The Kansas City Royals: Perennial House of Cards or the Annual Royal Flush-Out?
Christopher N Faris
October 01, 2010
In medical terms the annual condition of the Kansas City Royals blue would be better defined as a state of Code Blue. The 2010 baseball season is winding down to the final few games and while some teams are still playing with hopes of the post season, National League teams like San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta, the only suspense in the American League is who will get the home field advantage. One thing remains the same every September, the Kansas City Royals are comfortably trailing the American League Central Division and out of contention. Royals faces always have a different look at year end versus the pre All-Star break roster and they always go through a late season cleansing. This yearīs 2nd half departures were traded starters Jose Guillen to San Franciscso, Alberto Callaspo to the Los Angeles Angels and Scott Posednik to the Los Angels Dodgers. The Royals roster closely resembles their farm club AAA Omaha. Are they imposters playing as the Kansas City Royals? How did Kansas City, for years annual contenders deteriorate the last two decades?
A look back into Kansas Cityīs pre-Royals baseball roots reveals glory with the Kansas City Monarchs and anything but glory with the Kansas City Athletics. Dating back to the 1920s the Kansas City Monarchs, charter members of the Negro National League were black baseballīs glamour franchise, having won a dozen league championships. Their heritage included baseball greats such as Jackie Robinson, Elston Howard, Ernie Banks, Satchel Paige, Buck OīNeil and other stars wearing Monarch uniforms. The 1960s brought about the end of the Negro Leagues and the Kansas City Monarchs but the Monarchs sent more players into Major League baseball than any other team after the color barrier was broken.
Major Baseball arrived in Kansas City in 1955 when the Philadelphia Athletics relocated their once great franchise. The Philadelphia the Athletics captured five World Series titles through the years, the last one being in 1930. The Aīs championship teams included baseball greats like Frank "Home Run" Baker, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. They were hoping to resurrect their once storied history in Kansas City but they hardly made any noise in the standings, continually finishing near the bottom of the standings. The 1967 season saw the Aīs finish in last place in what would be their final season in Kansas City. After 13 largely uneventful seasons, Charlie Finley, owner of the Athletics broke a pledge to the community against moving the club, and moved the team to Oakland. Those last place Aīs though were on the verge of greatness within a few years. That 1967 Aīs roster included future greats Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Bert Campaneris, Joe Rudi and Sal Bando. The group forged a nucleus of young players that would emerge into a baseball dynasty within a few years. In 1971 the now Oakland Aīs won their first division title and they won three straight World Series Championships from 1972 to 1974.
The Aīs era in Kansas City is probably more remembered for gimmicks than wins. Among owner Charlie Finleyīs gimmicks were replacing their elephant mascot with a mule. He also installed a mechanical rabbit named Harvey that would pop up behind home plate to deliver baseballs to the umpire. He also had the team where white shoes instead of the traditional black and he changed the team colors to Kelly green and gold.
The 1968 departure of the Aīs to Oakland paved the way for the expansion Kansas City Royals in 1969. The expansion Royals quickly started producing winning teams and by 1971 they had their first winning season finishing second to the Oakland Aīs. The Royals built a solid foundation through their farm system that turned them into a powerhouse. They appeared in playoffs seven times out of ten from 1976 to 1985 including one World Series Championship and another pennant. The 1985 World Series was coined the "I-70" series as the Royals played the St. Louis Cardinals located four hours east of Kansas City down Interstate 70. The Royals were victorious in seven games over the Cardinals as they had a dominant pitching staff anchored by Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen and closer Dan Quisenberry. Offensively, they were anchored by future Hall of Fame slugger George Brett, whom the late Howard Cosell called the purest swing. They also had major contributions from Frank White and Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni.
Following the 1985 World Series title, the Royals failed to appear in the playoffs again. They played competitive baseball and frequently posted winning records until they joined the newly formed American League Central Division in 1994 which started an era of decline. George Brett, the heart and soul of the Royals retired after the 1993 season and only once since 1993 have the Royals had a winning record, that occurring in 2003. They had good talent in the late 80īs and early 90īs. Bo Jackson was on the road to greatness as a baseball player and member of the Royals until the two-sport star was forced to retire after a football injury while playing for the Oakland Raiders in the NFL.
The Royals have had very good talent at times in the late 90s into the early 2000s only to let their talent time and again go away through trades or free agency. They had Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon all in Kansas City at the same time but as those players all blossomed into elite players, the Royals let them all get away claiming youth movements time and again. As we previously mentioned, the Royals last winning season was 2003. Since that year they have only once topped 70 wins and in 2004 and 2005 fell below 60 win seasons.
No highlight films of the worst sports calls would be complete without two memorable Royals highlights. The first one was the Pine Tar Incident in which George Brettīs go ahead homer in the 9th at Yankee Stadium was nullified as Yankee skipper Billy Martin protested the height of pine tar on Brettīs bat. The homer was later reinstated and the Royals won. Secondly is the abominable call in the ī85 World Series. With the Royals trailing in the bottom of the 9th and on the brink of elimination to the Cardinals, first place umpire Don Denkinger called Royals batter Jorge Orta safe at first base when he was clearly out. The Royals went on to win that game and won the next game to win the series in seven games.
The Royals have proven at times to be late season spoilers. In 2006 at the end of the season the Tigers needed just one win in the last five games to win the division. The Royals denied them of that honor by sweeping the Tigers in Detroit and thus, relegating the Tigers to the wild card entry. So here we are in September 2010, with only a few games to play in the season, and KC is again hovering around last place. They are not going out quietly though. They have deflated the Minnesota Twins chances to win home field advantage for the playoffs by winning the series over the Twins in Kansas City. Accordingly, Bert Blyleven said during the Sept. 29th telecast that the Royals have young kids trying to make a nice impression for Royals manager Ned Yost next season. Blyleven went on to say as to say as the Royals added to their lead, "they do cause teams that have plenty to play for late season fits." To be fair, Kansas City is not the only small market baseball team to have largely struggled. Other teams like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati (prior to this year) and Milwaukee have experienced similar fate while teams like Minnesota and Oakland have seemed to stay competitive for a number of years.
George Will, Pulitzer Prize winning author, essayist and baseball aficionado said "Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal." The Kansas City Royals have been in a youth movement and rebuilding mode for the better part of the last two decades. In the process, they have created one giant crater that they canīt seem to climb out of. Major League baseball has rightfully awarded Kansas City to host the 2012 All-Star Game, recognizing Kaufman Field as an outstanding baseball venue. For once Kansas City will have stars arriving instead of leaving as history has shown. While they have the makings of an exciting young roster, time will tell what kind of product takes the field in Kansas City in the next two years and whether more than one token Royals member will play in that All-Star Game. Maybe, just maybe, the Royals can recapture some of the past glory of pro baseball in Kansas City by the time that game is played.
A look back into Kansas Cityīs pre-Royals baseball roots reveals glory with the Kansas City Monarchs and anything but glory with the Kansas City Athletics. Dating back to the 1920s the Kansas City Monarchs, charter members of the Negro National League were black baseballīs glamour franchise, having won a dozen league championships. Their heritage included baseball greats such as Jackie Robinson, Elston Howard, Ernie Banks, Satchel Paige, Buck OīNeil and other stars wearing Monarch uniforms. The 1960s brought about the end of the Negro Leagues and the Kansas City Monarchs but the Monarchs sent more players into Major League baseball than any other team after the color barrier was broken.
Major Baseball arrived in Kansas City in 1955 when the Philadelphia Athletics relocated their once great franchise. The Philadelphia the Athletics captured five World Series titles through the years, the last one being in 1930. The Aīs championship teams included baseball greats like Frank "Home Run" Baker, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. They were hoping to resurrect their once storied history in Kansas City but they hardly made any noise in the standings, continually finishing near the bottom of the standings. The 1967 season saw the Aīs finish in last place in what would be their final season in Kansas City. After 13 largely uneventful seasons, Charlie Finley, owner of the Athletics broke a pledge to the community against moving the club, and moved the team to Oakland. Those last place Aīs though were on the verge of greatness within a few years. That 1967 Aīs roster included future greats Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Bert Campaneris, Joe Rudi and Sal Bando. The group forged a nucleus of young players that would emerge into a baseball dynasty within a few years. In 1971 the now Oakland Aīs won their first division title and they won three straight World Series Championships from 1972 to 1974.
The Aīs era in Kansas City is probably more remembered for gimmicks than wins. Among owner Charlie Finleyīs gimmicks were replacing their elephant mascot with a mule. He also installed a mechanical rabbit named Harvey that would pop up behind home plate to deliver baseballs to the umpire. He also had the team where white shoes instead of the traditional black and he changed the team colors to Kelly green and gold.
The 1968 departure of the Aīs to Oakland paved the way for the expansion Kansas City Royals in 1969. The expansion Royals quickly started producing winning teams and by 1971 they had their first winning season finishing second to the Oakland Aīs. The Royals built a solid foundation through their farm system that turned them into a powerhouse. They appeared in playoffs seven times out of ten from 1976 to 1985 including one World Series Championship and another pennant. The 1985 World Series was coined the "I-70" series as the Royals played the St. Louis Cardinals located four hours east of Kansas City down Interstate 70. The Royals were victorious in seven games over the Cardinals as they had a dominant pitching staff anchored by Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen and closer Dan Quisenberry. Offensively, they were anchored by future Hall of Fame slugger George Brett, whom the late Howard Cosell called the purest swing. They also had major contributions from Frank White and Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni.
Following the 1985 World Series title, the Royals failed to appear in the playoffs again. They played competitive baseball and frequently posted winning records until they joined the newly formed American League Central Division in 1994 which started an era of decline. George Brett, the heart and soul of the Royals retired after the 1993 season and only once since 1993 have the Royals had a winning record, that occurring in 2003. They had good talent in the late 80īs and early 90īs. Bo Jackson was on the road to greatness as a baseball player and member of the Royals until the two-sport star was forced to retire after a football injury while playing for the Oakland Raiders in the NFL.
The Royals have had very good talent at times in the late 90s into the early 2000s only to let their talent time and again go away through trades or free agency. They had Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon all in Kansas City at the same time but as those players all blossomed into elite players, the Royals let them all get away claiming youth movements time and again. As we previously mentioned, the Royals last winning season was 2003. Since that year they have only once topped 70 wins and in 2004 and 2005 fell below 60 win seasons.
No highlight films of the worst sports calls would be complete without two memorable Royals highlights. The first one was the Pine Tar Incident in which George Brettīs go ahead homer in the 9th at Yankee Stadium was nullified as Yankee skipper Billy Martin protested the height of pine tar on Brettīs bat. The homer was later reinstated and the Royals won. Secondly is the abominable call in the ī85 World Series. With the Royals trailing in the bottom of the 9th and on the brink of elimination to the Cardinals, first place umpire Don Denkinger called Royals batter Jorge Orta safe at first base when he was clearly out. The Royals went on to win that game and won the next game to win the series in seven games.
The Royals have proven at times to be late season spoilers. In 2006 at the end of the season the Tigers needed just one win in the last five games to win the division. The Royals denied them of that honor by sweeping the Tigers in Detroit and thus, relegating the Tigers to the wild card entry. So here we are in September 2010, with only a few games to play in the season, and KC is again hovering around last place. They are not going out quietly though. They have deflated the Minnesota Twins chances to win home field advantage for the playoffs by winning the series over the Twins in Kansas City. Accordingly, Bert Blyleven said during the Sept. 29th telecast that the Royals have young kids trying to make a nice impression for Royals manager Ned Yost next season. Blyleven went on to say as to say as the Royals added to their lead, "they do cause teams that have plenty to play for late season fits." To be fair, Kansas City is not the only small market baseball team to have largely struggled. Other teams like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati (prior to this year) and Milwaukee have experienced similar fate while teams like Minnesota and Oakland have seemed to stay competitive for a number of years.
George Will, Pulitzer Prize winning author, essayist and baseball aficionado said "Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal." The Kansas City Royals have been in a youth movement and rebuilding mode for the better part of the last two decades. In the process, they have created one giant crater that they canīt seem to climb out of. Major League baseball has rightfully awarded Kansas City to host the 2012 All-Star Game, recognizing Kaufman Field as an outstanding baseball venue. For once Kansas City will have stars arriving instead of leaving as history has shown. While they have the makings of an exciting young roster, time will tell what kind of product takes the field in Kansas City in the next two years and whether more than one token Royals member will play in that All-Star Game. Maybe, just maybe, the Royals can recapture some of the past glory of pro baseball in Kansas City by the time that game is played.
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