Kansas City Royals: All-Decade Team for 2010s
By Travis Neely
ALL-DECADE TEAM FOR 2010S
THIRD BASE – MIKE MOUSTAKAS
- 2x All-Star (Royals only)
Mike Moustakas anchored third base for eight years during the decade. In those eight years, he hit 139 homers, including when he broke Steve Balboni‘s then club record (when he hit 38 home runs in 2018).
Moose played in two All-Star games as a Royal and hit six dingers with 15 RBI in the postseason. He also made a memorable diving catch into the Dugout Suites in the sixth inning of game three of the 2014 ALCS and provide Ned Yost with the idea of a third basemen tree.
While Moustakas didn’t finish the decade with the Royals, he did quite well for them during his time in Kansas City, slashing .251/.306/.430 with a lot of that production coming in the back half of his time as a Royal.
SHORTSTOP – ALCIDES ESCOBAR
- 1x All-Star
- 1x Gold Glove
- 2015 ALCS MVP
Alcides Escobar started in a franchise record 421 consecutive games during the decade. Escobar hit consistently around the .250 mark during the decade and provided the Royals with an overall fielding percentage at .976. He slashed .259/.292/.344 with the Royals.
Escobar won a gold glove and also started at SS for the AL during the 2015 All-Star Game, which was the lone All-Star appearance he’d make during his career (still a huge achievement).
Esky will most be remembered as a Royal for being a free swinging lead-off hitter, who provided us with a ton of memories in those 2014 and 2015 World Series runs. He will be remembered for leading off the bottom of the first in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series with an inside the park home run. What a way to start off the series!