Kansas City Royals: Top 15 Pitchers In Losses All-Time

Kansas City Royals All-Time Loss Leaders – Number 13: Steve Busby (54 Losses)

Steve Busby spent his entire career with the Kansas City Royals. It’s a shame that his career only lasted parts of eight seasons.

From 1973-1975 Steve Busby was an absolutely brilliant pitcher for the Royals. He pitched not one but two no hitters in that time frame and ate up a ton of innings.

This was back before bullpens were such a big part of the game, but he was a workhorse in every sense of the word. From 1973-1975, Busby averaged 164 innings per season. He made a total of 109 starts over those three seasons and threw an incredible 45 complete games. That’s a complete game outing in two out of five outings.

His record in that span was 56-41. His other five years only saw him string together 14 total wins for an overall record of 70-54.

He won 18 games in 1975 before a torn rotator cuff derailed his career in 1976. He was never the same after having surgery to repair his shoulder.

He did manage to win six games in 1978 and was released midway through the year in 1980. He never got a chance to pitch for the Royals in the postseason but his accomplishments from 1973-1975 were likely enough to get him into the Royals’ Hall of Fame. He was one of the first players elected.

It’s very impressive that someone who put up the bulk of his numbers over a three year stretch is ninth on the Royals’ all-time wins list. It’s fun to speculate what his career would have looked like had the two-time All-Star stayed healthy. He was very good in a very short amount of time. To replicate that across even another three seasons would have been incredible.

Next: Black Magic