Kansas City Royals: Most disappointing players in 2018
By Mike Norris
In addition to those mentioned in the article, there were other honorable mention candidates who didn’t quite live up to their billing this year.
Alex Gordon, who can boast three All-Star appearances on his resume, had a third straight down year slashing .245/.324/.370. However, his 13 home runs were the most since 2016 and his 54 RBI were the most since knocking in 74 runs during the 2014 season.
Salvador Perez’s career-low .235 batting average was tough to look at night in and night out, but it’s hard to fault a guy who was named to his sixth-straight All-Star appearance and led the team with 27 home runs and 80 RBI.
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Shortstop Alcides Escobar finally gave reason for manager Ned Yost to bench him despite at the time holding the current record for consecutive starts at 421, and finished with a career-low .231 batting average and just 34 RBI in 140 games. If not for flashing the leather like he always had, he would have made the original list.
After a solid start to the season, outfielder Jorge Soler found himself injured for the second straight year and finished with a .265 average, nine home runs and 28 RBI in just 61 games.
Yes, 2018 was a tough year for Royals fans who had become accustomed to watching a winner. The club averaged 86.2 wins from 2013-17, but after a 7-21 start to the season, it was obvious 86 wins was nothing more than a pipe dream.
The Royals are still a few years away from competing for the postseason again, but they do have a nice core in Mondesi, Merrifield, the emerging Ryan O’Hearn and Brian Goodwin, Keller and Duffy if he can get back to his former self.
They also pulled in a nice haul from the Milwaukee Brewers when they traded Moustakas mid-season, most notably rocket-armed outfielder Brett Phillips.
Next. Most Surprising Royals in 2018. dark
For now Royals fans should just enjoy the success of the Chiefs and do their best remembering the glory days of 2014-15.
Let’s just hope we all don’t have to wait another 29 years for the postseason again.