Kansas City Royals: Opening Day starters over past decade

KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 10: Opening day base during the Kansas City home opening game between the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals on April 10, 2017 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Athletics defeated the Royals 2-0 (Photo by William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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Gil Meche #55 of the Kansas City Royals (Photo by: Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2009 OPENING DAY STARTER – GIL MECHE

At the end of the 2009 season, a Royals pitcher would take home the Cy Young Award. But it wouldn’t be the man who started the season for that 65-97 ball club. Instead, that particular honor went to Gil Meche.

Meche took the mound on April 7, 2009, in Chicago, set to the face the White Sox. And he pitched fairly well, too. He tossed seven innings (which is the longest by anyone on this list) of one-run ball while striking out six, walking none and giving up only seven hits. When he exited the game, the Royals were winning 2-1.

But, as happens often for the Royals on Opening Day, the bullpen let him down. This season, it was Kyle Farnsworth, who allowed a three-run home run to future Hall-of-Famer Jim Thome in the bottom of the eighth. White Sox win, 4-2.

Meche didn’t really recover for the rest of the year. In his last full year with the club, he’d finish 6-10 with a 5.09 ERA over 23 games started. He threw 129 innings in which he struck out 95 while walking 58. He ended with a 1.566 WHIP, 87 ERA+, and 4.76 FIP.

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