Kansas City Royals: Best Pitchers of All-Time in Wins Above Replacement
![Larry Gura #37 of the Kansas City Royals (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) Larry Gura #37 of the Kansas City Royals (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/45237b6a9684e84646f44dce5d31745f89e3f2b3f5a1eec6d16d48ced7bdd296.jpg)
ALL-TIME LEADERS IN WAR FOR PITCHERS – NUMBER 8: PAUL SPLITTORFF
Royals Pitcher from 1970-1984 (WAR – 22.7)
With an all-time WAR of 22.7, Paul Splittorff is eighth all-time for the Royals pitchers. He spent his entire 15-year career with the Kansas City Royals and leads the franchise in all-time wins with 166.
Splittorff was taken by the Royals in the first ever amateur draft and never would pitch for another organization. He finished his 15-year career with a 3.81 ERA and 1.340 WHIP in 2554.2 innings pitched.
During Splittorff’s time as a Royal, he had 88 complete games and 17 shutouts. The guy was the ultimate competitor and hated to lose whenever he was on the mound. He never made it to an All-Star Game or won any fancy awards, but for the Royals, he was one of the best ever at what he did.
As we touched on earlier, being with a team for a long time definitely boosts the WAR, but don’t get it twisted. Pitchers still have to perform well to have a decent WAR and Splittorff’s shows that he was one of the all-time greats.