MLB Power Rankings: Top 10 Teams in Kansas City Royals History
The Kansas City Royals' organization has had several great teams throughout their history.
During the 1970s and 1980s, KC was the cream of the crop for baseball in the Midwest, helping to produce the franchise's only World Series title in 1985.
For this piece, I countdown the Top 10 Royals teams of all-time. Enjoy.
10. 1973—2nd Place in AL West
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The 1973 season was a season of firsts for the Kansas City Royals.
It was the first season for future MLB Hall of Famer George Brett, and the first campaign for manager Jack McKeon at the helm in KC.
It also produced the organization's most wins for a regular season since their inception in '69. They won 88 games that year, which was good enough for a second-place finish within the division.
9. 1994—3rd Place in AL Central
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The '94 season is remembered by many Royals fans as one of the of most frustrating seasons in recent memory.
Kansas City was playing great, sitting at seven games over .500 and third place in the division, when disaster struck.
MLB decided to go on strike, thus ending the 1994 regular season immediately. It left many Royals fans wondering what could have happened with a team that had the Rookie of the Year Bob Hamelin and AL Cy Young Award winner David Cone playing on it.
8. 1975—2nd Place in A.L. West
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In yet another second place finish in the AL West in 1975, the Royals were quickly becoming the talk of the league in the MLB.
Then-veteran first baseman John Mayberry had a breakout season that year, hitting 34 homers and driving in 106 runs—all while batting .291 with an amazing .416 OBP.
It was also the first season that MLB legend Whitey Herzog managed the team, as he took over for Jack McKeon who was fired in June of that year.
7. 1989—2nd Place in AL West
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The Royals' '89 season was the year of then-rising star Bo Jackson.
Jackson hit 32 homers and drove in over 100 runs that season, showing off his speed in nabbing 26 stolen bases as well.
Unfortunately for Bo, he didn't get much support from his teammates that season. This ended up being the team's undoing when they finished seven games behind the AL West champion Oakland Athletics that season.
6. 1984—AL West Champions
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The '84 season produced yet another division title for the Royals, which, at the time, was their fifth in franchise history.
It also produced the arrival of Royals' pitcher Bud Black, who won 17 games with a 3.12 ERA for his first-place club.
Sadly, the season ended in a thud as KC was swept by the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.
5. 1976—AL West Champions
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The Kansas City Royals 1976 team might be best remembered for their overall team speed.
The club finished the regular season with seven guys collecting 20 or more stolen bases. As a team, they swiped a ridiculous 218 bags that year.
Unfortunately, their speed wasn't enough to get them past the Yankees, who beat them in the ALCS by a count of three games to two.
4. 1978—AL West Champions
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The '78 squad possessed one of the best single-season pitching rotations in club history.
The rotation of Dennis Leonard, Paul Splitorff, Larry Gura and Rich Gale went a combined 70-42 for a team that once again lost the New York Yankees in the ALCS later that year.
The 1978 season also marked the only time in club history that the team had won three consecutive division titles in a row.
3. 1977—AL West Champions
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The '77 team was the best regular season team in franchise history, with a record of 102-60.
Led by manager Whitey Herzog, they won their second straight AL West title and had one of the best all-around teams in the majors.
Their run ended with a 3-2 series loss to the Yankees in the ALCS, but they were only setting the building blocks for what would become a great team over the course of the next 10 years.
2. 1980—AL Champions
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This team had it all—everything but a World title. They came up just short of getting it when the season ended.
George Brett won the battling title with an outstanding .390 clip that season, while starters Larry Gura and Dennis Leonard were mowing down hitter after hitter to the tune of 38 combined wins between them.
After beating the hated New York Yankees in the ALCS that postseason, the Royals fell victim to eventual World Series winner Philadelphia in a stretch of games that was dominated by Phillies pitchers Steve Carlton and Tug McGraw.
1. 1985—World Series Champions
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In one of the biggest underdog stories in MLB history, the '85 Royals defied all odds by taking the World Series title in October.
KC, led by Cy young pitcher Brett Saberhagen and Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett, found a way to win the division in the last week of the regular season. And they never looked back from there.
Along their playoff path, they got by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, before beating in-state rival St. Louis in a thrilling seven-game series to secure the franchise's only World Championship.
