1979 Kansas City Royals season
Major League Baseball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1979 Kansas City Royals season was their 11th season in Major League Baseball. The Royals finished second in the American League West at 85–77, three games behind the California Angels and ending Kansas City's run of three consecutive division titles. Darrell Porter tied a single-season franchise record with 112 runs batted in. George Brett led the American League in hits (212) and triples (20). Manager Whitey Herzog was fired following the season.
.svg)
| 1979 Kansas City Royals | |
|---|---|
| |
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Royals Stadium |
| City | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Record | 85–77 (.525) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Owners | Ewing Kauffman |
| General managers | Joe Burke |
| Managers | Whitey Herzog (fourth full season) |
| Television | KBMA (Steve Shannon, Dave Nelson) |
| Radio | WIBW (AM) (Denny Matthews, Fred White) |
Offseason
- January 9, 1979: Mike Bielecki was drafted by the Royals in the 6th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[1]
- February 26, 1979: Eduardo Rodríguez was purchased by the Royals from the Milwaukee Brewers.[2]
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 88 | 74 | .543 | — | 49–32 | 39–42 |
| Kansas City Royals | 85 | 77 | .525 | 3 | 46–35 | 39–42 |
| Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | .512 | 5 | 44–37 | 39–42 |
| Minnesota Twins | 82 | 80 | .506 | 6 | 39–42 | 43–38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 73 | 87 | .456 | 14 | 33–46 | 40–41 |
| Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | .414 | 21 | 36–45 | 31–50 |
| Oakland Athletics | 54 | 108 | .333 | 34 | 31–50 | 23–58 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
| Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
| Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
| New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
| Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
| Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- April 3, 1979: Doug Bird was traded by the Royals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Todd Cruz.[3]
- April 27, 1979: George Throop was traded by the Royals to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later. The Astros completed the deal by sending Keith Drumright to the Royals on October 26.[4]
- June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball draft
- Atlee Hammaker was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (21st pick).[5]
- Dan Marino was drafted by the Royals in the 4th round (99th pick overall).[6]
- John Elway was drafted by the Royals in the 18th round (463rd pick overall).[7]
Roster
| 1979 Kansas City Royals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Darrell Porter | 157 | 533 | 155 | .291 | 20 | 112 | 3 |
| 1B | Pete LaCock | 132 | 408 | 113 | .277 | 3 | 56 | 2 |
| 2B | Frank White | 127 | 467 | 124 | .266 | 10 | 48 | 28 |
| 3B | George Brett | 154 | 645 | 212 | .329 | 23 | 107 | 17 |
| SS | Freddie Patek | 106 | 306 | 77 | .252 | 1 | 37 | 11 |
| LF | Willie Wilson | 154 | 588 | 185 | .315 | 6 | 49 | 83 |
| CF | Al Cowens | 136 | 516 | 152 | .295 | 9 | 73 | 10 |
| RF | Hal McRae | 101 | 393 | 113 | .288 | 10 | 74 | 5 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U L Washington | 101 | 268 | 68 | .254 | 2 | 25 |
| John Wathan | 90 | 199 | 41 | .206 | 2 | 28 |
| Clint Hurdle | 59 | 171 | 41 | .240 | 3 | 30 |
| George Scott | 44 | 146 | 39 | .267 | 1 | 20 |
| Todd Cruz | 55 | 118 | 24 | .203 | 2 | 15 |
| Steve Braun | 58 | 116 | 31 | .267 | 4 | 10 |
| Jamie Quirk | 51 | 79 | 24 | .304 | 1 | 11 |
| Jerry Terrell | 31 | 40 | 12 | .300 | 1 | 2 |
| Tom Poquette | 21 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 0 | 3 |
| Jim Nettles | 11 | 23 | 2 | .087 | 0 | 1 |
| Joe Zdeb | 15 | 23 | 4 | .174 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Gaudet | 3 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Germán Barranca | 5 | 5 | 3 | .600 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Splittorff | 36 | 240.0 | 15 | 17 | 4.24 | 77 |
| Dennis Leonard | 32 | 236.0 | 14 | 12 | 4.08 | 126 |
| Larry Gura | 39 | 233.2 | 13 | 12 | 4.47 | 85 |
| Rich Gale | 34 | 181.2 | 9 | 10 | 5.65 | 103 |
| Craig Chamberlain | 10 | 69.2 | 4 | 4 | 3.75 | 30 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Busby | 22 | 94.1 | 6 | 6 | 3.63 | 45 |
| Marty Pattin | 31 | 94.1 | 5 | 2 | 4.58 | 41 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Hrabosky | 58 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 3.74 | 39 |
| Dan Quisenberry | 32 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3.15 | 13 |
| Steve Mingori | 30 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5.79 | 18 |
| Eduardo Rodríguez | 29 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4.84 | 26 |
| Renie Martin | 25 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5.19 | 25 |
| Bill Paschall | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.59 | 3 |
| Gary Christenson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 4 |
| Craig Eaton | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 4 |
| George Throop | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 |
| Jerry Terrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Awards and honors
- Darrell Porter, Catcher, Starter
- Frank White, Second Base, Starter
- George Brett, Third Base, Starter