The Kansas City Royals top first basemen in franchise history are an exciting collection of players.
In the history of the Kansas City Royals, only 12 players saw enough time to be considered first basemen and accumulated at least 1,000 plate appearances with the team. Other players saw time there, like George Brett and John Wathan, but both spent considerably more time at other positions.
To qualify for this list, players needed at least 1,500 plate appearances, and first base had to be their primary position. The rankings are objective, ranked according to Wins Above Replacement.
Several players saw some action at first base but spent more time at designated hitter than they did on the field. Others just weren’t with the club long enough to get enough plate appearances. Some of those players include:
- Mike Sweeney
- Billy Butler
- Jeff King
- Bob Hamelin
- Pete LaCock
- Matt Stairs
- Ken Harvey
King is a compelling case because he quit just 21games into the 1999 season, for apparently no reason. If he had played out the season, he would have easily made this list and ranked high.
Of course, Sweeney and Butler would have ranked very high, if most of their games weren’t at DH.
Without further ado, here are the Kansas City Royals best all-time first basemen:
Kansas City Royals best all-time first basemen – No 6: Bob Oliver
WAR 1.4
For the first three years of the Royals’ existence, Bob Oliver was part of making the team a legitimate major league team. His versatility allowed him to play all over the field, and his bat provided power in those early years.
Oliver played at least ten games at five positions for the Royals, but he saw the most time at first. He dabbled a bit at third and left field, and he saw plenty of time in center, but he saw over 100 games in right as well.
His best season in Kansas City was in 1970 when hit .260, had 27 home runs, and 99 runs batted in. He set career highs in both walks with 42, and strikeouts with 126. In his three-plus seasons with the Royals, he only walked 79 times and struck out 300 times. He also had 49 homers and 200 RBI to give those early Royals teams some power to go with his versatility.
He had some successful campaigns for the Angels after leaving Kansas City, but he was soon out of baseball at the age of 32.
Kansas City Royals best all-time first basemen – No 5: Steve Balboni
WAR 2.5
Steve Balboni looked more like a doctor, or maybe an accountant than he did a baseball player, but the stocky first baseman offered some prodigious power to some excellent Royals teams.
His numbers look much like those of a current era player, as opposed to someone from the mid-eighties. He seldom walked, as he had only 175 in 2,201 plate appearances. He struck out a LOT, whiffing 568 times, including a league-leading 166 times in 1985. And he hit his fair share of home runs, pounding out 119, including 36 in 1985, a franchise record that stood for thirty years.
His inability to get on base eventually did him in with the Royals. Despite his ability to bash long balls, his OPS with the Royals was only .752. He also struggled as a fielder. He committed 51 errors at fist from 1984 through 1987, leading all major league first basemen in that category twice.
By 1988, the Royals were ready to move Brett to first full-time, and with Bill Buckner and Pat Tabler on the roster, the team didn’t need a DH who had trouble getting on base. The Royals released Balboni in May. He finished out the season with the Mariners, played for the Yankees a couple of years, hit 55 more homers, then hung it up after the 1990 season.
Kansas City Royals best all-time first basemen – No 4: Wally Joyner
7.8 WAR
Who remembers that Wally Joyner spent four full seasons with the Royals? Most people will recall him in a Royals uniform, but how many folks recall he played 518 games in Kansas City?
One of those reasons maybe because he was good but unspectacular as a Royal. That was kind of the case for most of his long career. He burst onto the scene in 1986 with the Angles, smacking 22 home runs and driving in 100. The next season, he hit 34 round-trippers with 117 RBI. He never matched those numbers again.
His numbers for Kansas City were solid. His slash over those four seasons was .293/.371/.434/.805. He drew quite a few bases on balls as a Royals, walking more than he struck out, and he hit a lot of doubles, averaging 30 a season. He stole a few bases, and he hit a few homers.
He was considered pretty good in the field, yet he never won a Gold Glove. As a Royal, he was second in the American League in assists by a first baseman three times, in the top 10 in putouts at his position twice, and in the top ten in double plays by a first baseman three times.
He may not have been spectacular at any one thing, but he was a solid, consistent player throughout his time with the Royals and his career overall.
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.
Kansas City Royals best all-time first basemen – No. 2: Eric Hosmer
10.4 WAR
Eric Hosmer is one of the most popular Royals’ this century, and it is well deserved. The Royals drafted him third overall in 2008 and he worked his way up to the majors to stay in 2011.
In his first two seasons, the team won 71 and 72 games but starting in 2013, the team had it’s best three-year stretch in over thirty years. The Royals won 86 games that season, then 89 in 2014, which culminated in a World Series appearance.
The following season, the Royals won 95 games and the World Series. Hosmer was a crucial figure in all of those seasons, but ironically, his best years at the plate were after that in 2016 and 2017.
He hammered 25 homers both season, knocked in 104 runs in 2016, and hit .318 in 2017. He won the Silver Slugger in 2017 as well.
His Wins Above Replacement bounced around a bit, going as low as -1.3 to as high as 4.0. Part of the reason for that was inconsistent defense. Despite the fact Hosmer won four Gold Gloves, defensive metrics were not his friend.
His Ultimate Zone Rating for his seven years in Kansas City was an abysmal – 23.9, according to Fangraphs. His Defensive Runs Saved for the Royals was -10. These numbers had to affect his overall WAR numbers negatively.
Hosmer was a regular on the AL leaderboard for assists, putouts, and double plays by a first baseman, and he showed soft hands around the bag.
While his WAR of 10.4 is good enough for second on this list, Hosmer played twice as many games for the Royals than Joyner and Aikens.
Hosmer will always be remembered fondly by Royals’ fans for his enthusiasm and toughness. Bringing home a banner didn’t hurt either. His stats make him one of the best first baseman in franchise history.
Kansas City Royals best all-time first basemen – No 1: John Mayberry
21.8 WAR
John Mayberry was a key component to the quick Royals ascension to competitiveness in the seventies. In his six seasons with the Royals, he hit at least 22 home runs five times, and he drove in at least 100 runs three times and more than 80 five times.
For a big man with a lot of power, Mayberry knew how to take a walk too. He led the majors in base on balls twice and on-base percentage once. In Kansas City, he walked 561 times and struck out 457 times. His OPS was .895 or higher three times, including .963 in 1975, when he finished second in the MVP voting.
He finished in the top ten for WAR twice, in RBI four times, and in walks all six years with the Royals.
How was he around the bag? Pretty darn good! He finished in the top ten in putouts five times, first thrice, in assists at first four times., and in double plays by a first baseman in five of his seasons, including first twice. It seems crazy he didn’t win any Gold Gloves while Hoser won four.
Right before the 1978 season, the Royals sold Mayberry to the Blue Jays. He had three more productive seasons, if not quite as good as his heydays in Kansas City. He began to slip in year four in Toronto, then split 1982 with the Blue Jays and Yankees, with poor results.
Mayberry’s WAR is double the next highest in team history for first basemen. He is among the greatest Royals ever, first base or otherwise.
There you have it – the all-time best first basemen and Kansas City Royals’ history!