Let’s put two more up there: Appier and Saberhagen.
Early in his Royals tenure, he routinely hit second in the lineup. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. All-time roster Key: RHOF, Royals Hall of Fame inductee; MSHOF, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee. The Royals have retired three numbers in their 51 year history: 5 ( George Brett ); 10 ( Dick Howser ); and 20 ( Frank White ).
Although I argued now is the time to honor one or two more, there were several names I intentionally left out of the discussion. Look, if I could hop on a rocket and move to Planet Appier (or at least get in its orbit) I would do it in a flash. The new ballplayers cares about the name on the back." A few more Royals who could have their number retired 22 - Dennis Leonard. He finished second that year to some guy named Nolan Ryan.
But if you include Appier, how can you not also honor Saberhagen? The road uniform mirrored that of the home uniform, with "Kansas City" written in blue, in script lettering and in an arch arrangement. McRae arrived in Kansas City as a right fielder from the Cincinnati Reds in 1973 where he already had the reputation as a hard-nosed player in the nascent days of the Big Red Machine. He finished top five in strikeouts in the AL five times in his prime, but only topped 200 once. He threw a no-hitter in 1991. George Brett, 3B: No. The original design featured blue arm and neck piping, along with "Royals" in blue and in script lettering. Kansas City Royals Uniform Numbers. Long-time readers will recognize my bias against relievers. He led the AL in saves five times and finished in the Top 3 in Cy Young Award balloting four consecutive years (1982-1985). There was nothing like watching him line one down into the corner at Royals Stadium and then watch him burn around the turf.Wilson’s 1980 season was out of this world. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith.Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. The designated hitter wasn’t created for specifically McRae, it only felt … Team Name: Kansas City Royals Seasons: 52 (1969 to 2020) Record: 3904-4230, .480 W-L% Playoff Appearances: 9 Pennants: 4 World Championships: 2 Winningest Manager: Ned Yost, 746-839, .471 W-L% More Franchise Info He also won his only Gold Glove that season.
It’s not that I’m opposed to them per se, or think they’re not real members of the team, or anything like that. Leonard ranks fourth among Royals pitchers in fWAR at 32.9, but was the franchise leader when he... 11 - Hal McRae. It made no difference. CAREER: From his Hall of Hame Plaque: "Played each game with ceaseless intensity and unbridled... Dick Howser, Manager - #10. He missed the playoff run and World Championship in the mid-80s after a horrific knee injury suffered in 1983. A 13-time All-Star, Brett was a first-ballot HallKANSAS CITY -- The Royals have retired three numbers in franchise history, and they are displayed prominently at Kauffman Stadium.There is no set requirement for retired numbers, simply an organizational decision.
As noted, he is clearly the best starter in Royals history and set a standard of excellence for nearly a decade for the Royals.