Dayton Moore keeps the Kansas City Royals Stuck in the 80’s
By John Viril
Jul 20, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore (left) and owner David Glass watch the Detroit Tigers during batting practice before the game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
That’s where the vision thing comes in. In the draft, the Royals remain fascinated by “tools” players—all-around athletes that can run, catch, and throw. The problem is the hit tool is more important than all the other tools combined (see the career of Mike Piazza).
Without it, all the rest of the tools are useless because a guy can’t get on the field (see Bubba Starling and Brett Eibner). And, while players do tend to show better plate discipline as they age, players rarely radically transform themselves over the course of their career. Players tend to either be selective hitters or hackers.
Tools guys are players you take later in the draft, not with your premium picks. Those need to be spent on position players you know can hit, and already have plate discipline. Not guys that need to transform their hitting approach in the minors
You can hire a Manhattan Project of genius number crunchers, but your atomic bomb will still fail to explode if you keep supplying them with dynamite instead of plutonium.
You can hire a Manhattan Project of genius number crunchers, but your atomic bomb will still fail to explode if you keep supplying them with dynamite instead of plutonium.
Given that the Royals look for all-around athletes who make contract rather than strong hitters with good plate discipline means the Royals consistently develop players who play terrific defense, but can’t get on base enough to produce consistent offense.
If the Royals are going to develop into year-in, year-out winners like other small-market teams in Tampa Bay and Oakland, they are going to have to change the blueprint.
Which means Dayton Moore’s management team needs to either radically change their spots, or get shown the door. As long as David Glass refuses to recognize this reality, the franchise will continue to wallow.