KC Royals: Historical roster of greats who briefly played in Kansas City

The Outfield & Designated Hitter

Left field, Reggie Jackson* (Athletics, 1967)

Here’s a quick story about the Athletics about their tenure in Kansas City and first decade in Oakland.

After 54 years and five World Series titles in Philadelphia, the Athletics moved to Kansas City, where the team would spend its next 13 seasons. In those 13 seasons, from 1955-1967, the team went a woeful 829-1,224 with zero playoff appearances.

Toward that end of that time, hope seemed to be coming, as the owner, Charlie O. Finley, started acquiring tremendously talented players like pitchers Catfish Hunter, Blue Moon Odom, Vida Blue, and Rollie Fingers, and hitters like Rick Monday, Sal Blando, Bert Campeneris, and, of course, Reginald Martinez Jackson.

The A’s moved to Oakland before the start of the 1968 season, a year in which they’d post their first winning record (82-80)  since 1952.

Three years later, they won the American League West.

They then won the World Series in 1972, 1973, and 1974.

Back to Jackson, who played in only 34 games as a member of the Kansas City Athletics, but did hit his first of 563 career home runs with them. And man, could Reggie Jackson hit home runs. He hit some colossal bombs in his playing days, some with the Athletics, a chunk with the Yankees, and then some with the Orioles and Angels.

With Jackson, it was either hit one over the fence or strike out. Think guys today strike out a bunch? Jackson, who retired in 1987 after 21 seasons, still leads the majors in career strikeouts with 2,597. While he led the league in home runs four times, he led the league in strikeouts five times. He averaged 149 strikeouts per season. In every season in which he played at least 115 games, he struck out at least  97 times.

But it didn’t slow him down or change the way he played. He won the MVP in in 1973, finishing with 32 home runs, 117 RBI’s, slashing .293/.383/.531 and striking out 111 times. He’d finish in the top-six in MVP voting another five times, including as late as 1982 with the Angels in one of those years when he paced the league in whiffs, with 156.

Still, even at age 36, he led the majors in homers with 36, drove in 101 RBI’s, and slashed .275/.375/.532.

Plus, he was absolutely clutch in the postseason, as one nicknamed Mr. October should be. He won five World Series titles in his career, three with Oakland and two with New York, and won the World Series MVP Award twice, in 1973 and 1977.

His career postseason numbers: 77 games, 281 at-bats, 41 runs, 14 doubles, 18 home runs, 48 RBI’s, 70 strikeouts, .278/.358/.527 for a .885 OPS. Not bad.

Center field, Vada Pinson (Royals, 1974-1975)

Pinson departed Cincinnati just before the Big Red Machine kicked into gear, but he made a name for himself in his first 11 seasons, all with the Reds, during which he made four All-Star games and won a Gold Glove in 1961. In that same season, he finished third in MVP voting behind teammate Frank Robinson and our Designated Hitter listed below. He twice led the majors in hits, twice in doubles, and twice in triples.

In 1974, after a couple of years with the Angels, Pinson joined the Royals. During his two years in Kansas City, he played mostly right field, but also played center and left. Though he posted a below-average OPS in those two seasons, he still collected a total of 59 extra-base hits and swiped 26 bases.

Right field, Enos Slaughter* (Athletics, 1955-1956)

Before Country Breakfast (a/k/a Billy Butler) played for the Royals, Enos “Country” Slaughter played for the Athletics toward the end of his Hall-of-Fame career.

Slaughter is best known for his days with the St. Louis Cardinals, for whom he played 13 seasons, making 10 All-Star teams, winning two World Series, and in the top three in MVP voting three times. In the 1946 World Series, he scored from first on a single in what’s known as the mad dash.

After leaving the Cardinals, he landed with the Yankees, who then dealt him to the Athletics in 1955. In 199 games in Kansas City, Slaughter slashed .302/.387/.427. The A’s, as they were wont to do with players, traded him back to the Yankees, where he won two more World Series titles before retiring as a member of the Milwaukee Braves.

Designated Hitter, Orlando Cepeda* (Royals, 1974)

Baby Bull wrapped up his 17-year, Hall-of-Fame career with the Royals in 1974. By that time, he’d won Rookie of the Year in 1958 with the Giants, won the MVP and World Series in 1967 with the Cardinals, and made 11 All-Star teams. In 1973 with the Red Sox, he received some MVP consideration as, at age 35, he hit 25 doubles and 20 home runs while driving in 86 RBI’s and slashing .289/.350/.444.

But in his last hooray with the Athletics, he appeared in just 33 games and collecting a mere 23 hits, five of them doubles and just one home run.

The Bench

Catcher, Charlie Lau (Athletics, 1963-1964): I picked Lau over Olivo so he could double as the team’s hitting coach. Or we could go with this guy and have him double as the team’s pitching coach.

Outfielder: Roger Maris (Athletics, 1958-1959): Before winning two MVP Awards, breaking the single-season home run record, and winning three World Series titles, Maris spent a year-and-a-half with the A’s, making his first of seven All-Star teams in 1959 at age 24.

Infielder: Miguel Tejada (Royals, 2013): The 2002 AL MVP and six-time All-Star joined the Royals after failing to reach the majors in 2012. The once electrifying Oakland shortstop was a shell of his former self, appearing in just 53 games, accumulating a .695 OPS. That was it for him in the majors.

Outfielder: Rocky Colavito (Athletics, 1964): After splitting time between the Indians and Tigers, the nine-time All-Star joined Kansas City for one season in 1964, a year in which he made the All-Star team while hitting 34 homers, driving in 102 RBI’s, and posting a .873 OPS, 37% above league average. He’d play four more seasons split between the Tribe, White Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees.