Former closer Dan Quisenberry looked like someone who shouldn’t have been that effective. He threw pretty much underhanded and he only whiffed 321 batters in 920 1/3 innings which doesn’t scream classic closer to anyone. But, the “Quiz” led the American League in saves five times despite not having a fastball that could dent a couch. Quisenberry pitched 10 years for the Royals appearing in 573 games (0 starts) in which he was 51-44 with 238 saves, a 2.55 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Quisenberry was especially awesome in 1983 for the Royals. That season he pitched in 69 games (0 starts) in which he was 5-3 with 45 saves, a 1.94 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He worked an amazing 139 innings in 1983 as he finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting in the A.L. Quisenberry is #2 all-time in Royals’ history in games pitched (573), games finished (503) and saves (238). Sadly, Quisenberry was diagnosed with brain cancer in December of 2007 and he passed away on September 30th, 1998. He is gone but not forgotten as he will always have a place in Royals’ history.

Lefty swinging 3B George Brett is the player that all Royals are compared to and for good reason. Brett was in 13 All-Star Games in a row from 1976-88. He won one Gold Glove, 3 Silver Slugger Awards and he was inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1993. But his most remarkable record (at least in my eyes) is that he is the only player in major league history to win a batting title in three different decades (1976, 1980 and 1990). In 1990 Brett hit .329 at the age of 37 beating out Rickey Henderson for the batting title. Brett only won one MVP Award with eye popping numbers during the 1980 season. In 1980, Brett played in 117 games in which he was 175 of 449 (.390 avg, 1.118 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 24 homers, 118 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Brett only whiffed 22 times in 1980 while walking 58 times showing an incredible eye at the plate. Brett played 21 seasons for the Royals appearing in 2,707 games in which he was 3,154 of 10,349 (.305 avg, .857 OPS) with 1,583 runs scored, 317 homers, 1,595 RBIs and 201 stolen bases. Brett is the all-time leader in Royals’ history in games (2,707), hits (3,154), runs scored (1,583), homers (317), RBIs (1,595), doubles (665), triples (137) and walks (1,096). He is also #2 in team history in batting average (.305), #3 in OPS (.857) and he’s #4 in stolen bases (201).

Righty starting pitcher Dennis Leonard pitched his whole career (12 years) with the Kansas City Royals. He was a bulldog of a starting pitcher for the Royals as he liked to battle opposing teams the whole game. He pitched in 312 games (302 starts) for the Royals in his career and he was 144-106 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. His best year with the Royals was in 1977 when he finished fourth in the Cy Young Award voting. He pitched in 38 games (37 starts) for the Royals in 1977 and he was 20-12 with 1 save, a 3.04 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Leonard is all over the team record book for the Royals. He is #1 in Royals’ history in both complete games (103) and shutouts (23). He is also #5 in games pitched (312), #2 in wins (144), #3 in strikeouts (1,323) and he is #3 in games started (302). It’s a shame he couldn’t have pitched a little longer but his gun just ran out of bullets.

Willie Wilson was one of the best lead-off hitters that I have ever seen. In 15-years with the Royals, Wilson played in 1,787 games in which he was 1,968 for 6,799 (.289 avg, .711 OPS) with 1,060 runs scored, 40 homers, 509 RBIs and 612 stolen bases. Wilson also cranked 133 watch me fly triples which is second in team history. Wilson led the league in triples 5 times for the Royals and he also led the American League in steals in 1979 with 83 of them. 1980 was by far Wilson’s best season with the Royals. He played in 161 games in 1980 and he was 230 for 705 (.326 avg, .778 OPS) with 133 runs scored, 3 homers, 49 RBIs and 79 stolen bases. He finished fourth in the voting for the MVP Award in the A.L. that year. Wilson is the all-time leader in steals for the Royals. He is also #4 in hits, #3 in runs scored and #9 in RBIs in team history.