The Kansas City Royals are an interesting team in the coffers of MLB history. They don’t have a ton of World Series appearances, but they did get them in pairs (1980/1985 and 2014/2015). They won two championships exactly 30 years apart. And there are stars across the lineup in just about every era.
As far as valuation, the Royals aren’t in the same stratosphere as the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, or Boston Red Sox. That doesn’t mean this wasn’t an impactful franchise.
The stars are always pretty young, especially recently. We know right now Bobby Witt Jr. is one of the best players in the league. Four different players won the Rookie of the Year for the Royals, including Lou Pinella who won the very first year they existed. Only one player has ever won the MVP for the Royals.
This is an underrated team that is hoping they have the right pieces to get back into contention. It’s something we’ve seen from them before, and they have stars across decades in their all-time lineup.
First Base
Mike Sweeney
1995-2007
Mike Sweeney is as committed to the city of Kansas City as they come. He stuck around with the Royals when other players couldn’t wait to bolt. Unfortunately, it never led to anything too significant. Sweeney played first base (and some catcher) there from 1995 until 2007, and he never saw a postseason game in Royal Blue.
Sweeney’s Royals career was not a fun one at first. He struggled to play catcher, and the Royals didn’t seem to enamored with him at the plate. They saw the power possibilities, but there were concerns. They even tried to trade him in the mid-90s, but they were unsuccessful.
Luckily for them, Sweeney stuck around. He became their best hitter for the rest of the decade and into the next one. In 2000, Sweeney took a turn towards being really great, making his first of five All-Star teams with the Royals. That season, he broke the Royals single-season RBIs record with 144.
Sweeney finished sixth all-time among the Royals in Offensive WAR. Only Jose Offerman and George Brett have a better franchise career batting average than Sweeney’s .299. Only Brett and Salvador Perez have more career home runs. He did this as the only good player on a lot of those teams, and he deserves to be celebrated for his commitment.
Second Base
Frank White
1973-1990
Frank White would be considered one of the best second basemen of all time if he played for a different franchise. He was an eight-time Gold Glove winner, the first American League second baseman to commit that feat. He was also a five-time All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award in 1986.
White is forever tied to George Brett, who brought the first great era of Royals baseball. It started really going in 1976, and Kansas City won their first division title. Then, they lost three straight postseason series to the New York Yankees. They needed someone to step up and get the Royals over the top. Many expected that to be Brett, but it was actually White.
In 1980, the Royals were facing the Yankees once again. With a demon to defeat, White went beast mode on their rivals. He hit .545 in the ALCS. That started in Game 1, when he hit a double in the second inning that tied the game against Ron Guidry. He was eventually given the ALCS MVP after the Royals swept the series on their way to the 1980 World Series title.
White finished an 18-year career with the Royals that ended in 1990. The Royals retired his number 20, and he walked away with a ring and a place in the Royals’ Hall of Fame.
Shortstop
Bobby Witt Jr.
2022-2025
This might seem early, but Bobby Witt Jr. is the most talented player since George Brett, and he might have enough to surpass the team’s best all-time player. He’s already been a runner up for AL MVP, only falling behind an Aaron Judge historic season. He’s a two-time All-Star, and he had 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases twice in his career.
In his first two seasons as a star, he led the league in hits. At just 25 years old, many expect him to continue on a trajectory where he gets even better than he’s already been.
Witt should be this good for the next decade. He’s in the early stages of an 11-year extension that he signed with the Royals prior to the 2024 season. That is a commitment the Royals are looking for right now. This is a team that believes they are building the talent for a contender.
Witt is already seventh all-time in Offensive WAR, passing outfielder Alex Gordon, and is .1 points off of Mike Sweeney’s career total. His slugging percentage is second all-time, and his OPS is fourth all-time. We expect those numbers to rise exponentially.
Third Base
George Brett
1973-1993
George Brett is the star here. Even today, when people think of the Kansas City Royals, they think of George Brett. He’s just so ingrained in the fabric of this organization and this city that he can never be separated from Royal Blue. Maybe one day that will be Bobby Witt Jr., but he’s far away from matching the impact Brett had on the franchise.
Brett played 21 seasons for the organization, making 13 consecutive All-Star teams. During his career, he was as decorated a third baseman as we’ve seen in this era (along with Mike Schmidt in the National League). He won the 1980 MVP, three Silver Slugger awards, three batting titles, and a Gold Glove in 1985.
However, he did win a World Series, and he had a huge part to play in them getting there. Brett was the 1985 ALCS MVP, helping the team make a furious comeback. With the Toronto Blue Jays taking a 2-0 lead in the series, Brett went 4-for-4 with two home runs in his first two at-bats. In Game 7 of the World Series, he also had four hits as the Royals clinched the franchise’s first championship against the Cardinals.
Brett broke 3,000 hits, won batting titles in three different decades, finished his career with 317 home runs, and even popularized the phrase the Mendoza Line. He walked into the Hall of Fame with more than 98 percent of the vote in his first ballot.
Catcher
Salvador Perez
2011-2025
Salvador Perez is a 35-year-old catcher, something that is basically a unicorn in today’s MLB, and he is coming off a season with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. Perez is a marvel in baseball, and he’s spent his entire career in Kansas City. He is more than just a great player on this team spanning two eras, but he’s the heartbeat of this team overall.
Perez is incredibly decorated as a player. He is a nine-time MLB All-Star, five-time Gold Glove Award winner, five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and three-time All-MLB selection. He might even add to his trophy case this offseason.
What makes Perez most impactful is when he played at his best. The Royals played in back-to-back World Series in 2014 and 2015, and Perez did incredible things in both. In 2014, he hit a home run off of Madison Bumgarner. That wasn’t just the only home run Bumgarner ever gave up in the World Series, but it’s the only run he’s given up.
In 2015, Perez won the World Series MVP after hitting .364 in the series. He was the first catcher in more than 20 years to win MVP of the World Series. Perez is still making major impacts on the Royals, but we must appreciate what he’s doing before he hangs up his cleats for good.
Right Field
Alex Gordon
2007-2020
Alex Gordon was one of the first prospects to get mainstream popularity around baseball. People were waiting for his arrival, and he did not disappoint. He was the second-overall pick in the 2005 MLB Draft out of the University of Nebraska. Since his draft, most expected him to make quick work of the minor leagues and play for the Royals in no time.
Two years after he was drafted, Gordon made his major league debut. He started by playing third base, but he didn’t get over his early career struggles until he was moved into the outfield in 2010.
His breakout finally came in 2011, when he had his first of eight Gold Gloves. He also just missed making the All-Star team, as Paul Konerko got the final vote for the AL. Gordon’s great seasons coincided with the best Royals teams, leading to postseason success.
While his overall numbers in 2014 don’t look great, he had some big moments. He hit a home run against Baltimore in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the ALCS. He also had a single in the bottom of the ninth in Game 7 of the World Series that eventually saw him on third base. He didn’t make it home after Perez fouled out. In Game 1 of the 2015 World Series, Gordon hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. The Royals would go on to win the game and the series, making Gordon a World Champion.
Center Field
Amos Otis
1970-1983
Amos Otis is considered the original Royals star. He was traded to Kansas City after their inaugural season. He was clashing with New York Mets manager Gil Hodges, and the club moved on from him. When he came to Kansas City, they immediately moved him to center field, and he was rarely anywhere else during the 1970s.
He brought an element to the lineup that the Royals were looking for at the time: blazing speed. He hit a peak in 1972 when he stole 52 bases, an American League lead. That speed also helped him in the outfield, where he won three Gold Gloves.
Otis was a five-time All-Star and regularly finished the regular season in the top 10 in MVP voting, although he never quite made it as a finalist. He continued to produce as the Royals got better and better. Eventually, he helped them make it to the 1980 World Series. They would go on to lose to the Philadelphia Phillies, but Otis hit .478 with three home runs and 7 RBI in six games.
Unfortunately for Otis, his play diminished due to various injuries, and he left the Royals after the 1983 season. He missed out on their triumphant win in the 1985 World Series, but he was the foundation that led them there.
Left Field
Willie Wilson
1976-1990
Ironically, the guy who replaced Otis in center field will now play next to him in left field in our all-time lineup. Willie Wilson started his career in left after showing the Royals he was worthy of a starting spot during the 1979 season. That season, he led the whole league in stolen bases with 83, and he batted .315 with six home runs and 49 RBI.
Wilson was a switch-hitter, which really helped the Royals during their best years. In 1980, the year they would eventually win the pennant, Wilson had 100 hits from both sides of the plate. He was often near the league lead in batting average, winning the batting title in 1982.
Wilson played a pivotal role in the Royals’ two World Series trips of the 1980s. In 1980, he helped the Royals get past the Yankees in the ALCS both at the plate and in the field. He had a very important throw home in Game 2 that got Willie Randolph out, which eventually led to a 3-2 victory. He was not good in the ‘80 World Series, striking out 12 times, a record that would eventually be broken by Ryan Howard.
He bounced back in the 1985 World Series by hitting .367 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Wilson helped the Royals get over the hump and win their first championship.
Designated Hitter
Bo Jackson
1986-1990
This will be a controversial pick, but it sure is a fun one. Bo Jackson is known as a football player. He was the best player in multiple early football video games, and his incredible speed on the gridiron is what put him on the cover of magazines and made him a transcendent name even to this day.
But Jackson had a tumultuous start to his football career, getting into a high-profile fight with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after they used some shady tactics (allegedly) to end his college baseball career due to eligibility. So, Jackson signed a contract with the defending World Series champs, who drafted him in the fourth round (instead of the first-overall pick Tampa used on him).
In 1988, he hit .246 with 25 home runs, 68 RBI and a career-high 27 stolen bases. It was the start of his breakout. In 1989, he made the All-Star Game and was named the MVP for his game after a few flashy plays both in the outfield and at the plate. Only he and Willie Mays have hit a home run and stolen a base in the All-Star Game.
This might be a little projection, but Jackson is one of the most talented athletes in the history of baseball. He began to split his time between the Royals and Raiders, and a hip injury was going to force him to miss much of the 1991 season. Since it was a football injury, the Royals opted to release him from his contract. Jackson is a huge “what if,” but if he were rounding out this lineup in his prime, this team might be unstoppable.
Starting Pitcher
Bret Saberhagen
1984-1991
The Kansas City Royals at two times had guys who were in the conversation for best pitcher in baseball. They both won Cy Youngs, and they both left in the middle of their primes. We are giving the edge to Bret Saberhagen over Zack Greinke because he helped the Royals win a World Series.
Saberhagen didn’t waste any time dominating the American League. In just his second season in the majors, he won the AL Cy Young award. Saberhagen went 20-6 with 10 complete games in 32 starts. He had a 2.87 ERA and led the league in walks allowed per nine innings. The Royals would make him their ace in the World Series, and he would be named MVP of the World Series after throwing a complete game shutout in Game 7.
Saberhagen had a strange career from there. He was known to have one great year then one off year. In 1989, four years after his previous Cy Young, he won the award again with an even more dominant performance. He led all of the majors in ERA, complete games, innings pitched, WHIP, strikeout-to-walk ratio, and WAR. That and his 23 wins helped him win the top pitcher award again.
He has a great legacy in Kansas City, including the last no-hitter thrown by a Royals pitcher when he stopped all White Sox hitters in 1991. He was traded that offseason to the New York Mets, and he had various levels of success through serious injuries with the Mets, Rockies, and Red Sox.
Closing Pitcher
Dan Quisenberry
1979-1988
Like many relievers of this era, Dan Quisenberry’s prime was short but oh so sweet. He led the American League in saves five times from 1980 to 1986 (missing out only in 1981). Each of those years, he won the Rolaids Relief Man award.
It all started with a conversation with his manager in 1980, Jim Frey. He told him to learn the submarine-style delivery to confuse hitters. Quisenberry did not have a 98 MPH fastball that many other closers possessed, so he needed something that helped him get people out without pure speed. It worked incredibly well, and others in the league failed to replicate his style.
Quisenberry dominated the league by keeping everything on the ground. All of his pitches, including his trademark sinking fastball, kept the ball out of the air. Whether it was the fastball, curveball, changeup, or even a knuckleball, Quisenberry would leave hitters puzzled as they left the batter’s box.
He finished his Royals career with 238 saves before he left for the Cardinals and eventually the Giants. He was considered for the Hall of Fame, but he eventually came up short in the votes. Still, this was a prime worth recognizing, which the Royals did by adding him to their Hall of Fame.