History of the Kansas City Royals

The following is a detailed history of the Kansas City Royals, a Major League Baseball team that began play in 1969 in Kansas City, Missouri. The team is currently in the American League Central Division. The franchise has won six division titles, two league championships, and one World Series title.

Franchise history

Baseball returns to Kansas City

When the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland after the 1967 season, Kansas City was left without professional baseball for the first and only time since 1883. [http://home.kc.rr.com/starrpower/sports/history.htm] An enraged Senator Stuart Symington threatened to introduce legislation removing baseball's antitrust exemption unless Kansas City was granted a team in the next round of expansion. [ [http://www.wshs.org/wshs/columbia/articles/0200-a2.htm The Seattle Pilots—Major League Baseball's First Venture in the Pacific Northwest ] ] Major League Baseball complied with a hasty round of expansion at the 1967 winter meetings. Kansas City was awarded one of four teams to begin play in 1971. However, Symington was not satisfied with having Kansas City wait three years for baseball to return, and pressured MLB to allow the new teams to start play in 1969. Symington's intervention may have contributed to the collapse of one of the Royals' expansion brethren, the Seattle Pilots, who moved to Milwaukee as the Brewers after only one season.

Pharmaceutical executive Ewing Kauffman won the bidding for the new Kansas City team, which he named the Royals after the American Royal, a livestock show, horse show, and rodeo held annually in Kansas City since 1899. [ [http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/al/kc/royals.html Kansas City Royals (1969-Present) ] ] (Some sources say it was in honor of the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro League team.) [ [http://www.mlb-teams.com/royals.php Kansas City Royals : Royals news, history and pictures ] ] The team's logo, a crown atop a shield with the letters "KC" inside the shield, was created by Shannon Manning, an artist at Hallmark Cards, based in Kansas City. Fact|date=June 2007

1969-79: Taking off

The Royals began operations with General Manager Cedric Tallis, who soon developed a reputation as the best trader in the league. The first big trade was with fellow expansion team Seattle, which brought in 1969 Rookie of the Year Lou Piniella. In their inaugural game, on April 8, 1969, the Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-3 in 12 innings. Two pitching stars from the Baltimore Orioles team that won the 1966 World Series pitched for the Royals in the inaugural game: Wally Bunker threw the franchise's very first pitch, and Moe Drabowsky won the game in relief. After finishing the season in 5th place, the Royals' next trade cemented a reputation as a speedy team. Third baseman Joey Foy was traded to the New York Mets for speedy outfielder Amos Otis, who would become the Royals' first star. Further one-sided trades brought to the Royals second baseman Cookie Rojas, bullpen ace Ted Abernathy, shortstop Fred Patek, first baseman John Mayberry and left fielder Hal McRae. The Royals also invested in a strong farm system and in the early years developed such future stars as pitchers Paul Splittorff and Steve Busby, infielders George Brett and Frank White, and outfielder Al Cowens. In 1971, the Royals had their first winning season, with manager Bob Lemon guiding them to a second-place finish. In 1973, under Jack McKeon, the Royals adopted their iconic "powder blue" road uniforms and moved from Municipal Stadium to the brand-new Royals Stadium (now known as Kauffman Stadium). The stadium had deep outfield walls and artificial turf, and gave future young stars the opportunity to build a playing style involving aggressive baserunning and good defense. The stadium was built alongside the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs' new home, Arrowhead Stadium--both complete the Truman Sports Complex. Unlike many of the new stadiums going up at the time, Kansas City chose dedicated stadiums for their sports teams over one multi-purpose stadium.

Manager Whitey Herzog replaced McKeon in 1975, and the Royals quickly became the dominant franchise in the American League Western Division, winning three straight division championships from 1976 to 1978. They lost to the New York Yankees in three straight American League Championship Series encounters, despite winning more regular season games in two of those years. In two of those years, they lost the AL Championship Series in the ninth inning of the fifth and final game. However, the three playoffs series helped George Brett become a superstar, as he homered three times in a losing effort in the final game of the 1978 playoff series. In addition to a nucleus of Brett, White, McRae,and Cowens, these Royals teams featured pitchers Dennis Leonard and Larry Gura, closer Dan Quisenberry, and position players Willie Wilson, U.L. Washington and Darrell Porter.

1980-84: From pennant to pine tar

After the Royals finished in second place in 1979, Herzog was fired and replaced by Jim Frey. Most believe that the firing was due to Herzog's strained relationship with the Royals front office including General Manager Joe Burke, owner Ewing Kauffman, and Kauffman's wife, Muriel.Fact|date=April 2007 Under Frey, the Royals rebounded in 1980 and advanced to the ALCS, where they again faced the Yankees. The team was led by Brett, who flirted with a .400 batting average and won the AL MVP, and Willie Wilson, who electrified crowds with stolen bases and inside the park home runs.

In the 1980 ALCS, the Royals finally vanquished the Yankees in a three-game sweep punctuated by a George Brett home run off Yankees' star closer Goose Gossage. Frank White was named the playoffs MVP for all-around steady play and heroics. However, after reaching their first World Series, the Royals fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. The Phillies featured future Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, as well as all-time hits leader Pete Rose. In the series, Willie Aikens became the first player in World Series history to homer twice in two separate Series games.

The Royals returned to the post-season in 1981, losing to the Oakland Athletics in a unique divisional series resulting from the split season caused by the 1981 Major League Baseball strike. In 1983, the Royals were headed for a second-place finish behind the Chicago White Sox when they were rocked by scandals. The first event added another chapter to the team's heated rivalry with the Yankees. In a July game between the two teams, third baseman George Brett hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning. After Brett crossed home plate and returned to the dugout, Yankees manager Billy Martin complained that Brett had more pine tar on his bat than baseball's rules allowed. After inspecting the bat, the umpires disallowed the home run and called Brett out, ending the game. The signature image from the event was Brett storming angrily out of the dugout to argue the call.The second scandal of the 1983 season was far more serious, involving a truly illegal substance and several Royals players. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Willie Wilson, power-hitting first baseman Willie Aikens, power-hitting outfielder Jerry Martin, and starting pitcher Vida Blue, who had been released on August 5, were charged with attempting to purchase cocaine. The four were charged in October 1983, pled guilty, spent three months in prison, and were suspended by commissioner Bowie Kuhn for the entire 1984 season. The four appealed and were permitted to return on May 15. In response to the scandal, owner Ewing Kauffman founded the Ewing Marion Kauffman foundation to give back to the community, allowed Martin to depart via free agency, and traded Aikens, retaining only Wilson's services.

Fortunately, General Manager John Schuerholz had stocked the Royals' minor leagues with young talent. The youth movement paid off more quickly than expected. Under the leadership of manager Dick Howser, the Royals, relying on Brett's bat and the young pitching of Bret Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza, Charlie Leibrandt, Bud Black and Danny Jackson, won their fifth division championship in 1984, although they were swept by the eventual World Series champion Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series.

1985: Missouri's finest and the "I-70 Series"

In the 1985 regular season the Royals topped the Western Division for the sixth time in ten years, led by Bret Saberhagan's Cy Young Award-winning performance. In the last week of the season, Brett put on an amazing hitting streak that led the Royals climb from behind to overtake the California Angels in the standings. Throughout the ensuing playoffs, the Royals repeatedly put themselves into difficult positions, but improbably managed to escape each time. With the Royals down 2 games to zero in the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, George Brett put on a hitting show in game three, homering in his first two at bats and then doubling to the same right field location in his third at bat. After falling behind 3-1 in the series, the Royals eventaully rallied to win the series 4-3 (notably, the LCS had been expanded to a best-of-seven format for the first time in 1985, which allowed the Royals to survive at all). Brett was named ALCS MVP. In the 1985 World Series against the cross-state St. Louis Cardinals – the so-called "I-70 Series" because the two teams are both located in the state of Missouri and connected by Interstate 70 – the Royals again fell behind 3-1. The key game in the Royals' comeback was Game Six. Facing elimination, the Royals trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, before rallying to score two runs and win. The rally was helped by a controversial call at first base by umpire Don Denkinger, which allowed Royals outfielder Jorge Orta to reach base safely as the first baserunner of the inning.

Following Orta's single, the Cardinals seemingly lost their concentration, dropping an easy popout and suffering a passed ball, before the Royals won with a bloop base hit by seldom used pinch hitter Dane Iorg, a former utility player for the Cardinals. Following the tension and frustration of Game Six, the Cardinals came undone in Game Seven, and the Royals won 11-0 to clinch the franchise's first World Series title. (Actually, the Cardinals' self-destruction began before the Series, when speedy outfielder Vince Coleman was injured by a rolling tarp on the field and missed the whole Series.)

1986-1994: Staying in the picture

In 1986, the Royals fell suddenly from contender status. They also made one of the worst trades in franchise history, trading native Kansas Citian and future perennial All-Star David Cone for Ed Hearn. Hearn played for less than a month in Kansas City. The Royals were the trendy pre-season pick to return to the World Series in 1987, but the season proved bittersweet for the Royals. The team won 83 out of 162 games (a seven win improvement from 1986), and wound up finishing two games behind the eventual World Champion Minnesota Twins in the Western Division. Further, on June 17, 1987, Dick Howser died after a year long battle with brain cancer. Howser's #10 soon became the first number that the Royals retired. Also in 1987, the team released longtime star Hal McRae and selected John Wathan as its new manager in midseason after firing Billy Gardner.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Royals developed young stars such as Bo Jackson, Tom Gordon, and Kevin Seitzer, made some successful free-agent acquisitions, and generally posted winning records, but always fell short of the post-season. For example, in 1989, the Royals won 92 games and posted the third-best record in baseball, but did not qualify for the playoffs. They also traded their star pitchers for questionable talent: Charlie Leibrandt for Gerald Perry, Bud Black for Pat Tabler, Danny Jackson for Kurt Stillwell, and Bret Saberhagen for Kevin McReynolds, Gregg Jefferies and Keith Miller.

Many of the team's highlights from this era instead centered around the end of Brett's career, such as his third and final batting title in 1990 – which made him the first player to win batting titles in three different decades – and his 3,000th hit. Though the team dropped out of contention from 1990 to 1992, through the strike-shortened 1994 season, the Royals still could generally be counted on to post winning records. The 1994 season was the club's last flirtation with greatness. Led by manager Hal McRae and Cy Young Award-winner David Cone (whom owner Ewing Kaufmann had re-signed), the Royals had a fourteen-game winning streak just before the season ended prematurely due to the players' strike.

1995-2001: The decline

At the start of the 1990s, the Royals had been hit with a double-whammy when General Manager John Schuerholz departed in 1990 and team owner Ewing Kauffman died in 1993. Kauffman's death left the franchise without permanent ownership until Wal-Mart executive David Glass purchased the team for $96 million in 2000.

Partly because of the resulting lack of leadership, after the 1994 season the Royals decided to reduce payroll by trading pitcher David Cone (again) and outfielder Brian McRae, then continued their salary dump in the 1995 season. In fact, the team payroll was sliced from $40.5 million in 1994 to $18.5 million in 1996. [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15496052.htm]

In 1997, the Royals franchise had the opportunity to switch to the National League and play in the NL Central alongside its intrastate rival St. Louis Cardinals.Mellinger, Sam. [http://origin.miami.com/mld/kansascity/sports/17348279.htm?source=rss&channel=kansascity_sports NL grass looks greener now] "Kansas City Star", 10 June 2007.] The opportunity arose because Major League Baseball was planning to realign the divisions in preparation for expansion with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Bud Selig, baseball’s acting commissioner and Milwaukee Brewers owner, gave the Royals the first option to change to the National League. That summer, the Royals were mired in the team's worst season since its second year of existence. Further, following Ewing Kauffman death, the franchise was being run by a board of directors and was up for sale. Ultimately, the board declined the move, and Milwaukee switched leagues instead.

Some commentators have aruged that the Royals should have made the move. According to their logic, if the Royals had changed leagues, the team would have played the Cardinals more often and would have been in the same division with the Chicago Cubs; these teams might have drawn bigger crowds to Kauffman Stadium. Further, with no designated hitter in the National League, there would have been one less big salary to pay, which would have been easier for the Royals' front office to manage. Opinion at the time was fairly split. The Royals polled their fans, and reported that a slight majority of the 1,500 who returned surveys approved a move to the NL. Many fans, including former Royal Greg Pryor, thought that switching leagues was the only way to keep the Royals in Kansas City. On the other hand, there was also a strong sentiment among some fans that Kansas City was, is, and always would be an American League market. Back then, the glory years weren’t that far removed, and the emotional tie to the rivalry with the Yankees, for instance, was still burning. There was nothing in Kauffman’s will or known feelings about how he would have received a move to the National League.

As the decade drew to a close, attendance at Royals games slid while the average MLB salary continued to rise, and the Royals found it difficult to retain their remaining stars. The team decided to trade players such as Kevin Appier, Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye for prospects rather than pay higher salaries or lose them to free agency. Making matters worse, most of the younger players that the Royals received in exchange for these All-Stars proved of little value, setting the stage for an extended downward spiral.

In 1999, the Royals set a franchise low with a .398 winning percentage (64-97 record), and lost 97 games again in 2001. The records could have been even worse without the rapid development of center fielder Carlos Beltrán (Rookie of the Year in 1999) and first baseman Mike Sweeney.

2002-2006: Rock bottom

In 2002, the Royals set a new team record for futility, losing 100 games for the first time in franchise history. The team also introduced new black and dark blue jerseys for alternate games, and also sleeveless home jerseys. [ [http://espn.go.com/page2/s/newlook/royals/uniforms.html Kansas City Royals new uniforms (2002)] "ESPN.com" - "Page 2"] The jerseys were met with mixed reactions in Kansas City, and eventually, by the 2006 season, the Royals again changed their uniforms back to their "old" style. [http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060127&content_id=1302088&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc Royals unveil new uniforms in 2006] "MLB.com", 27 January 2006.]

The 2003 season saw a temporary end to the losing, when manager Tony Peña, in his first full season with the club, improbably guided the Royals to their first winning record since the 1994 season. He was named the American League Manager of the Year for his efforts.

Picked by many to win their division in 2004 after faring surprisingly well in the free agent market, the Royals got off to a disappointing start and by late June again were in rebuilding mode, releasing veteran reliever Curtis Leskanic before financial incentives kicked in and trading veteran reliever Jason Grimsley and superstar center fielder Carlos Beltrán for prospects, all within a week of each other. The team subsequently fell apart completely, establishing a new low by losing 104 games. Worse yet, the younger players received in these trades again did little to immediately restock the team or its farm system, although Mark Teahen, acquired in the Beltrán trade, would blossom in 2006 (following a brief demotion to the minor leagues).

In 2005, the Royals continued their youth movement, with one of the smallest payrolls in the Major Leagues and with six of their starting position players, three of their five starting pitchers, and their setup man and closer under the age of 30. After posting a miserable 8-25 record to start the season, Tony Peña resigned as manager on May 10; Buddy Bell was hired to replace him three weeks later. During that season, the Royals suffered a franchise record 19-game losing streak highlighted by a three-game stretch of blowout losses at home from August 6 through August 9; in that stretch the Royals lost 16-1 to the Oakland Athletics in the first game, were shut out 11-0 by Oakland in the second game, and then in the third game, against the Cleveland Indians, built a 7-2 lead in the ninth inning before allowing 11 runs to lose 13-7. The Royals finally ended their losing streak at 19 on August 20, two losses short of the American League record, with a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics. The Royals ended the 2005 season with a 56-106 record (.346), a full 43 games out of first place. It was the third time in four seasons that the team reestablished the mark for worst record in the history of the franchise. The team finished the season tenth in the American League in hitting (.263 AVG), twelfth in runs scored (702) and last in pitching (5.49 ERA).

Looking for a quick turnaround, General Manager Allard Baird signed several veteran players prior to the 2006 season. He secured starting pitchers Mark Redman, Joe Mays and Scott Elarton. Baird also signed free agent second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz and inked veteran Reggie Sanders to a two-year, $10 million deal. Although the new players seemed promising, they did not result in many additional wins. The Royals struggled through another 100-loss season in 2006, becoming just the eleventh team in major league history to lose 100 games in three straight seasons. [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/baseball/mlb/kansas_city_royals/15634743.htm] Following a major-league worst 13-37 start, the Royals fired Baird on May 31 and announced that Atlanta Braves assistant general manager Dayton Moore would be the team's new GM. Muzzy Jackson served as interim GM for the Royals, handling the first-year player draft, before Moore took over on June 8.

One problem often cited by commentators for the losing of the past few seasons was a lack of financial support from the team's owner, David Glass. [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/columnists/14504364.htm] [ [http://pitch.com/Issues/2006-03-30/news/feature_1.html Kansas City - News - Is David Glass Smoking Grass? ] ] [http://www.all-baseball.com/kauffman/archives/022013.html] Glass and the Royals also faced controversy off the field in 2006, when the team revoked the credentials of two radio journalists present at the press conference introducing Moore. The two personalities—Bob Fescoe of WHB and Rhonda Moss of KCSP—primarily asked pointed questions toward Glass over the firing of Baird. The aftermath included less than positive commentary from other media outlets in the metro and a statement from the Society of Professional Journalists [http://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=591 calling for the reinstatement of their credentials] . In response, the Royals started a weblog; the first entry defended the organization's decision.

2007–"present": "New. Blue. Tradition."

During the 2006 offseason, Kansas City appeared to be opening up its wallet, and entered the 2007 season looking to rebound from four out of five seasons ending with at least 100 losses. They outbid the Cubs and Blue Jays for free agent righty Gil Meche, signing him to five-year, $55 million contract. Reliever Octavio Dotel also inked a one-year, $5 million contract. The Royals have signed various new players, adding bulk to their bullpen and hitting, and the team has added several new promising prospects, including the likes of Alex Gordon and Billy Butler. Under general manager Dayton Moore the Royals were arguably the most aggressive team in the offseason. Among one of Dayton Moore's first acts as General Manager was instating a new motto for the team: "True. Blue. Tradition." The Royals plan on a slogan that will bank on new general manager Dayton Moore’s ability to restore the Royals’ once-rich history. [Flanagan, Jeffrey. [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/16647959.htm Royals reach to past with newest slogan] "Kansas City Star", 28 February 2007.] In 2008, the Royals also ditched their black and sleeveless jerseys, instead reviving their "old" jerseys from years past. For 2008, to coincide with the intoduction of powder blue alternate home jerseys, the new slogan changed from "True. Blue. Tradition" to "New. Blue. Tradition".

In the 2007 MLB Draft, the Royals selected shortstop Mike Moustakas at #2 overall, signing him minutes before the deadline. In June, the Royals had their first winning month since July 2003, and in July had their second consecutive winning month of the season. On August 1, manager Buddy Bell announced his intentions to resign following the 2007 season. [http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070801&content_id=2122768&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc Bell stepping down as Royals skipper] ] On September 12, the Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-3 to win their 63rd game, guaranteeing that they would not lose 100 games in 2007. The victory ended the team's string of three consecutive seasons of 100 losses or more from 2004-2006.

Kansas City's 2008 season began with the team searching for it's new manager. Early candidates to succeed Bell included Royals bench coach Billy Doran,Dutton, Bob. [http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/299177.html Finding a manager tops Royals' offseason checklist] "Kansas City Star", 1 October 2007.] former Royals stars George Brett (Brett denied his intentions) and Frank White, and Triple-A Omaha manager Mike Jirschele. Former Major League managers such as Joe Girardi, Jim Fregosi, Ken Macha, and Jimy Williams. Atlanta Braves coaches Terry Pendleton and Brian Snitker were also in consideration. [Dutton, Bob. [http://www.kansascity.com/sports/royals/story/214535.html] "Kansas City Star", 1 Aug 2007] . On October 19, the Royals hired Trey Hillman, former manager of the Nippon Ham Fighters and minor league manager of the New York Yankees, to be the 15th manager in franchise history.Kaeger, Dick. [http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071022&content_id=2276225&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc Royals introduce Hillman as new manager] "MLB.com", 22 October 2007.]

As part of the Royals' "New. Blue. Tradition." motto, the Royals introduced a new rendition of their classic powder blue uniforms for the 2008 season. The team will wear the uniforms as alternates in weekend home games. The Royals previously wore powder blue uniforms from 1973 to 1991 in away games, and in 2008, the Royals will wear powder blue for the first time ever at Kauffman Stadium.Kaegel, Dick. [http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071207&content_id=2320779&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc Royals to bring back powder blues] "Royals.com", 6 December 2007.] The uniforms were introduced on December 6, 2007 at a special event for season ticket holders and were modeled by current players such as Alex Gordon and former players such as Frank White.

The Royals began the 2008 season 3-0 with a sweep over the Detroit Tigers, a team thought by many to eventually win the AL Pennant. Through 13 games, the Royals were 8-5 and in first place compared to their 3-10 start from the previous season. However, by the All-Star break, the Royals were again in losing territory, with their record buoyed only by a 13-5 record in interleague play, the best in the American League. After fighting to remain in fourth place for much of July and early August, the Royals reclaimed last place in the American League Central Division from the unexpectedly weak Cleveland Indians on 14 August 2008.

Managers

References

External links

* [http://www.Royals.com Official Website of the Kansas City Royals]