Kansas City Royals - The Clinton Years (1990-1999)

KC
Home
Click
on Logo

1990

Decade

Click

on Logo

Titles:

Top Royals Players of the Nineties

None

Pitchers:

Ballpark:

Kevin Appier (47.86) - 84

Royals Stadium (1990-1993)

Jeff Montgomery (15.27) - 75

Kauffman Stadium (Royals Stadium renamed 1993-1999)

Tom Gordon (12.7) - 45

Tim Belcher (9.19) - 33

Team Name:

Mark Gubicza (11.89) - 26

Royals

David Cone (14.11) - 24

Hipolito Pichardo (5.54) - 19

Owner:

Jose Rosado (10.22) - 19

Ewing Kauffman (1990-1993)

Bret Saberhagen (8.68) - 9

Ewing Kauffman Estate (1994-1999)

Steve Farr (4.79) - 7

Luis Aquino (5.33) - 4

General Managers:

John Schuerholz (1990)

Catchers:

Herk Robinson (1991-1999)

Mike MacFarlane (12.86) - 48

Brent Mayne (-0.71) - 13

Managers:

John Wathan (1990-1991)

First Basemen:

Bob Schaefer (1991)

Wally Joyner (7.66) - 31

Hal McRae (1991-1994)

Jeff King (5.97) - 17

Bob Boone (1995-1997)

Mike Sweeney (4.53) - 11

Tony Muser (1997-1999)

Second Basemen:

Hall of Famers:

Jose Offerman (9.67) - 21

George Brett

Bill Pecota (5.52) - 6

Rookie of the Year:

ShortStop:

Bob Hamelin (1994)

Greg Gagne (6.49) - 23

Carlos Beltran (1999)

Jay Bell (5.44) - 11

No Hitters:

Third Base:

Bret Saberhagen (1991)

George Brett (4.81) - 18

Gary Gaetti (8.44) - 17

MVP

Joe Randa (3.51) - 11

None

Kevin Seitzer (4.16) - 7

Cy Young

Outfield:

David Cone (1994)

Johnny Damon (11.13) - 39

Brian McRae (4.86) - 31

Notable Events:

Jermaine Dye (3.58) - 16

Tom Goodwin (3.49) - 16

1990 - Kansas City is still relevent as the decade opens.

Danny Tartabull (5.33) - 14

They had finished second to a very good A's team in '89.

Felix Jose (-0.16) - 12

However, things were about to change. The farm system was no

Bo Jackson (3.5) - 10

longer cranking out replacements the way it had been a decade

Carlos Beltran (4.98) - 9

or so earlier. Hard to say specifically what was the cause of the

decline of the farm system. Schuerholz was top notch, but, apparently,

Notable Events:

there was no longer a strong farm management and scouting team

behind him organizationally. Owner Kauffman was now seventy four

1993 - Royals Stadium is renamed Kauffman Stadium and is renovated.

and not what he once was twenty years earlier.

Part of the renovation is replacing the hideous Astroturf with grass

That fervent push for greatness was no longer there.

The 1990 team was in decline due to age, injuries, and parsimony,

1993 - George Brett, superstar, retires

The top players coming into the Nineties:

1994 - Baseball Strike. The Royals' last winning season for a decade.

□ Catcher - Mike MacFarlane, 26, he'll be a stallwart for most

of the decade

1995 - Outfielder Mike Sweeney, 22, is a rookie. He was a 10th round

□ 1B - George Brett, 37, still has a bit of gas left in the tank

pick in the 1991 draft

□ 2B - Frank White, 39, running on fumes at this point

□ SS - Kurt Stillwell, 25, not a championship level talent

1995 - Outfielder Johnny Damon, 21, is a rookie.

□ 3B - Kevin Seitzer, 27, ditto Kurt Stillwell

He was a first round pick in the 1992 draft

□ OF - Jim Eisenreich, 31, talented but with health issues

□ OF - Bo Jackson, 26, superstar who tragically has career

1997 - Outfielder Jermaine Dye, 23, is obtained from the Braves

ending injury in '91

in a four player deal

□ OF - Danny Tartabull, 27, slugger dealt to NY in salary dump in '92

□ OF - Willie Wilson, 34, ditto Frank White

1996 - The Royals finish last for the first time in their history.

□ OF - Brian McRae, 22, rookie who is an average talent -

Get used to it.

17th overall pick in '85 draft

□ OF - Jeff Conine, 24, rookie was 58th round pick in '87 draft -

1998 - Outfielder Carlos Beltran, 21, is a rookie. He was a 2nd round pick

lost to Florida in the 1993 expansion draft

in the '95 draft

□ Righty Tom Gordon, 22, quality starter

□ Righty Kevin Appier, 22, quality starter

1999 - Royals fans, believing the small market propaganda being sold

□ Righty Bret Saberhagen, 26, quality starter dealt to Mets for

to them by their cheapskate owners (Ewing Kauffman's heirs),

David Cone in '92

stage a protest over the economic state of baseball and how they are

□ Righty Mark Gubicza, 27, ace who suffered effectiveness

averse to Yankees spending as the ruination of baseball.

ending injury in '90

The ruination of baseball in Kansas City had nothing to do with

□ Righty reliever Jeff Montgomery, 28, will have four more big years

Yankees spending or the Royals would have sucked for their first twenty

five years of existence. Instead, while Ewing Kauffman was alive,

1990 - George Brett wins his third batting title and is the first to win

the small market Royals somehow managed to capture seven Division

a batting title in three different decades

titles, appear in two World Series winning one of them and finish over

.500 seventeen times. As we see time and time again, inheritors are

1991 - Bo Jackson is injured playing for the Oakland Raiders.

virtually always clueless about how their parents made their money and

The injury will cause him to get a hip replacement and, although he will

achieved their success. Most of them just try to cling on to what they've

return to baseball, not as the same superstar prior to the injury.

gotten in any way possible. And, the inheritors will look for any lame

And he would not return to Kansas City, anyway, as the Royals were

excuse to try to cover their incompetence.

unwilling to pay him his salary while trying to recuperate from his

You wonder how anyone could possibly claim that you can't succeed

football injury - economically things had changed in Kansas City.

in a small market when you've lived much of your life seeing

evidence of the exact opposite.

1993 - Owner Ewing Kauffman dies. If you are a baseball fan and you

have a good owner who has put together a good organization and

is willing to go the extra mile to put a winning team on the ballfield,

then this is the day you dread.

When Ewing Kauffman died so did the Royals days as a contender.