1979 Kansas City Royals | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | West | |
Ballpark | Royals Stadium | |
City | Kansas City, Missouri | |
Owners | Ewing Kauffman | |
General managers | Joe Burke | |
Managers | Whitey Herzog (fourth full season) | |
Television | KBMA (Steve Shannon, Dave Nelson) | |
Radio | WIBW (AM) (Denny Matthews, Fred White) | |
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The 1979 Kansas City Royals season was their 11th season in Major League Baseball. The Royals finished second in the American League West at 85-77, three games behind the California Angels and ending Kansas City's run of three consecutive division titles. Darrell Porter tied a single-season franchise record with 112 runs batted in. George Brett led the American League in hits (212) and triples (20). Manager Whitey Herzog was fired following the season.
Offseason
- January 9, 1979: Mike Bielecki was drafted by the Royals in the 6th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[1]
- February 26, 1979: Eduardo Rodríguez was purchased by the Royals from the Milwaukee Brewers.[2]
Regular season
Season standings
AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
California Angels | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | — | 49–32 | 39–42 |
Kansas City Royals | 85 | 77 | 0.525 | 3 | 46–35 | 39–42 |
Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 5 | 44–37 | 39–42 |
Minnesota Twins | 82 | 80 | 0.506 | 6 | 39–42 | 43–38 |
Chicago White Sox | 73 | 87 | 0.456 | 14 | 33–46 | 40–41 |
Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | 0.414 | 21 | 36–45 | 31–50 |
Oakland Athletics | 54 | 108 | 0.333 | 34 | 31–50 | 23–58 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- April 3, 1979: Doug Bird was traded by the Royals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Todd Cruz.[3]
- April 27, 1979: George Throop was traded by the Royals to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later. The Astros completed the deal by sending Keith Drumright to the Royals on October 26.[4]
- June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball draft
- Atlee Hammaker was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (21st pick).[5]
- Dan Marino was drafted by the Royals in the 4th round (99th pick overall).[6]
- John Elway was drafted by the Royals in the 18th round (463rd pick overall).[7]
Roster
1979 Kansas City Royals | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Darrell Porter | 157 | 533 | 155 | .291 | 20 | 112 |
1B | Pete LaCock | 132 | 408 | 113 | .277 | 3 | 56 |
2B | Frank White | 127 | 467 | 124 | .266 | 10 | 48 |
3B | George Brett | 154 | 645 | 212 | .329 | 23 | 107 |
SS | Freddie Patek | 106 | 306 | 77 | .252 | 1 | 37 |
LF | Willie Wilson | 154 | 588 | 185 | .315 | 6 | 49 |
CF | Al Cowens | 136 | 516 | 152 | .295 | 9 | 73 |
RF | Hal McRae | 101 | 393 | 113 | .288 | 10 | 74 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U L Washington | 101 | 268 | 68 | .254 | 2 | 25 |
John Wathan | 90 | 199 | 41 | .206 | 2 | 28 |
Clint Hurdle | 59 | 171 | 41 | .240 | 3 | 30 |
George Scott | 44 | 146 | 39 | .267 | 1 | 20 |
Todd Cruz | 55 | 118 | 24 | .203 | 2 | 15 |
Steve Braun | 58 | 116 | 31 | .267 | 4 | 10 |
Jamie Quirk | 51 | 79 | 24 | .304 | 1 | 11 |
Jerry Terrell | 31 | 40 | 12 | .300 | 1 | 2 |
Tom Poquette | 21 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 0 | 3 |
Jim Nettles | 11 | 23 | 2 | .087 | 0 | 1 |
Joe Zdeb | 15 | 23 | 4 | .174 | 0 | 0 |
Jim Gaudet | 3 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
Germán Barranca | 5 | 5 | 3 | .600 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Splittorff | 36 | 240.0 | 15 | 17 | 4.24 | 77 |
Dennis Leonard | 32 | 236.0 | 14 | 12 | 4.08 | 126 |
Larry Gura | 39 | 233.2 | 13 | 12 | 4.47 | 85 |
Rich Gale | 34 | 181.2 | 9 | 10 | 5.65 | 103 |
Craig Chamberlain | 10 | 69.2 | 4 | 4 | 3.75 | 30 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steve Busby | 22 | 94.1 | 6 | 6 | 3.63 | 45 |
Marty Pattin | 31 | 94.1 | 5 | 2 | 4.58 | 41 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al Hrabosky | 58 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 3.74 | 39 |
Dan Quisenberry | 32 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3.15 | 13 |
Steve Mingori | 30 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5.79 | 18 |
Eduardo Rodríguez | 29 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4.84 | 26 |
Renie Martin | 25 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5.19 | 25 |
Bill Paschall | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.59 | 3 |
Gary Christenson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 4 |
Craig Eaton | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 4 |
George Throop | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 |
Jerry Terrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Farm system
Notes
- ↑ Mike Bielecki at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Eduardo Rodríguez page on Baseball Reference
- ↑ Todd Cruz at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Keith Drumright at Baseball Reference
- ↑ Atlee Hammaker at Baseball Reference
- ↑ "4th Round of the 1979 MLB June Amateur Draft".
- ↑ "18th Round of the 1979 MLB June Amateur Draft".
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1979 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference
- 1979 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac