Kansas City Royals: All-time most home runs in a single season
By Ben Almquist
Kansas City Royals Single-Season Home Runs #2
Steve Balboni – 36 (1985)
It was almost literally “hit or miss” with Kansas City Royals slugger Steve Balboni. The man either crushed a home run or struck out horribly. However, during the Royals 1985 championship run, he managed to set the team’s top mark in home runs.
Of course, Balboni would also lead the league in strike outs that year. Steve Balboni makes the Royals single-season list of home runs just once, but does so at the top of the list. He makes the single-season strike out list three times!
The combination of Steve Balboni and George Brett made the Royals a dangerous long ball team in 1985. Having two guys capable of clearing the bases at any moment certainly played a huge role in Kansas City’s World Series run that year. It shows the value of having quality power hitting in your lineup.
There’s a bit of a sting with Steve Balboni at the top of this list. During the Royals 2014 trip to the World Series, Balboni was actually cheering for the Giants. Not due to any animosity against Kansas City, but because he was employed by the Giants organization. That’s a little bittersweet.