small part of the Royals
game-winning rally. With the Cardinals still frustrated over Game 6 the Royals,
would take full advantage and romp to an 11-0 victory to claim their first World
Championship.

1986:Coming off their championship, the Royals get off to a rough start and fall
way behind the eventual division Champion Angels early. Things would only get
worse as manager Dick Howser left the team after managing in the All-Star Game.
Howser, who had been expiring headaches for most of the season, discovers that
he has a cancerous brain tumor. After undergoing radiation and brain surgery,
Howser attempts a comeback in the spring of 1987, but he was forced to leave
again in mid-March. The news would only get worse as cancer would come back and
claim his life at the young age of 51. Howser’s number 10 would be retired, and
his leadership of the 1985 Championship team would never be forgotten. Without
Howser, the Royals would finish in third place with a 76-86 record. The Royals
send a shockwave that is felt in baseball and the NFL, as Bo Jackson the NFL’s
number one draft pick, and Heisman Trophy winner refuses to sign with Tampa Bay
Buccaneers and announces he will play baseball with Royals. Bo will make his
debut, and despite looking overmatched at times, showed a pure raw talent.

1987:One year after spurning the NFL Bo Jackson signs a deal with Los Angeles
Raiders. He does not quit the Royals instead stating football would be his hobby
Bo Jackson makes history by becoming a two-sport athlete. The move angers some
in the Royals front office who suggest it would slow down the development of his
baseball skills, which show signs of a bust out as he smacks 22 home runs. The
Royals battle the Minnesota Twins all year before falling two games short of a
division Championship with an 83-79 record.

1988:The Royals would post an 84-77 record finishing in third place as Bo
Jackson’s raw talent continued to develop.

1989:The raw talent of Bo Jackson reaches its potential as he has a break out
year. With 32 homers and 105 RBI, Bo becomes a nationwide phenomenon. His
outstanding All-Star Game MVP performance and the launching of his national “Bo
Knows” commercials aid the budding phenomenon. “Bo Knows” would even outgrow the
world of pro sports and become the most popular commercial catchphrase since
“Where’s the beef?” With Bo becoming a vital cog of the offense, the Royals
would finish in second place with a 92-70 record.

1990:The Bo Jackson phenomenon continues to grow, but signs of physical burn out
begin to appear. Highlights of Bo’s season come when first he catches a ball in
Baltimore and proceeds to run up and down the Centerfield fence, His next
highlight comes in Yankee Stadium when he smacks three home runs in his first
three at-bats. However, Bo would get injured, and would not get a fourth At bat.
The injury came when he dove for a ball that would become an inside the park HR.
In an ironic twist, the ball is hit by Deion Sanders, who himself makes a name
by playing both baseball and football. Three weeks later, as almost like the
fates meant it, Bo Jackson hits a home run in his first At bat after getting off
the Disabled List. Bo is not the only Royal to have individual success. George
Brett captures his third batting title with a .329 average, making history by
becoming the first player ever to win batting crowns in three different decades.
Despite the individual success, the Royals would struggle to finish in sixth
place with a 75-86 record.

1991:On January 13th, in an AFC playoff game between the Cincinnati Bengals and
Los Angeles Raiders, the worst fears of the Royals becomes a reality, when late
in the third quarter Bo Jackson is tackled from behind by David Fulcher. At
first, the injury does not appear that serious, but Bo would miss the rest of
the game and the following week’s AFC Championship game in Buffalo. A few weeks
later, before the start of spring training, Bo was still hurting. Royals’ team
doctors would quickly discover that Bo’s hip was completely ripped out of his
socket. The injury would lead to a hip replacement. The Royals, who had only
allowed Bo to play football if he agreed any injury caused by the NFL, could
lead to the termination of his contract cut ties with the star outfielder. Bo
Jackson would later attempt a comeback with Chicago White Sox, but he would
never be the same and quietly retired after the 1994 season with California
Angels. Without Bo, the Royals would finish in sixth place again with an 82-80
record.

1992:On September 30th in Anaheim, George Brett becomes the 22nd player in
baseball history to get his 3,000th career hit. The Royals would still struggle
and finish in fifth place with a 70-92 record.

1993:The end of two eras in Kansas City Baseball highlights the season. The
first end comes when team founder Ewing M. Kauffman passes away after a long
illness. Before he passed on, the city of Kansas City renamed Royal Stadium
(which will soon be renovated and turned into a grass field). The other change
will come when George Brett retires after 20 years of great baseball in Kansas
City. Brett’s career would end with 3,154 hits and a lifetime 305 average. In
Brett’s swan song, the Royals would finish in third place with an 84-78 record.

1994:A decade after the Royals run of six division titles in ten years with a
World Championship, the Royals would become the symbol of small market woes in
baseball, despite David Cone winning the Cy Young and leading Royals into
contention for the Central Division Championship with a 64-51 record. Owners
would use the Royals as a prime example of a team that will be unable to compete
if the game’s economics go unchanged. The owners go into discussions over a new
collective beginning. The players arguing the owners are lying, and go on strike
August 12th, and eventually led to the cancellation of the World Series. The
strike would not end until April 1st when a judge finally orders an injunction,
and after replacement players are used in Spring Training.

1995:Despite labor peace, the economics go unchanged, and the Royals find
themselves slipping into baseball’s abyss. With the team losing money, the
Royals are forced to trade away Cy Young-winning pitcher David Cone. Despite the
loss of Cone, the Royals would hover around the .500 mark all season before
finishing in a distant second place with a 70-74 record.

1996:For their first 27 seasons, the Royals were able to avoid finishing in last
place. In the Royals 28th season, the Royals would no longer be able to avoid
the cellar finishing 75-86 and 24 games out of first place in the American
League Central Division.

1997:The Royals who did not finish in last place for their first 27 seasons
finish in the cellar for the second straight season with a 67-94 record.

1998:The Royals escape last place, but continue to struggle to post an awful
72-89 record, for their fourth straight losing season.

1999:On April 30th, during a game against the World Champion New York Yankees, a
group of frustrated Royals fans staged a protest over the economic state of
baseball. The fans bring signs to the ballpark blaming the Yankees’ spending and
the economics of baseball for ruining the Royals’ chances of competing. The fans
also throw fake dollar bills on the field and turn their backs away from the
field when the Yankees take their turn at-bats. The group would make one more
clear statement by staging a mass walkout after the fifth inning. However, it
would have little effect on the season as the Royals suffered an awful 64-97
season, and the Yankees won another World Championship. One star Kansas City
fans could enjoy was Carlos Beltran, who won the Rookie of the Year with 22
homers and 108 RBI.

2000:The Royals show some promise as young players like Johnny Damon, and
Jermaine Dye begins to make a name for themselves, and help lead the Royals to
make a run at finishing .500, before finishing with a 77-85 record. However,
economics would step in again as the Royals are forced to trade Johnny Damon in
the off-season.

2001:The Royals new closer Roberto Hernandez struggles early as the Royals get
off to a terrible start. Things would only get worse, as the team was forced to
trade Jermaine Dye before the trade deadline. The Royals would on to match their
franchise worse 64-97 record, on the way to finishing in last place again.

2002:The Royals would get off to a lousy 8-15 start as manager Tony Muser is
fired. Eventually, Muser would be replaced by Tony Peña as the Royals were well
on their way to an eighth straight losing season. However, one bright spot would
be Mike Sweeney, who was near the top of the American League in batting all
season with a .340 average. However, Sweeney would miss most of the last two
months as the Royals hit the century mark in losses for the first time finishing
in fourth place with a 62-100 record.

2003:Coming off a 100-loss season, not much was expected out of the Royals.
However, they would break out of the gate like gangbusters winning their first
nine games on the way to a tremendous 16-3 start. In May, the Royals would hit a
wall posting just a 10-19 record as they found themselves below .500 in early
June, as their pitching staff, which was sharp early, was now besieged with
injuries and poor performance. Just as it looked as if the Royals were heading
back to the reality of losing baseball, they rebounded thanks to the addition of
Jose Lima, who helped stabilize their rotation by winning his first four
decisions after starting the year with the independent Newark Bears. The Royals
would end the first half as the surprise of baseball leading the American League
Central Division by seven games with a 51-41 record. In August, the dog days of
summer would begin to take their toll as the Royals lead melted away with Lima
breaking down physically. To replace Lima, the Royals would reacquire Kevin
Appier, a star pitcher for the Royals for a decade. It would not prevent the
Royals from losing their grip on first place as they entered September a game
and a half out of first in a three-team race. The Royals would never regain
their lead as they faded in September, finishing in third place with an 83-79
record. However, there was still plenty to celebrate in the Royals’ first
winning season in nine years as Tony Peña was an overwhelming selection for
Manager of the Year. Angel Berroa was selected the Rookie of the Year, with 17
homers and 73 RBI, with 92 runs scored.

2004:After their surprising season, the Royals entered the season with a renewed
sense of optimism. They were a favorite in the American League Central Division.
Opening Day would only heighten those good feelings as the Royals used a
stirring six-run ninth Inning rally topped by a walk-off home run by Carlos
Beltran to beat the Chicago White Sox 9-7. The joy would be short-lived as the
Royals suffered through an awful April that immediately sank their playoff
hopes, as the team’s struggling finances forced them to shop around Carlos
Beltran, a free agent following the season. As the Royals struggled, Beltran
remained the Royals lone bright spot with a team-high 15 homers and 51 RBI when
he was traded to the Houston Astros in a three-way deal, which also involved the
Oakland Athletics for prospects. Things would only get worse as the Royals won
just one of their next 14 games after the June 24th trade on the way to
finishing in last place with the worst record in franchise history at 58-104.

2005:The Royals’ struggles continued as they got off to another miserable start
posting an 8-26 record through their first 34 games when manager Tony Peña
resigned. Under interim manager Bob Schaefer the Royals would not fair much
better winning just 5 of 16 before Buddy Bell takes over on May 31st. The hiring
of Bell seemingly sparked some life in the otherwise comatose Royals as they won
their first four games, including a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees.
Injuries would take their toll again as Ken Harvey was limited to just 45 games
while Mike Sweeney spent time on the Disabled List for the fifth year in a row.
After playing better under Bell for nearly two months, the dog days of summer
had a brutal bite on the Royals as they lost 19 straight in August, as the
Royals ended up in last place again with a franchise-worst 56-106 record.

2006:Before the season to try and make the Royals somewhat better, they signed
several proven veteran role players, like 2B Mark Grudzielanek, OF Reggie
Sanders, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, and pitchers Mark Redman, Joe Mays, and Scott
Elarton. These spare parts were not nearly enough to bridge the talent gap the
Royals had with the rest of the American League as they got off to another
horrendous start losing 20 of their first 25 games. As May came to an end, the
Royals languishing in last place again with a record of 13-38 shook up the front
office firing General Manager Allard Baird and replacing him with Dayton Moore,
who was working alongside John Schurholtz with the Atlanta Braves. As June came
to an end, the Royals took advantage of interleague play. They started to play a
better baseball brand, winning 10-of-15 games, including two of three against
the eventual World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals would never make any
run, and pretty much was an unwatchable disaster once again. At times they
relished in the role of spoiler as they swept the Boston Red Sox in a three-game
series in August, then swept the Detroit Tigers in the season’s final three
games, forcing them to settle for the Wild Card. However, with a 62-100,
becoming the 11th team in baseball history to lose 100 games three years in a
row.

2007:After three straight 100-loss seasons, the Royals had just one place to go,
and that was up, as they signed free agent right-hander Gil Meche, signing him
to five-year, $55 million contract to give stability to their pitching staff.
While the lineup had some blue-chip stars like Ross Gload, Alex Gordon, and Mark
Tehan working their way up, Meche would impress in his debut as the Royals beat
the Boston Red Sox 7-1 on opening day. It would be the only day they could say
they were better than the eventual World Champs as the Royals won just two of
their next 13 games, on the way to poor April record of 8-18. May would bring
more struggles as the Royals were on track for 100 losses again in the Central
Division basement with a record of 19-35. In June, the Royals would show some
signs of life posting a winning record, highlighted by a three-game sweep of the
Western Division-leading Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. In July, the Royals
would post another winning record as they took two of three from the Red Sox in
Fenway. The Royals would even briefly escape last place in August. However, a
mediocre September would drop the Royals into last place again, although they
did avoid 100 losses by posting a record of 69-93, as Trey Hillman replaced
manager Buddy Bell following the season.

2008:Under new manager Trey Hillman the Royals had a good start as they swept
the Detroit Tigers on the road and took two out of three against the New York
Yankees a week later in their home opener to get off to a 6-3 start. Without
much talent, the Royals found themselves in last place again by the end of May,
after posting a terrible 10-19 record in the season’s second month. They would
post a winning record in June, as they proved a sometimes pesky opponent to
their American League Central Division rivals. A peskiness that would come
through in September as they had a significant influence on the winner of the
division title while escaping last place for the first time in five years in the
final week of the season. First, it was another three-game sweep of the Tigers;
then it was winning two of three on the road against the Minnesota Twins. This
forced a chaotic ending a one-game playoff, that would cost the Twins the
division title, as the spoiler Royals posted a 75-87 record and finished in
fourth place.

2009:Celebrating the newly renovated Kaufmann Stadium, the Royals get off to a
solid start, posting an 18-11 record through 29 games that had them on top of
the American League Central Division on May 7th. Pacing the solid play for the
Royals early in the season was Zack Greinke, who posted a 5-0 record with a 0.50
ERA. The Royals would not be able to maintain their start as they lost 11 of
their next 14 games and suffered losing month and losing month the rest of the
way, as they once again were a non-factor in the playoff chase, finishing in a
fourth-place tie with an awful record of 65-97. Despite the Royals’ struggles,
Zack Greinke remained the best pitcher in baseball, posting a 16-8 record with
an ERA of 2.16 that was the lowest in all of MLB, which would be good enough to
earn him the American League Cy Young Award.

2010:The Royals looked for Zack Greinke for a repeat performance as they hoped
to turn things around. Greinke and the Royals would get off to a slow start as
the Royals again found themselves at the bottom of the American League Central.
Greinke would not get his first win of the season until May 13th as the Royals
got off to a 12-23 start. That day would be the final game managed by Trey
Hillman as he was fired following the 6-4 win over the Cleveland Indians at
Kaufmann Stadium. Under new manager Ned Yost, the Royals would win six of their
first eight games. The Royals would thread water under Yost as they climbed into
fourth place and held a 39-49 record at the All-Star Break. However, in the
second half, the Royals pitching would falter, as Zack Grienke finished the
season with a disappointing 10-14 record, with an ERA of 4.17. During a
three-game span in July, the Royals set a franchise record allowing 42 runs. The
Royals would finish for the sixth time in seven years with a record of 67-95.
Following the season, after requesting a deal, the Royals would deal Zack
Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million
for Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi.

2011:The Royals turned the page after another last-place season as they sent
Zach Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Yuniesky Betancourt and 2
million dollars for Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake
Odorizzi. The Royals also dealt away David DeJesus to the Oakland Athletics for
Vin Mazzaro and Justin Marks. Despite losing the season opener at home to the
Los Angeles Angels, the Royals got off to a good start as they won their next
three games against the Angels, on the way to winning 10 of their first 14
games. Among the Royals starting the seasons strongly were pitcher Bruce Chen,
who won four of his first five decisions. The Royals would not be able to
sustain the start as Chen spent some time on the disabled list. With Chen on the
DL, the Royals recalled Vin Mazzaro. However, the pitcher acquired for David
DeJesus struggled and was quickly sent back to the minors. While Mazzaro
struggled when he was called up from Omaha, Eric Hosmer excelled and showed
flashes of a bright future, as he hit 19 home runs with 78 RBI, while hitting
.293 after making his debut in May. While Hosmer made an immediate impact,
one-time prospect Alex Gordon, who thus far had a disappointing career, finally
showed the promise the Royals have been waiting. Gordon had career highs with 23
homers, 87 RBI, and a .303 average while winning a Golden Glove for stellar
outfield defense. Despite the bright spots, the Royals continued to be a
non-factor in the playoff race, as they finished in fourth place with a record
of 71-91.

2012:It was an All-Star summer in Kansas City as the Royals hosted their first
All-Star Game in 39 years. The Royals hoped to have some of their players as
part of the American League team with a talented young lineup leading the way.
Any hopes of contending seemed to be wiped away in April. The Royals suffered
through a 12 game losing streak, which included a 0-10 record at home against
the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and Toronto Blue Jays. The Royals would
manage back-to-back winning months in May and June, but July brought more
struggles as they won just seven games and lost 19. The most prominent bright
spot for the Royals was Billy Butler, who was picked to represent the Royals at
the All-Star Game and led the team with 29 home runs, 107 RBI, and average at
.313. Mike Moustakas also had a solid season with 20 homers and 73 RBI, while
Alex Gordon had 14 home runs and 72 RBI with a solid .294 average. Eric Hosmer
struggled most of the season with 14 home runs, 60 RBI and a .232 average. The
Royals’ most significant problem was pitching as they one of the worst starting
staffs in all of baseball, with only Bruce Chen winning more than ten games, as
he finished 11-14 with an ERA of 5.07. A particular disappointment was Jonathan
Sanchez, who the Royals acquired from the San Francisco Giants in the off-season
for Melky Cabrera. Sanchez would post a terrible 1-6 record with a hideous 7.76
ERA before he was traded to the Colorado Rockies for Jeremy Guthrie on July
20th. Meanwhile, Cabrera returned to Kansas City during the mid-summer classic
and was named the All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player. The trade would end up
working out better in August, as Guthrie was the Royals’ best pitcher in the
last two months, with a record of 5-3 with an ERA of 3.16. The Royals would have
a strong August, posting a 17-11 record while playing havoc with the two leading
teams in the Central Division, as they swept the Chicago White Sox and Detroit
Tigers in consecutive weeks. The Royals would finish the season in third place
with a record of 72-90. Following the season, the Royals looked to improve their
pitching staff by acquiring James Shields and Wade Davis from the Tampa Bay Rays
for top prospect Wil Myers and three others.

2013:With a solid young lineup, the Royals spent the off-season addressing their
pitching problems, as they acquired James Shields and Wade Davis from the Tampa
Bay Rays. To get two solid starting pitchers, the Royals needed to part with
their top prospect Wil Meyers and three others. Shields would get the opening
day start, and pitched well but had nothing to show for it as the Royals lost a
pitcher’s duel to Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox 1-0. After splitting
their first six games on the road, the Royals came home and swept the Minnesota
Twins, as they did not make an error in their first six games. April would be a
good month for the Royals, as they spent most of it in first place, posting a
record of 14-10. In May, the Royals returned to Earth, losing 20 games,
including three out of four to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals would get
back on track in June, as they started the month by winning 12 of 16 to get back
to .500. Over the next month, the 500 mark would become a barrier for the
Royals, as they reach it and suffer another losing streak. With the help of an
eight-game winning streak at the end of July, the Royals finally climbed above
.500 to stay. While they never made a serious push for the Wild Card, the Royals
were not eliminated until the final week of the season. The Royals posted their
first winning record in a decade at 86-76. James Shields would be the Royals’
most reliable starter, winning 13 games with an ERA of 3.15. At the same time,
Greg Holland was nearly flawless in the pen, saving 47 games. The Royals offense
was led by Alex Gordon, who had 20 homers and 81 RBI, while Eric Hosmer and
Salvador Perez each drove in 79.

2014:After posting a record of 86-76, the Royals looked to continue to move
forward in the American League Central. The Royals would drop their first two
games against the Detroit Tigers, before beating the Chicago White Sox 7-5 in
their home opener. The Royals would have their ups and downs in April, posting a
record of 14-12. Four runs were the magic number for the Royals early in the
season, as they were 14-0 in their first 29 games, scoring four or more runs. At
the same time, they were 0-15 when they scored less than four runs. The offense
was tricky for the Royals, as the team did not hit many home runs, ranking last
in the American League with 95 on the season and thus needed to be creative in
getting offense. The Royals were terrific at building runs, taking the extra
base and creating havoc on the base paths, as they led the league with 153
steals. The Royals also had an outfield defense that was second to none and
played the fundamental baseball brand that was more like a team of 1914 instead
of 2014. Not all was well for the Royals offense as they sent down Mike
Moustakas to Omaha after hitting .152 through his first 139 plate appearances.
Moustakas’s stay in the minors would be a short one after returning. He showed
more consistency at the plate. At the same time, the Royals began to heat up,
winning ten straight in June. However, the Royals would not maintain the pace
and struggled into the All-Star Break. The Royals would slip under .500 after
the All-Star Break, after being swept by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Following a 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on July 21st, coach Rusty Kuntz
called for a team meeting. Kuntz had grown angry at the team for playing games
on their cellphones after the loss. Kuntz, along with manager Ned Yost demanded
the players reassess their priorities and focus on winning baseball. Most team
meetings have little effect on a team’s fortunes, but he was just what the
doctor ordered for the Royals, as they started a five-game winning streak and
posted a 25-9 record over their next 34 games. The streak took the Royals from
third place to first place and put them right in the thick of the playoff race
as September began. A key to the Royals success was a shutdown bullpen, led by
Closer Greg Holland, who won the Mariano Rivera award by saving 46 games, in 48
save opportunities, while compiling a 1.44 ERA. Helping Holland be the best
closer in the American League was Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis. They often
pitched the seventh and eighth innings and were nearly flawless all season,
helping the Royals shorten games, as all three pitchers had ERA’s lower than
1.50. The Royals remained in first place as September began with five straight
wins. The Tigers regained the top spot by taking four of six from the Royals.
The Royals would rebound to win six of their last games and clinched a Wild Card
birth on September 26th with a 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. The Royals
would finish the season with a record of 89-73 their best win total since 1989.

2014 Postseason:The Kansas City Royals would host the Oakland Athletics in their
first postseason game in 29 years. Things looked bleak for Kansas City when the
A’s erupted for five runs in the sixth inning to take a 7-3 lead. The Royals
would get back into the game by scratching out three runs in the eighth inning
but still trailed 7-6 entering the bottom of the ninth. Pinch Hitter
Pinch-hitter Josh Willingham led off with a single off Athletics Closer Sean
Doolittle. Willingham was replaced by pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson, who was moved
to second on a successful bunt by Alcides Escobar. Dyson then proceeded to steal
third base and scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Nori Aoki. After two
scoreless innings, the A’s regained the lead with a run in the 12th inning.
After Lorenzo Cain grounded out to start the bottom of the 12th, Eric Hosmer
lined the ball to deep leftfield and reached third base thanks to poor fielding.
Hosmer would score to tie the game on a Christian Colon single. After Alex
Gordon popped out, Colon stole second base off Jason Hammel. Salvador Perez
would follow that up with a single to score Colon as the Royals won the game
9-8, sending Kaufman Stadium into a state of delirium. In the ALDS, the odds
appeared to be stacked against the Royals as they faced the Los Angeles Angels,
who finished the season with the best record in baseball. However, the Royals
would once again get stellar relief and won the opener 3-2 in 11 innings on a
home run by Mike Moustakas, as Kelvin Herrera, Brandon Finnegan, Wade Davis, Tim
Collins, Jason Frasor, Danny Duffy, and Greg Holland each shutdown the Angels
after replacing Jason Vargas. The Royals continued to frustrate the Halos in
Game 2, as the game went into extra innings tied 1-1. The game remained tied
because of an outstanding play by Jared Dyson, who ran down a blast by Chris
Iannetta and threw a perfect throw to Eric Hosmer, who tagged out Colin Cowgill
attempting to tag up from second base. In the 11th inning, Royals magic would
strike again Hosmer hitting a two-run home run off Kevin Jepsen. The Royals
would add an insurance run and win the game 4-1 to take a 2-0 series lead home
to Kansas City. MVP Mike Trout, who had not gotten a hit in the first two games,
hit a solo home run off James Shields to open Game 3 at Kaufman Stadium.
However, the Royals quickly answered back with three runs of C.J. Wilson in the
bottom of the inning. Shields was sold, as Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer each
homered to break the game open. The Royals complete the sweep of the ALDS with
an 8-3 win. The Royals would face the Baltimore Orioles in a matchup of teams
looking to end prolonged World Series droughts. Like Game 1 of the ALDS, Game 1
of the ALCS at Camden Yards would go to extra-inning, where Royals found more
power, with Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas each going deep to lead the way to an
8-6 win in the tenth inning. The Royals postseason power was just a big part of
the Royals magical October, as they had won three extra-inning games on the ball
with long balls in a season in which they hit just 95 homers as a team fewest in
all of baseball. Moustakas and the Royals would win with small-ball in Game 2,
scratching out two runs in the ninth inning to win the game 6-4. After a
rainout, the series resumed two days later with Lorenzo Cain looking like a
windshield wiper as he ran down several long drives further to frustrate the
Orioles in 2-1 win at Kaufman Stadium. Looking for a sweep, the Royals scratched
out two runs in the first inning. It would be enough as Jason Vargas was solid,
allowing just one run in six innings, before giving way to the three-man
finishing core of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland. Lorenzo Cain,
who frustrated the Orioles all series in the field, would be named ALCS MVP with
a .533 batting average in the four-game sweep with eight hits, five runs.

2014 World Series:Facing the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, the
Royals had become America’s favorite underdog. Game 1 at Kaufman Stadium would
be a rough one for the Royals, as they could not solver Madison Bumgarner. The
Royals did not score until Salvador Perez ended Bumgarner’s postseason road
scoreless streak in the seventh inning. By then, the Giants already scored seven
runs, starting with threes in the first inning on the way to an easy 7-1 win,
ending the Royals eight-game postseason winning streak. The Royals would bounce
back in Game 2, breaking open a 2-2 tie with a five-run sixth inning, as Omar
Infante followed a two-run double by Salvador Perez and an RBI single from
Lorenzo Cain with a two-run blast. As the series shifted to San Francisco, the
Royals bullpen brought home another win with Kelvin Herrera getting Pablo
Sandoval to ground out to halt a two-run rally in the sixth inning. The Royals
would win the game 3-2, as Brandon Finnegan, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland shut
the door. Finnegan made history becoming the first player in history to play in
the College World Series and the World Series in the same year, earlier pitching
in Omaha with TCU. Things looked good early in Game 4, as the Royals held a 4-1
lead after scoring four times in the third inning. However, the Royals would not
add any runs, as the Giants roared back battering Finnegan for five earned runs
to even the series with an 11-4 win. With Madison Bumgarner on the mound in Game
5, the Giants were able to regain control of the series with a 5-0 win, as the
Giants ace went the distance, allowing just four hits for his second win of the
series. Back in Kansas City for Game 6, the Royals came out swinging erupting
for seven runs in the seventh inning to send the series to a seventh game with a
10-0 win as Yordano Ventura pitched seven shutout innings. Going into Game 7,
one man overshadowed the Royals hopes, and that was Madison Bumgarner whom the
Giants planned to use in long relief. The Giants scored first with two runs in
the second inning. The Royals would answer back right away Billy Butler and Alex
Gordon each driving in runs. The Giants would regain the lead, scratching out a
run in the fourth inning. After failing the Royals failed to score against
Jeremy Affeldt in the fourth inning, Bumgarner entered the game. Omar Infante
would great the Giants ace with a leadoff single in the fifth inning but retired
the next 14 batters before Alex Gordon came up as the Royals last hope with two
outs in the ninth inning. Gordon would rip the ball to centerfield, where Gregor
Blanco misplayed it. Gordon would reach third base but was held up by third base
coach Mike Jirschele. Salvador Perez was not able to get Gordon home, popping up
to Pablo Sandoval to end the game as the Giants won the World Series with a 3-2
win.

2015:After losing the World Series in a classic seven-game battle the Kansas
City Royals still had their doubters as many thought their run to the Fall
Classic was a fluke. Other than James Shields and Billy Butler, the Royals did
not lose any significant players. To replace Butler, as their Designated Hitter,
the Royals made an upgrade in power signing Kendrys Morales. Morales would go on
to lead Kansas City with 22 home runs and 106 RBI. The Royals would get off to a
fast, winning their first seven games, including a 10-1 win over the Chicago
White Sox to open the season. The Royals again had one of the best bullpens in
baseball as Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland continued to allow them
to shorten the game. The Royals rotation was led by Yordano Ventura and Edison
Volquez, who was signed to replace Shields. Each would win 13 games, while Chris
Young expected to just be a long man out of the bullpen, won 11 games. The
Royals would spend much of the first half in first place, as they went into the
All-Star Break with the best record in the American League at 52-34. While the
Royals were proving themselves as the team to beat, management was not satisfied
and made some big moves at the trade deadline. After losing starting pitcher
Jason Vargas to Tommy John surgery, the Royals’ priority was landing another
starting pitcher that would see them land Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds
in exchange for Brandon Finnegan and minor leaguers John Lamb and Cody Reed. The
Royals landed utility man Ben Zobrist from the Oakland Athletics for Sean Manaea
and Aaron Brooks to get another bat. Zobrist would be a terrific pick up for the
Royals, hitting .284, with seven home runs, 37 runs scored, and 23 RBIs in 49
games with Kansas City. Cueto did not pitch well, as he struggled to adjust to
the American League posting a record of 4-7 with an inflated ERA of 4.76.
Despite Johnny Cueto’s struggles, the Royals pulled away in August, posting a
record of 19-9. The Royals would struggle in September as Closer Greg Holland
was lost to an elbow injury that would need Tommy John surgery. However, the
division title was already wrapped up as Wade Davis assumed the closer’s role to
perfection. The Royals would go on to finish the season with an American
League-best record of 95-67.

2015 ALDS:In the Division Series, the Royals would take on the upstart Houston
Astros, who were just two years removed from three straight 100-loss seasons. In
the series opener at Kaufman Stadium, the Astros jumped out to an early 3-0 lead
against Yordano Ventura. Meanwhile, Colin McHugh was able to silence the Royals
bats as the Astros won 5-2. Game 2 appeared to be a mirror image as the Astros
again jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and were in front 4-2 in the sixth inning.
The Royals would begin their first postseason rally with a one-out double by
Lorenzo Cain, who scored on an Eric Hosmer single. Hosmer himself would score to
tie the game on a bases-loaded walk. The Royals would then take the lead in the
seventh inning after Ben Zobrist singled home Alcides Escobar to even the series
with a 5-4 win. The Royals faced a tall order in Game 3 as the series shifted to
Houston, as Dallas Keuchel, who was the best pitcher in the American League,
struck out seven to lead the Astros to a 4-2 win to regain control of the
series. Things began to look bleak for the Royals as they trailed 6-2 after
seven innings while facing elimination in Game 4—the Royals than found their
October groove with five straight singles to cut the deficit to two runs.
Kendrys Morales would then deliver a hard shot off the glove of reliever Tony
Sipp to even the score. Alex Gordon’s RBI groundout would give the Royals the
lead, while Eric Hosmer’s homer an inning later provided some insurance to send
the series to a decisive Game 5, with a 9-6 win. In Game 5, at Kaufman Stadium,
the Astros again drew first blood, with a two-run homer by Luis Valbuena in the
second inning. That would be all the Astros could get off Johnny Cueto, who was
otherwise dominant, allowing just two hits while striking out eight in eight
innings pitched. The Royals would eventually take the lead during a three-run
fifth sparked by Alex Rios’ double down the third baseline as Kendrys Morales
put the game out of reach with a three-run blast in the eighth inning as the
Royals won the game 7-2.

2015 ALCS:The Royals would face the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League
Championship Series. In Game 1, Edison Volquez was effectively wild pitching in
and out of trouble all game, but keeping the Blue Jays big bats silent. Volquez
combined with three relievers for a three-hit shutout as the Royals took the
opener at Kaufman Stadium 5-0. The Blue Jays would get on the board in Game 2,
as they took held a 3-0 lead with David Price in firm control after six innings
retiring 18 batters in a row. In the seventh inning, the Royals would begin a
rally with a seemingly innocent pop fly by Ben Zobrist that was fell between
Ryan Goins and Jose Bautista. Four of the next six Royals would reach base as
they scored five times to take the lead and win the game 6-3. As the series
shifted to Toronto, the Blue Jays thunder finally showed up as Toronto pounded
Johnny Cueto to win the game 11-8. Game 4 would be the Royals offense showing
off the power as they scored four times in the first inning, with Ben Zobrist
starting things off with a two-run blast off R.A. Dickey. The Royals would then
blow apart the Jays bullpen with nine runs over the last three innings to win
the game 14-4. The Blues Jays would not go down without a fight, winning 7-1 in
Game 5 to send the series back to Kansas City. In Game 6, Zobrist would open the
scoring again with a first-inning homer with Mike Moustakas adding a solo shot
in the second to give Kansas City a 2-0 lead. The Jays would rally to tie the
game 3-3 as Jose Bautista, who was thus far silent hit two long balls. After a
45-minute rain delay, Lorenzo Cain led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk.
Eric Hosmer followed it up with a single left when Bautista threw the ball to
second to hold Hosmer to a single, Cain hustling all the way came into score the
go-ahead run, running the bases in 10.5 seconds. Wade Davis, who came on to
pitch in the eighth, stayed in the game despite the long delay and struggled as
the Toronto got the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with one out.
Davis would strike out Ben Revere and get Josh Donaldson to ground out to
preserve the 4-3 win and send the Royals to their second straight World Series.
Alcides Escobar, who hit .478 and led off four consecutive games with a base
hit, would be named ALCS MVP.

2015 World Series:In the Fall Classic, the Kansas City Royals would face the New
York Mets in the first-ever World Series to feature two post-1960 expansion
teams. Things started great for the Royals when Alcides Escobar led off with an
inside-the-park home run. It was the first inside the park home run in the World
Series since 1929. The Mets behind the pitching of Matt Harvey would rally to
take a 3-1 in the sixth inning. The Royals would tie the game on singles by Eric
Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. Hosmer would give it back misplaying a ground ball in
the eighth inning to allow the Mets to regain the lead at 4-3. With Closer
Jeurys Familia on the mound, the Royals again rallied as Alex Gordon tied the
game with a one-out home run to straightaway center in the ninth. From there,
the game would go long into the night, with each side making big plays in the
field to keep the game tied 4-4. Finally, in the 14th inning, Escobar got a
rally started by reaching base on a David Wright throwing error. He would go on
to score the winning run on a sac fly by Alex Gordon. The Royals 5-4 in 14
innings matched the longest game’s record in World Series history and the
longest ever series opener. Game 2 would see a battle of smoke as Johnny Cueto
faced Jacob deGrom. Cueto was nearly flawless, allowing just one run on two hits
as he went the distance in a 7-1 win. As the series shifted to New York, the
Mets came out angry in Game 3 as Noah Syndergaard sailed the first pitch over
the head of Alcides Escobar. The Mets would take out even more frustration on
Royals starter Yordano Ventura scoring five times in four innings on the way to
winning the game 9-3. With the Mets looking to even the series, the Royals were
held off-balance all night by Rookie Lefty Steven Matz. The Royals thought would
rally again, taking advantage of a Daniel Murphy error to score three runs in
the eighth to win Game 4 by a 5-3 score. Late inning magic would be needed again
in Game 5, as Matt Harvey dominated the Royals for eight innings. With Citi
Field in an uproar and Harvey looking for a complete game, Lorenzo Cain led off
the ninth with a walk. Eric Hosmer would follow it up with a double, scoring on
two ground outs, including one where he broke late from third after David Wright
threw out Moustakas at first. The game would go into extra innings with the
Royals blowing things open with five runs in the 12th inning to win the game 7-2
and claim their first World Series crown in 30 years. Salvador Perez, who hit
.364 in the series and drove in the go-ahead run in Game 5, would be named World
Series MVP.

2016:After winning the World Series, the Kansas City Royals began the season
with a World Series rematch on Opening Day as the hosted the New York Mets at
Kaufman Stadium. With interleague play now ongoing throughout the season, it
marked the first time that the teams that played in the World Series met to
begin the following season. With a strong start by Edison Volquez, the Royals
edged the Mets 4-3 in a nationally televised Sunday Night game. The Royals would
get off to a strong start, winning eight of their first ten games. The Royals
spent most of April in first place, before losing five straight to close the
month with a record of 12-11. May would be a full reversal as they struggled at
the start of the month, falling below .500, but ended the month with five
straight wins and regained first place with a record of 29-22. May, however,
would be a month to forget for Mike Moustakas after injuring his thumb at the
start of the month, tore his ACL after coming off the 15-day disabled list, and
was lost for the season. Moustakas’s loss would catch up with the Royals in
June, as they suffered an eight-game losing streak. The Royals would finish June
strong but found themselves six games behind the Cleveland Indians with a record
of 42-36. However, July would see the Royals hopes of a return trip to the World
Series fade away, as they suffered through a terrible record of 7-19, losing
11-of-13 on the road. Injuries and fatigue seemed to be the culprit in the
Royals struggles, as nearly the entire pitching staff underperformed, with
Edison Volquez posting a record of 10-11, with an ERA of 5.37. At the same time,
Yordano Ventura went 11-12 with an ERA of 4.45. One pitcher who did not have a
letdown season was Danny Duffy, who posted a record of 12-3, with an ERA of
3.51. The Royals would nearly get back in the race, with a strong August, as
they won 20 games, highlighted by a nine-game winning streak. However, they
could not carry the momentum into September, as they lost the first five games
of a critical eight-game homestand. The Royals would go on to finish the season
with a record of 81-81. One Royal who had a big season was Eric Hosmer, who
played in his first All-Star Game and won the MVP with a home run off former
teammate Johnny Cueto and hit 25 home runs with 104 RBI.

2017:One year removed from winning the World Series, the sun had set on this era
of Kansas City Royals baseball as they had several expiring contracts, with it
being unlikely that would re-sign their top stars. In stark contrast to the
previous opening day, when their championship was celebrated, the start of the
2017 season was a somber one as the Royals ace pitcher, Yordano Ventura, was
killed at the age of 25 in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on January
22nd. The Royals missed Ventura sorely as they no longer had a frontline pitcher
they could rely on. As the gloomy April came to an end, the Royals found
themselves amid a nine-game losing streak that saw them finish the month with a
record of 7-16. After a posting a 15-14 in May, the Royals clawed their way back
to .500 in June as they won 17 games. A big key the Royals turnaround was Jason
Vargas, who posted a 12-3 record in the first half of the season to earn his
first-ever All-Star Game appearance. Vargas went on to lead the American League
in wins, posting a record of 18-11 with a 4.16 ERA. The Royals continued to play
solid baseball after the All-Star Game, as they reeled off a nine-game winning
streak and finished July in contention for the Wild Card with a record of 55-49,
which prevented the team from making any type of fire sale. In hindsight, that
may not have been the best thing for the Royals future, as the team also failed
to make any additions and went into a month-long slump in August, losing 18
games. The month was marked by a 45 inning stretch where they Royals failed to
score, as the first-place Cleveland Indians outscored them in a three-game
series at Progressive Field 20-0. The bad August ended any hope of returning to
the playoffs, as Kansas City finished the year in third place with a record of
80-82. Mike Moustakas was the Royals top power hitter with 38 home runs and 85
RBI. Salvador Perez meanwhile had 27 home runs with 27 home runs and 80 RBI. In
their final seasons with the Royals, Eric Hosmer batted .318 with 25 home runs
and 94 RBI, while Lorenzo Cain hit .300 with 15 home runs, 49 RBI and 86 runs
scored.

2018:Just a few years removed from their 2015 World Series title, the Kansas
City Royals hoped to make one more October push before entering another
inevitable rebuild. The team lost starting first baseman Eric Hosmer to the San
Diego Padres and center fielder Lorenzo Cain to the Milwaukee Brewers in free
agency. The Royals were able to bring back Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar.
Kansas City’s plans to compete quickly became a pipe dream as they started the
season at 7-21. After a decent May, the Royals season spiraled out of control in
June as they went 5-21 on the month and fell to 25-57 on this season. The lousy
play carried to July as they suffered a ten-game losing streak as July began.
Catcher Salvador Perez served as the Royals lone representative at the 2018
All-Star game, and not long after, the team started to trade away pieces.
Moustakas was traded to the Brewers for Jorge Lopez and Brett Phillips. At the
same time, reliever Kelvin Herrera was dealt to the Washington Nationals for
minor leaguers Yohanse Morel, Blake Perkins, and Kelvin Gutierrez. Despite the
trades, the Royals finished the season on a higher note as they won a
season-best six straight games as September began and posted a 15-13 record over
the final month. This kept them from posting baseball’s worst record as they
finished 54-104 and in last place in the American League Central. Despite the
lost season, second baseman and outfielder Whit Merrifield led the majors in
hits while Perez took home the gold glove and silver slugger awards.

Written by Aaron Gershon

2019:It was another long season for the rebuilding Kansas City Royals, who lost
their best player Salvador Perez to an elbow injury at the start of Spring
Training. The catcher would miss the entire season after needing Tommy John
surgery. The offseason was relatively quiet for Kansas City. They did add a pair
of former Cincinnati Reds in Billy Hamilton and Homer Bailey and signed reliever
Jake Diekman who would all turn into trade chips come summertime. The Royals won
their opening series with Chicago White Sox to start the season and move above
.500 for the first time since 2018. March 30th would be their last day above
.500 as they went a horrid 7-19 during April 10-18 in May and 10-17 in June to
enter July with a record 29-55. Whit Merrifield served as the Royals lone
All-Star representative in Cleveland. Before the stretch run, the Royals traded
Hamilton to the Atlanta Braves and both Bailey and Diekman to the Oakland A’s in
separate deals. The Royals would never finish a month above .500 as they went
onto finish the year with a record 59-103. On September 23rd, long-time manager
Ned Yost who led the Royals a World Series championship in 2015, announced he
would retire after the season. The most significant bright spot of the Royals
season was outfielder Jorge Soler who broke out with a 48 home run season to
lead the American League.

Written by Aaron Gershon

Logo 2019-Present



Alternate Logo 2019-Present




CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

1985 World Champions Kansas City Royals



2015 World Champions Kansas City Royals


ROYALS STADIUMS

Kansas City Municipal Stadium

1969-1972



Kauffman Stadium

1973-Present


REGAL ROYALS

Ewing M. Kauffman

Owner 1969-1993



Lou Piniella

1969-1973

1969 Rookie of the Year



Al Fitzmorris

1969-1976



Cookie Rojas

1971-1977



John Mayberry

1972-1977



Freddie Patek

1971-1979



Al Cowens

1974-1979



Al Hrabosky

1978-1979



Steve Busby

1972-1980



Darrell Porter

1974-1980



Clint Hurdle

1977-1981



Rich Gale

1978-1981



Amos Otis

1970-1983



Willie Aikens

1980-1983



Paul Splittorff

1970-1984



U.L. Washington

1977-1984



George Brett

1980 AL MVP .390 BA



Frank White

1980 ALCS MVP



George Brett reacts to having a HR taken away



Larry Gura

1976-1985



John Wathan

1976-1985



Dane Iorg

1984-1985



Dennis Leonard

1974-1986



Dick Howser

MGR 1981-1986



Darryl Motley

1981-1986



Jim Sundberg

1985-1986



Hal McRae

1973-1987



Buddy Biancalana

1982-1987



Danny Jackson

1983-1987



Jorge Orta

1984-1987

Controversial Rally Starter



George Brett

1985 ALCS MVP



Bret Saberhagen

1985 & 1989 Cy Young, 1985 World Series MVP



Dan Quisenberry

1979-1988



Bud Black

1982-1988



Steve Balboni

1984-1988



Charlie Leibrandt

1984-1989



Frank White

1973-1990



Willie Wilson

1976-1990



Bo Jackson

1986-1990



Bret Saberhagen

1984-1991



Kevin Seitzer

1986-1991



Danny Tartabull

1987-1991



Jim Eisenreich

1987-1992



George Brett

1973-1993

3,154 Career Hits



Brian McRae

1990-1994



David Cone

1986, 1993-1994

1994 Cy Young



Tom Gordon

1988-1995



Wally Joyner

1992-1995



Mark Gubicza

1984-1996



Bob Hamelin

1993-1996

1994 Rookie of the Year



Mike MacFarlane

1987-1994, 1996-1998



Jeff Montgomery

1988-1999



Kevin Appier

1989-1999, 2003-2004



Johnny Damon

1995-2000



Jose Rosado

1996-2000



Jermaine Dye

1997-2001



Jeff Suppan

1998-2002



Mark Quinn

1999-2002



Michael Tucker

1995-1996, 2001-2003



Carlos Febles

1998-2003



Raul Ibanez

2001-2003, 2014



Carlos Beltran

1998-2004

1999 Rookie of the Year



Joe Randa

1995-1996, 1999-2004



Darrell May

2002-2004



Ken Harvey

2001, 2003-2005



Brian Anderson

2003-2005



Mike MacDougal

2001-2006



Aaron Guiel

2002-2006



Runelvys Hernandez

2002-2003, 2005-2006



Matt Stairs

2004-2006



Mike Sweeney

1995-2007



Angel Berroa

2001-2007

2003 Rookie of the Year



Emil Brown

2005-2007



Jimmy Gobble

2003-2008



Mark Grudzielanek

2006-2008



John Buck

2004-2009



Mark Teahen

2005-2009



Miguel Olivo

2008-2009



David DeJesus

2003-2010



Zack Greinke

2004-2010

2009 Cy Young



Brian Bannister

2007-2010



Gil Meche

2007-2010



Alberto Callaspo

2008-2010



Jose Guillen

2008-2010



Kyle Davies

2007-2011



Melky Cabrera

2011



Yuniesky Betancourt

2009-2010, 2012



Chris Getz

2010-2013



Jeff Francoeur

2011-2013



Billy Butler

2007-2014



Bruce Chen

2009-2014



James Shields

2013-2014



Nori Aoki

2014



Greg Holland

2010-2015



Jeremy Guthrie

2012-2015



Brian Finnegan

2014-2015



Johnny Cueto

2015



Ben Zobrist

2015



Luke Hochevar

2007-2016



Omar Infante

2014-2016



Jarrod Dyson

2011-2016



Wade Davis

2013-2016



Yordano Ventura

2013-2016



Kendrys Morales

2015-2016



Edinson Volquez

2015-2016



Joakim Soria

2007-2011, 2016-2017



Lorenzo Cain

2011-2017

2014 ALCS MVP



Eric Hosmer

2011-2017



Jason Vargas

2014-2017



Chris Young

2015-2017



Kelvin Herrera

2011-2018



Alcides Escobar

2011-2018

2015 ALCS MVP



Mike Moustakas

2011-2018



Jason Hammel

2017-2018



Ned Yost

MGR 2010-2019



Cheslor Cuthbert

2015-2019



Alex Gordon

2007-Present



Danny Duffy

2011-Present



Salvador Perez

2011-Present

2015 World Series MVP



Adalberto Mondesi

2015-Present



Hunter Dozier

2016, 2018-Present



Ian Kennedy

2016-Present



Whit Merrifield

2016-Present



Jacob Junis

2017-Present



Jorge Soler

2017-Present












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AUTHOR

Author

FRANK FLEMING


Frank Fleming founded the Sports Ecyclopedia in 2001 & is a passionate Devils
fan.
Frank Fleming founded the Sports Ecyclopedia in 2001 & is a passionate Devils
fan.

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