Does James Shields Belong in KC Royals Hall Of Fame

Does former Kansas City Royals ace James Shields deserve to get elected to the Royals Hall-of-Fame?

I know it seems premature to ask this question, since he hasn’t signed with another team. Yet, it’s all but certain that James Shields will move on from KC with the news that he has a 5-year, $110 million free-agent offer in his pocket.

Consequently, his Kansas City career should be over, which means we can examine Shields credentials right now.

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The argument for Shields’ induction is that his two seasons with the team transformed the franchise. Breaking a 29-year playoff drought by leading a World Series run is the sort of feat that seems suitable for baseball immortality.

Make no mistake, the Kansas City Royals don’t go to the World Series without Shields. Not only did his 14-8 record with a 3.21 ERA in 34 starts and 227.0 IP headline the rotation, numerous teammates credited Shields with teaching the team how to win.

Teammate Danny Duffy told MLB.com during Kansas City’s playoff run on October 9:

"“I think that one of the most genius moves anyone’s ever made in baseball was to get him,” lefty Danny Duffy said of Shields. “It changed our clubhouse. It changed our organization. It’s night and day from what it was when I first got here.”"

So the case for James Shields belonging in the Kansas City Royals Hall-of-Fame boils down to 1) legendary World Series run, 2) outstanding performance, and 3) transforming a 27-year culture of losing.

There is only one real argument against James Shields’ induction: he only spent two years in Kansas City.

James Shields would become, by far, the shortest tenured Royal to get the nod if he were someday inducted into the Hall in Kauffman Stadium. Right now, first baseman John Mayberry is the inductee with the fewest years in Royal blue, and he spent 6 seasons in a KC uniform.

That’s three times longer than Shields.

If we look at the seven starting pitchers inducted into the Royals Hall-of-Fame, the issue becomes even more apparent:

Rk	Name	Yrs	W	L	W-L%	ERA	GS ▾	IP	ERA+
1	Paul Splittorff	15	166	143	.537	3.81	392	2554.2	101
2	Mark Gubicza	13	132	135	.494	3.91	327	2218.2	110
3	Dennis Leonard	12	144	106	.576	3.70	302	2187.0	107
4	Kevin Appier	13	115	92	.556	3.49	275	1843.2	130
5	Bret Saberhagen	8	110	78	.585	3.21	226	1660.1	128
6	Larry Gura	10	111	78	.587	3.72	219	1701.1	107
10	Steve Busby	8	70	54	.565	3.72	150	1060.2	105
29	James Shields	2	27	17	.614	3.18	68	455.2	127

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com.

If we widen the scope to include relievers Dan Quisenberry and Jeff Montgomery, Shields still falls well short of the 868.2 innings logged by Montgomery.

People who see accumulating stats as a prerequisite for Hall-of-Fame honors would scream bloody murder.

As far as I’m concerned, stat-heads who object to inducting Shields can take a flying leap off of Crown Vision. Anyone who suffered through Kansas City’s 29-year exodus in the baseball desert shouldn’t care too much about numbers.

What does matter is that Shields re-awakened the franchise. The bottom line is that Shields made Kansas City baseball fun again.

Statistical benchmarks exist to ensure that the figures who earn Hall-of-Fame recognition have achieved something significant in the scope of the franchise’s life. No one wants the honor to become cheapened by being too easy to achieve.

Yet, that concern shouldn’t keep Shields out of the hall. Changing the culture of a moribund franchise and leading a World Series run after 29 years isn’t something that is at all trivial or easy to accomplish.

In fact, it may never be done again in franchise history.

James Shields’ two years in Kansas City will become part of Royals lore whether he’s inducted in the Hall-of-Fame or not. It would be silly to deny Shields his due because the realities of the game made his tenure short.

To apply a bottom-line test, I don’t think you can tell the story of Kansas City baseball without including James Shields.

That’s why he belongs in the Royals Hall-of-Fame.

Next: KC Royals: Bring on 2015

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