Kansas City Royals: Recent Notable First Round Picks

Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon and Oakland Athletics designated hitter Billy Butler – Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Once the Royals had the incredible run in 2014 taking them all the way to Game 7 of the World Series, it seemed imminent that Billy Butler would be on his way out of Kansas City. He soon inked a deal with the Oakland Athletics and it became real that Country Breakfast was going to California for the next part of his career.

Regardless of what Billy does throughout the rest of his career, I imagine he’ll always be remembered for his days in a Kansas City Royals uniform.

Butler’s Homecoming to Kansas City was not ideal. Yes, it was very sweet when he got his American League Champion ring and Alex Gordon briefly put the Royals hat on Billy’s head, but then Brett Lawrie ruined it.

If I’m being completely honest here, I do feel bad for Billy. He spent years with this team while they were awful and got one season of playoff experience before signing with a team who is currently one of the worst in baseball (the Oakland Athletics). He went from a team on the rise to a team that is not clicking on any cylinders whatsoever.

Fans were excited to see Billy Butler finally get to have that MLB postseason experience last year, and now that the Royals are one of the hottest teams in baseball, its a little bittersweet knowing Billy isn’t a part of it. The “sweet” part of this is knowing the Royals went out and got Kendrys Morales as part of Butler’s departure, and Morales has been nothing short of spectacular so far this season.

Regardless of what Billy does throughout the rest of his career, I imagine he’ll always be remembered for his days in a Kansas City Royals uniform.

Stats as a Royal (9 years)

• Runs: 502
• Hits: 1,273
• Doubles: 274
• Triples: 4
• Home Runs: 127
• RBI: 628
• Stolen Bases: 5
• Walks: 427
• Strikeouts: 697
• Batting Average: .295

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