Kansas City Royals All-Stars: Building the Best Royals All-Time Lineup

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Even with a crowned jumbotron in straight center, Kauffman Stadium isn’t known for regal views. But hitting homers into water fountains does put you into rarified air.

As such, the Kansas City Royals have had plenty of memorable players and moments – not to mention two World Series titles and one infamous pine-tarred bat. 

Manager: Ned Yost

The Royals have won two World Series in 56 seasons; one of those was with Ned Yost. He was also at the helm for their losing 2014 appearance, but getting there is an accomplishment, especially in an organization that’s made it to the World Series four times. Yost leads Kansas City in wins, and it isn’t close even with the likes of Whitey Herzog and Dick Howser in their ranks. While he was under .500 for his career there, Yost’s late, 100-loss seasons weren’t exactly his fault. Go ahead, name a 2019 Royals player off the top of your head.

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Starting pitcher: Bret Saberhagen

Kevin Appier pitched with the Royals for longer, and produced more pitcher wins above replacement, too, but Bret Saberhagen is the guy you’d hand the ball to with the game on the line. He won a pair of Cy Youngs in Royals’ blue: first in 1985, the World Series-winning year — in which Saberhagen also threw two complete games in the Fall Classic while allowing a single run to earn MVP honors — and in ‘89, when Saberhagen led the majors in ERA (2.16), complete games (12), innings (261.1), K/BB (4.5), wins (23) and pitcher WAR (9.7). 

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Reliever/closer: Dan Quisenberry

Before the one-inning closer, there was Dan Quisenberry. Quiz eventually worked that way, too, but before that change, the mustachioed righty regularly threw well over 100 innings in relief per year, even coming in after the starter and finishing the game. He’s the Royals’ all-time leader in ERA (2.55) and second in saves, and all despite striking out just 3.1 batters per nine in Kansas City — a low rate even for the era. Quisenberry managed by never walking anyone or allowing homers: he allowed 139 walks in 920 innings (1.4 per nine) and just 52 long balls.

(Photo by Chuck Solomon /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X32889 TK1 R12 F18 ) <!–>

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Catcher: Salvador Perez

One of the most incredible things about Salvador Perez’s career is that, despite not being a huge power guy, he exploded for a record 48 dingers in 2021 — no primary catcher has ever hit more in a season, and that also led the majors that year. More incredible, however, is that Perez would still be deserving of this spot without that season: his exceptional defense earned five Gold Gloves, his bat five Silver Sluggers, he’s made nine All-Star teams, and is still the Royals’ backstop a decade after they won the World Series — where he was series MVP.

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1B: Eric Hosmer

Eric Hosmer’s offensive numbers might not jump off of the page, but that’s not how his era of Royals were built: they were balanced teams, strong defenders who could single you to your doom, and Hosmer was one of the more successful examples of that strategy. He hit .284/.342/.439 over seven years with the Royals — better than that in his and their peak years — while winning four Gold Gloves. That package deal is what made him valuable, and the Royals champions. His career tailed off after he left Kansas City, but 2015’s flag flies forever.

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2B: Frank White

Defense-first was not an invention of the 2010s Royals. Frank White spent 18 years in Kansas City, and his offense was not his defining trait. White often hit well enough for the position’s requirements, and fielded as well as anyone else, as his eight Gold Gloves — six of which were won in a row from 1977-1982 — and top-ranked defensive WAR (22) attest. Like with the 2010s Royals, having players like White around resulted in a championship: the Royals made the postseason seven times between 1976-1985, and won their first World Series in ‘85. White homered in it, by the way.

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3B: George Brett

George Brett spent 21 years with the Royals; it should not surprise you that he’s all over the franchise leaderboards. He’s first in WAR (88.6) games played (2,707), hits (3,154), total bases (5,044), singles (2,035), doubles (665), triples (137), home runs (317), RBIs (1,596), walks (1,096), times on base (4,283), extra-base hits (1,119), and even sacrifice flies (120). He’s an all-time great not just for the Royals, but third base and MLB, as well: his .390 average in 1980 is the closest full-season figure to Ted Williams’ .406 mark in 1941. 

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SS: Bobby Witt Jr.

Early? Maybe! But consider what Bobby Witt Jr. has already done so far: he finished second for the AL MVP in 2024 while winning the battle title, hitting .332/.389/.588 with 32 homers and 31 steals — that average led the majors, not just the AL, and he had 88 extra-base hits overall. Witt also won a Gold Glove, having turned his defense from a weight around his neck into a significant plus in short order: the sky’s the limit for Witt Jr., who has all the makings of not just a Royals’ great, but an MLB one, too.

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OF: Willie Wilson

Willie Wilson was a key member of the Royals’ late-70s and 1980s postseason squads, and 1982’s batting title recipient — his .332 average led both leagues. From 1979 through 1985, Wilson peaked, batting a collective .305/.342/.400 while leading the majors in triples on three occasions, and with Gold Glove-caliber outfield defense for many of those years. His World Series performance in ‘85 was significant, too, with Wilson collecting 11 hits and a walk while driving in three and snagging a stolen base. Wilson is the Royals’ all-time leader in steals, too, with 612, which also ranks 12th in MLB.

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OF: Alex Gordon

The Royals love their lifers, and Alex Gordon managed to play all 14 years of his career with Kansas City. A third baseman who later moved to the outfield, Gordon peaked at the right time — between 2011 and 2015 — for the Royals. In that stretch, he hit .281/.359/.450 and produced the majority of his career wins above replacement — just in time for the Royals to make the World Series on two occasions, winning one. Even as his bat diminished, Gordon kept winning Gold Gloves: he’d take home eight in all, including in his final four seasons.

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OF: Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran might end up in the Hall of Fame someday, and his start with the Royals would certainly play into that. He was a power/speed combination player back then, though, more speed than power at that point, and he already had the excellent batting eye that he’d become known for, too: Beltran hit .287/.352/.483 with 123 home runs and 164 steals for Kansas City before he was dealt to the Houston Astros in 2004. Beltran’s stolen base success rate with Kansas City was 87.7%; he finished his career at 86.4%, the MLB record.

5 April 2004: Carlos Beltran of the Kansas City Royals celebrates after his game winning home run during the Royals 9-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO.  (Photo by Albert Dickson/Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images) <!–>

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DH: Hal McRae

The designated hitter position was introduced to the American League in 1973, which just so happened to be the year that Hal McRae left the Reds and joined the Royals. While McRae would still don a glove on occasion, the bulk of his career from then on came as the DH: he’d play 1,426 games at the position, logging 5,917 of his remaining 7,362 plate appearances there. McRae batted .293/.356/.458 for Kansas City over 15 years, and still had something in the tank — a 118 OPS+ — as a 39-year-old for the 1985 championship team. 

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Honorable Mentions:

• Whitey Herzog (manager)
• Kevin Appier (starting pitcher)
• Zack Greinke (starting pitcher)
• Dennis Leonard (starting pitcher)
• Paul Splittorff (starting pitcher)
• Jeff Montgomery (reliever/closer)
• Greg Holland (reliever/closer)
• John Mayberry (1B)
• Whit Merrifield (2B)
• Cookie Rojas (2B)
• Mike Moustakas (3B)
• Kevin Seitzer (3B)
• Joe Randa (3B)
• Freddie Patek (SS)
• Alcides Escobar (SS)
• Amos Otis (OF)
• Al Cowens (OF)
• Danny Tartabull (OF)
• Jermaine Dye (OF)
• David DeJesus (OF)
• Bo Jackson (OF)
• Mike Sweeney (DH)

Check out the other MLB all-time All-Star teams.

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