KC Royals: Ten Facts All Royals Fans Should Know

Kansas City Royals former player George Brett – Credit: Charlie Neibergall/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

1) Triple Your Fun

As good as the Royals have been in hitting doubles, they are even better at legging out triples. Since 1969, the Royals have hit more triples than any other franchise in the Majors, and it’s not even close.

The Royals have 2,038 triples; the Pirates are second with 1,900. With nearly 140 more triples than the next highest, the Royals may never be overtaken in this category.

The Royals boast the top two triples hitters in the Majors since 1969. Somewhat surprisingly, George Brett has the highest total of triples for the franchise with 137. Willie Wilson, who has the most in the Majors in this time frame with 147, hit 133 triples for the Royals.

These former Royals contributed to the team’s three-base totals over the years – all are in the top 100 triples hitters since 1969:

• Johnny Damon
• Carlos Beltran
• Jose Offerman
• Al Cowens
• Hal McRae
• Amos Otis
• David DeJesus

The Royals probably will never be able to afford a big slugger, unless they can develop their own, but they can always look for players who can hit the gaps and use speed to build up their doubles and triples totals.

Did You Know?

Brett is ranked 68th all-time in triples; Wilson is 55th. They are two of only 11 players who played a bulk of their career after World War II that are on the top 100 triples list of all time. Between the two of them, they won eight triples titles, and they each hit 20 or more in a season, which has been done only seven times since 1950.

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