by Dan Trammel

Created on: February 15, 2009   Last Updated: February 28, 2009

The Kansas City Royals began play in 1969, filling the void in western Missouri left by the Athletics who moved to Oakland following the 1967 season. The Royals enjoyed early success, posting a winning record in 1971, just their third season of play. They showed this was no fluke as they repeated the feat in 1973 and 1975. Unfortunately, they finished in second place each of these seasons due to the dynastic Athletics competing in the same division. The Royals climbed over the hump in 1976, winning its first of three consecutive American League West Division championships. Over the next ten seasons, the Royals never finished worse than second place, reached the playoffs seven times, won two American League pennants, and one World Series Championship. Since that time, however, the Royals have struggled, posting only three winning seasons since 1990 while losing 100 or more games four times. Nonetheless, the Royals have had many great ball players, most contributing to the team's success in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Easily the greatest player in Royals history is Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett. A member of the 3000-hit club, Brett stands at the top of most Royals career offensive categories including hits (3154), runs (1583), doubles (665), triples (137), home runs (317), RBIs (1595), total bases (5044), and batting average (.305). The only player in Major League history to win batting titles in 3 different decades, Brett was named to 13 American League All-Star teams and took home the 1980 American League Most Valuable Player Award. One of the all-time great players, Brett ranks first among all third baseman in hits, while ranking 6th among all players in doubles. He is also one of the few star players who actually performed better in the post-season, hitting .337 in nine post-season series and .373 in 2 World Series. In leading Kansas City to the 1985 World Series title, Brett won the American League Championship Series MVP by hitting .348 with 3 home runs versus the Toronto Blue Jays. In the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Brett collected 10 hits while batting an incredible .370. One of three players in history to record 3000 hits, 300 home runs, and a career .300 batting average (along with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Stan Musial), Brett was voted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot with 98.2 percent of the vote, the fifth highest total in Major League history.

Joining Brett among the Royals all-time greats is smooth fielding

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