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2000 - PRESENT
The new millennium brought much hope for the future of Royals baseball
in Kansas City. The Royals and their fans welcomed in a new era
with David Glass taking over ownership in May of 2000. On the field,
the Royals continued to show improvement and gave their fans one
of the best offensive performances in team history. KC set a team
record for most runs scored in a season behind its new generation
of stars. Mike Sweeney broke the team RBI mark. Jermaine Dye won
a Gold Glove in right field and established himself as one of the
top outfielders in the game. Fan-favorite Joe Randa returned to
the Royals and stabilized the third base position, while adding
offensive punch to an already potent Royals attack. With its young
stars gaining additional experience and with an influx of new talent
developed from within, Kansas City fans have high hopes as they
look forward to another decade of exciting Royals baseball.
1990-1999
The 1990s were bittersweet for the Royals and their fans. Kansas
City saw the end of the careers of two of the club's legends. George
Brett won his third batting title and broke the 3,000-hit barrier
before retiring in 1993. Frank White retired as baseball's premier
second baseman, after winning eight Gold Gloves. Speedster Willie
Wilson's career concluded with the Royals, but he left as the Royals
all-time stolen base king. Sadly, Kansas City mourned the losses
of owners Ewing and Muriel Kauffman, who brought excitement and
success to baseball in Kansas City. The heart-breaking loss of legendary
reliever Dan Quisenberry to cancer, was another emotional hurdle
for longtime fans of the club. The city did celebrate the induction
of Brett into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1999, with special events
and honors for the hometown hero throughout the season. While the
1990s presented many struggles on the field, fans got to see a glimmer
of the future with the development of Mike Sweeney, Jermaine Dye
and 1999 Rookie of the Year Carlos Beltran.
1980-1989
The Royals reached the top of the baseball world with a trip to
their first World Series in 1980 and the organization's first World
Championship in 1985. After finishing second in the American League
West in 1979, the Royals rebounded to win the division title for
the fourth time in five years. The baseball world followed George
Brett's pursuit of .400, as the slugger finished with a .390 average.
Kansas City vanquished the rival New York Yankees on Brett's dramatic
homerun off of Goose Gossage at Yankee Stadium, which propelled
the Royals into their first World Series. The Royals fell to the
Philadelphia Phillies in six games. Kansas City won the World Series
against cross-state rival St. Louis in 1985, after coming back from
deficits of 2-0 and 3-1. Series MVP Bret Saberhagen tossed a five-hit
shutout as the Royals bombed St. Louis, 11-0 in the seventh and
deciding game. The organization suffered a devastating loss with
the death of its popular manager, Dick Howser, who had guided the
team to its first world championship. The 80s saw the Royals make
two World Series appearances, win their first Series title, capture
three playoff berths and produce and acquire outstanding baseball
talent. Bo Jackson, Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza and Kevin Seitzer emerged
as Kansas City's new wave of stars.
1968-1979
1968: After the Athletics bolted Kansas City for Oakland after the
1967 season. Major League Baseball looking to expand to 24 teams
grants Kansas City one of its 4 expansion teams to begin play in
1969. The team which is owned by Ewing M. Kauffman would be named
the Royals.
1969: Playing their very first game in old Municipal Stadium, the
Royals rally from a 3-1 deficit to win in extra innings against
the eventual Western Division Champion Minnesota Twins. The club
finished with a 69-93 record in its initial season. The mark was
the best of the four expansion teams debuting in 1969. A young
and fiery outfielder named Lou Piniella was selected as the the
Rookie of the Year.
1971: In just their third year of existence the Royals post their
first winning season, and finish in second place in the Western
Division.. At the time, it was the quickest an expansion team had
achieved such success.
1973: The Royals move into brand new Royals Stadium. The stadium's
prominent features include water fountains beyond the outfield fence
and a 10-story high scoreboard shaped like the Royals crest, topped
by a gold crown. That first year the Royals also host the All-Star
Game, which is won by the National League, 7-1. The new stadium
features an artificial surface, and Royals management begins to
build a team around speed, and pitching - a move that would pay
off in a short period of time. The year also sees the debut
of a young third baseman named George Brett who would become the
centerpiece of Royals baseball for the next 20 years.
1975: With a team built around developing players like Brett, Frank
White, Willie Wilson, and Dennis Leonard the Royals put together
a solid nucleus that will stay together and remain mostly intact
for the next decade the Royals begin to make strides towards becoming
one of the top teams in all of baseball. Whitey Herzog replaces
Jack McKeon as manager in 1975, after the Royals get off to a slow
start. The move pays off as the Royals win 91 games and finish in
2nd Place behind the Oakland Athletics, who won the last of their
five consecutive division titles.
1976: With Herzog taking the reins from the start of the season
fans were optimistic that they Royals were ready to take the next
step. Led by Brett, who wins his first batting crown, the Royals
win 90 games and beat out the Athletics by three games to claim
the first of three consecutive division titles.
1976: In the American League Championship Series the Royals would
be matched up against the New York Yankees. In the first postseason
game played in Kansas City the Royals were handcuffed by a pair
of Brett errors and Catfish Hunter's dominating pitching. However,
the Royals would bounce back in front of their home fans the next
night as Paul Splittorff's 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief enabled
the Royals to tie the series at one game apiece heading to New York.
After losing Game 3 the Royals would bounce back to rough up Hunter
in Game 4, sending the series to the fifth and deciding game. In
Game 5 the Royals and Yankees would each score twice in the first
inning. However, the Yankees would score two in the third and two
in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead into the eighth inning. But the
Royals would fight back as George Brett blasted a three-run homer
down the right-field line off Yankees reliever Grant Jackson to
tie the game. Unfortunately for the Royals, the Yankees' Chris Chambliss
would end the Royals season with a leadoff series winning homer
in the bottom of the ninth. The game would not end with out some
controversy, as Chambliss was unable to touch home plate after his
home run because Yankee fans flooded the field to celebrate. The
umpires told the Royals there was nothing they could do and it was
reported that Chambliss did eventually go out and touch home.
1977: The Royals are even better in 1977 as they win 102 games to
establish a new team record. The Royals as a team don't have any
one individual putting up spectacular numbers; instead they have
a solid unit. The Royals win their second consecutive division title,
and prepare to face the Yankees again in the ALCS.
1977: In the ALCS the Royals get off to a fast start blowing out
the Yankees 7-2 in Game 1 at the Bronx. However, the New York wins
game two, sending the series to Kansas City tied at a game apiece.
In Game 3 the Royals, led by the hitting of Hal McRae, and the pitching
of Dennis Leonard, post a 6-2 to put the club one game away from
their first World Series. However, the Yankees would bounce back
behind the relief efforts of Sparky Lyle to force a fifth and deciding
game. In Game 5 the Royals took a one-run lead to the ninth inning,
but the Yankees scored three times, beating the Royals for the second
year in a row.
1978: For the third year in a row the Royals win the Western Division
title. In the ALCS for the third year in a row, the Royals face
the Yankees for the third straight time. The Yankees take game one
behind the hitting of Reggie Jackson, and two-hit pitching of Jim
Beattie, and Ken Clay. The Royals take game two to even the series
at 1-1. For the third year in a row the series would be tied after
2 games. In Game 3, behind three home runs by George Brett, the
Royals would lead 5-4 into the eighth inning of a back and forth
affair in the Bronx. This time, it was a two-run homer by the late
Thurman Munson that would doom the Royals. The next night the Royals
would only manage 1 run on 7 hits as they failed to reach the World
Series for the third consecutive season.
1979: The Royals struggled, winning just 85 games. However, they
manage stay in the race until the final week of the season, finishing
three games behind the California Angels. After the season, the
Royals change managers, replacing the popular Whitey Herzog with
Jim Frey and setting the stage for the Royals first ever trip to
the World Series.
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