Kansas City Royals best all-time first basemen in franchise history

Kansas City Royals best all-time first basemen – No 3: Willie Aikens

9.2 WAR

The story of Willie Aikens is one of talent, personal failure, and redemption. Aikens was a pretty good hitter for the Royals in the early eighties but was one of four Royals arrested and jailed for drug use in 1983.

Aikens came to the Royals when the team traded an early franchise staple, Al Cowens, to the Angels for the young first baseman. He immediately made his presence felt.

His .278 average, 20 home runs, and 98 RBI helped the Royals to their first-ever World Series in 1980. All four of his seasons with the club were solid, and he even hit .302 in 1983 with 23 dingers and 72 RBI.

After the season, the wheels came off. He was sentenced to three months in jail for possession, and the Royals traded him to the Blue Jays for Jorge Orta, who would play a famous role in the team’s first World Series Championship in 1985.

He played in just 105 games over parts of two seasons with Toronto and put up dismal stats. He was out of baseball after the 1985 season.

Life wasn’t done with Aikens yet. In 1994, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for cocaine distribution and got out in 2008. While incarcerated, Aikens truly rehabilitated his life, and in 2011 the Royals hired him as a minor league coach.

Aikens’ time in Kansas City as a player was too brief, as was his overall career. His 9.2 WAR in just four seasons with the Royals indicates what might have been. Still, through all his mistakes, Aikens turned his life around and has been a positive influence for the organization.