74-year old Harmon Killebrew is about to hang up his cleats of life. He has entered hospice care and he will die soon of esophageal cancer. Killebrew only played one season with the Royals (1975) and it was the last of his Hall of Fame career. Killebrew played in 106 games for the Royals in 1975 and he was 62 for 312 (.199 avg, .692 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 14 homers, 44 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Despite the poor batting average, Killebrew maintained his power stroke. Killebrew was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1984. Killebrew wasn’t with the Royals long, but it was nice to have seen him play.

2B Frank White was known more for his glove than his bat, but he hit good enough to be an asset for the Royals. He turned in his best season with the Royals back in 1986 at the age of 35. White played in 151 games for the Royals in 1986 and he was 154 of 566 (.272 avg, .787 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 22 homers, 84 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. White was an A.L. All-Star in 1986 and he also won a Gold Glove and his only Silver Slugger Award that year. White played 18 years for the Royals appearing in 2,324 games in which he was 2,006 for 7,859 (.255 avg, .675 OPS) with 912 runs scored, 160 homers, 886 RBIs and 178 stolen bases. White was #2 in Royals’ history in games played with 2,324. He was also #2 in hits (2,006), #4 in runs scored (912), #3 in doubles (407), #5 in triples (58), #5 in homers (160), #4 in RBIs (886), #7 in walks (412) and #5 in stolen bases (178) in Royals’ history. White made 5 All-Star teams and he won 8 Gold Gloves in his 18 years with the Royals as he was one of the better infielders in team history.

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.