Every sport evolves with each passing generation -- from the
size and athleticism of players to game strategy.
Baseball’s evolution, however, is both historic and unique given
the pre-integration and dead ball eras. For the former, full
segregation took place from 1887-1947. Full integration, which
was a gradual process, came in 1959. The Deadball Era was a
period in the early 20th century when baseball was
characterized by low scoring and emphasis on pitching.
There was the Steroid Era, which has no definite start time though
it is generally assumed that the era ran from the late 1980s until the
late 2000s. This era was defined by shattered home run records
leading to exorbitant salaries.
The Kansas City Royals came into Major League Baseball in 1969
as an expansion team. The franchise has seen many seasons that
were a clunker but have also played in four World Series, losing in
1980 to the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants
respectively. They also won the 1985 and 2015 editions over the
St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets respectively. The Royals
have won seven division titles.
Today, I formed a Royals Dream Team in a 26-man roster format.
For openers, to make this roster, four years as a Royal are required.
No exceptions. With the free agency era, I’m not going to cheapen
this roster with 1-3 year rentals.
I’m forming a 12 man pitching staff, five starters and seven relievers.
For the latter, I want at least one lefthander in the bullpen. For position
players, I am taking what I believe is the best of the best regardless
of era. For the bench players, it’s the best of the rest with versatility
being heavily considered. Merit achievements such as Hall of Fame,
All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves are considered but not
guaranteed. General impactfulness on the franchise is also
considered.
Generational reminders
If you played on a playoff team, there is no guarantee of landing on
this roster. If you played during a bad season, that does not deter
you from being on this roster. Off-the-field baggage is not a deterrent
to landing on this team, nor is any Steroid Era affiliation. This is
baseball, not the Boys Scouts. We don’t do morality clauses.
Starting pitchers
Brett Saberhagen, Kevin Appier, Dennis Leonard, Paul Splittorff,
Charlie Leibrandt
Saberhagen burst onto the scene and pitched eight seasons with
the Royals. He was a three-time All-Star and two-time American
League Cy Young Award winner. In addition to Saberhagen’s 1989
Cy Young, he also won a Gold Glove that year, led the Major
Leagues in wins and the American League in ERA. To go along
with his 1985 Cy Young, he was the World Series MVP in leading
the Royals to a World Series title. Leonard and Appier defined the
term workhorse. Appier was particularly dominant from 1990-1993.
He threw 200 or more Innings six times during his career in Kansas
City. Appier was an All-Star in 1985 and led the American League
in ERA in 1993. Leonard may lack All-Star recognition but pitched
over 200 Innings on seven occasions during his career and
approached the 300 mark on two occasions. Leonard led the
American League in victories of 1977.
Similar to Leonard, Spilttorff and Leibrandt never earned any All-
Star recognition but durability, consistency and reliability were
their longsuits. Spilttorff is the franchise leader with 166 career
victories. He pitched a total of 15 Seasons with the Royals and
pitched the first game in the history of Kauffman Stadium.
Leibrandt was an underrated figure during his six-year career
with the Royals, during which time he also helped the franchise
win their 1985 World Series. Leibrandt recorded 76 wins in six
seasons with the Royals.
Bullpen
Closer -- Dan Quisenberry
Greg Holland, Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, Jeff Montgomery,
Joakim Soria, Steve Farr
Montgomery may have more saves in franchise history but
Quisenberry as the closer is a no-brainer. The submarine-
throwing Quisenberry has the fewest walks per nine innings
pitched for any pitcher in the Major Leagues since the 1920s.
Quisenberry was a three-time All-Star and led the American
League in saves five times and was a member of the Royals
1985 World Series team. Montgomery pitched all but one of
his 13 Major League seasons with the Royals. He is the
franchise leader with 304 saves and was a three-time All-Star.
Soria pitched five seasons with the Royals and was an All-Star
on two occasions. Farr was a versatile picture who saved 49
games and had an ERA of 3.05 as a member of the Royals.
He also played on the 1985 World Series champions.
The bullpen threesome of Davis, Herrera and Holland was a
deadly combination for the franchise in 2014 and 2015 on
the way to back-to-back World Series appearances and a title
in the latter year. Holland made back-to-back All-Star
appearances in 2013 and 2014. Davis had a microscopic
0.36 ERA in the postseason. He was also an All-Star in back-
to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016. Herrera was outstanding
in his role as a setup man. Herrera was an All Star in back-to-
back seasons in 2015 and 2016.
Infield
Catcher -- Salvador Perez; First base -- Mike Sweeney;
Second base -- Frank White; Third base -- George Brett;
Shortstop -- Freddie Patek
Perez is a slam-dunk choice for starting catcher. Perez has
spent all 11 seasons with the Royals and is a six-time All-Star,
five-time Gold Glove Award winner and three-time Silver Slugger
Award winner. He was also World Series MVP on the way to
helping the Royals beat the Mets. He was also Comeback Player
of the Year in the American League in 2020. Sweeney made a
seamless transition from catcher to first baseman and in his 13
years with the Royals he was a five-time All-Star. White was the
epitome of steadiness and consistency throughout his 18-year
career with the Royals. He was an eight-time Gold Glove Award
winner and five-time All Star. He was also a pivotal piece in the
Royals 1985 World Series championship team and the ALCS
MVP in 1980.
There is not a player more synonymous with the Royals than
Brett -- and it's not even close. On the way to a Hall of Fame
career, Brett put together a resume that could cover every
square mile of the state of Missouri. He was the only player to
win three batting titles in three different decades. Brett was also
a 13-time All Star along with being the first player with career
totals exceeding 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, 600 doubles, 100
triples and 200 stolen bases. He was also a vital member of the
1985 World Series and the 1980 MVP. Patek was small in
stature at 5-foot-5 but played a towering role in helping the
expansion Royals become a viable franchise. Patek was a
three-time All-Star and American League leader in stolen bases
in 1977.
Outfield
Leftfield -- Alex Gordon; Centerfield -- Amos Otis; Rightfield --
Danny Tartabull
Gordon was known as a stellar defensive player as evidenced by
his eight Gold Glove Awards and 98 outfield assists, but he was
also an accomplished offensive player as well recording 749
career RBIs. Gordon was a three-time All-Star from 2013-2015
playing on back-to-back pennant-winning teams along with the
2015 World Series champions. Center field is a tough call but
the longevity of Otis wins out. Otis played 14 seasons with the
Royals and accumulated 365 doubles, 193 home runs and 340
stolen bases. He also compiled 1977 of his career 2020 career
hits in a Royals uniform. Otis was a five-time All-Star, 3 time
Gold Glove Award winner and led the American League in
stolen bases in 1971. Tartabull was acquired in a trade from
the Seattle Mariners in 1987 and spent five impactful seasons
as a member of the Royals. Tartabull transitioned from being a
middle infielder to a right fielder. His best season with the
Royals was 1991 when he compiled a .593 slugging percentage.
Bench
Darrell Porter, John Mayberry, Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas,
Bo Jackson, Hal McRae
Porter spent four seasons with the Royals and was an All-Star
in three consecutive seasons. Mayberry was a disciplined hitter
and also an outstanding power threat. He hit 143 home runs over
the course of six seasons and drove in 100 or more runs in three
of those years. Having Moustakas on this list may appear to be
recency bias but it's hard to argue with a club-record five home
runs in the 2014 postseason. In his eight seasons as a Royal,
Moustakas was also a three-time All-Star, crucial member of the
2015 World Series champions an American League Comeback
Player of the Year in 2017.
Escobar was acquired in a trade that sent Zack Greinke to the
Milwaukee Brewers and provided a steadying presence at
shortstop for eight seasons. Escobar's most defining season
was 2015 when he was an All-Star, ALCS MVP, Gold Glove
Award winner and member of the World Series champions.
Much of Jackson's legacy is “what could have been” but he
delivered many jaw-dropping moments. It's a shame that
Jackson's athletic career ended prematurely because of the
hip injury. In his five seasons with the Royals, Jackson was
an All-Star in 1989. That season he hit 32 home runs and
drove in 105 runs and added 26 stolen bases. If this team
had a category for designated hitter, McRae would be a no-
brainer but nonetheless he deserves a spot on this team after
having spent 15 years with the franchise as an outfielder and
DH. McRae was a three-time All-Star and was a member of
the 1985 World Series champions. In 1982, he was a Silver
Slugger Award winner and American League RBI leader.
Manager
Ned Yost
On the surface, the optics of Yost’s 746-839 career regular-
season record don't look impressive but that mark is
misleading by the fact that he guided two rebuilding projects.
What ultimately puts Yost number one is his postseason
record of 22-9 that included back-to-back American League
pennant-winning seasons in 2014 and 2015, the former ended
\with a seven-game loss to the Giants in the World Series and
the latter ended with a 4-1 win over the Mets in the World Series.
Team
1985
On the surface, the resume may not look overly impressive with
the Royals going 91-71 during the regular season. To appreciate
this team's accomplishments, you must appreciate the journey.
On July 18th, the Royals were 44-43 and 7 1/2 games behind
the California Angels. They had the ninth-best record in the
American League out of 14 teams. From that point, the Royals
went 47-27 to win the American League West by one game over
the Angels. In the postseason, the Royals fell behind 3-1 to the
Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series
and won the last three games including the final two in Toronto to
advance the World Series. Against the St. Louis Cardinals, the
Royals once again fell behind 3-1 including losing the first two
games at home. The Royals won the last three to win the World
Series.
