1989_Kansas_City_Royals_season
1989 Kansas City Royals season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1989 Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing second in the American League West with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses. The Royals' record was tied for the third best in baseball, but in the pre-wild card era, the team did not qualify for the post-season.
Quick Facts Kansas City Royals, League ...
| 1989 Kansas City Royals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Royals Stadium | |||
| City | Kansas City, Missouri | |||
| Owners | Ewing Kauffman | |||
| General managers | John Schuerholz | |||
| Managers | John Wathan | |||
| Television | WDAF-TV (Paul Splittorff, Denny Trease) | |||
| Radio | WIBW (AM) (Denny Matthews, Fred White) | |||
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- November 30, 1988: Bob Boone was signed as a free agent by the Royals.[1]
- December 6, 1988: Bill Buckner was signed as a free agent by the Royals.[2]
- December 6, 1988: Mauro Gozzo was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays from the Kansas City Royals in the 1988 minor league draft.[3]
- March 22, 1989: Daryl Smith was signed as a free agent by the Royals.[4]
- May 15, 1989: Royals pitcher Floyd Bannister threw exactly three pitches and recorded three outs.[5] This was accomplished in the second inning.
- June 5, 1989: Kansas City outfielder Bo Jackson made a spectacular defensive play in a game against the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome. With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the 10th inning and Harold Reynolds on first, Scott Bradley lashed a double to deep left field. Reynolds, running with the pitch, thought he would easily score the winning run on the play, and was shocked when teammate Darnell Coles instructed him to slide. Jackson fielded Bradley's double and launched a flat-footed, 300-foot throw on the fly to Royals catcher Bob Boone, who tagged Reynolds out at the plate.[6]
- During the season, Bret Saberhagen would be the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in one season for the Royals in the 20th century.[7]
- The last time the Royals will win at least 90 games until the 2015 season.
Season standings
More information W, L ...
| AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 99 | 63 | 0.611 | — | 54–27 | 45–36 |
| Kansas City Royals | 92 | 70 | 0.568 | 7 | 55–26 | 37–44 |
| California Angels | 91 | 71 | 0.562 | 8 | 52–29 | 39–42 |
| Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 16 | 45–36 | 38–43 |
| Minnesota Twins | 80 | 82 | 0.494 | 19 | 45–36 | 35–46 |
| Seattle Mariners | 73 | 89 | 0.451 | 26 | 40–41 | 33–48 |
| Chicago White Sox | 69 | 92 | 0.429 | 29½ | 35–45 | 34–47 |
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Record vs. opponents
More information Team, BAL ...
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 |
| Boston | 7–6 | — | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 11–2 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| California | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | — | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 5–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 3–10 | 1–11 |
| Cleveland | 6–7 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 8–4 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–8 |
| Detroit | 3–10 | 2–11 | 1–11 | 8–4 | 8–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 2–11 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Milwaukee | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 4–8 | — | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 |
| Minnesota | 8–4 | 6–6 | 2–11 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 9–3 |
| New York | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 9–3 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 3–9 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | — | 5–7 |
| Toronto | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 8–5 | 11–2 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | — |
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Transactions
- June 5, 1989: Brent Mayne was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 1st round (13th pick) of the 1989 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 1989.[8]
Roster
| 1989 Kansas City Royals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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| = Indicates team 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
More information Pos, Player ...
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bob Boone | 131 | 405 | 111 | .274 | 1 | 43 |
| 1B | George Brett | 124 | 457 | 129 | .282 | 12 | 80 |
| 2B | Frank White | 135 | 418 | 107 | .256 | 2 | 36 |
| 3B | Kevin Seitzer | 160 | 597 | 168 | .281 | 4 | 48 |
| SS | Kurt Stillwell | 130 | 463 | 121 | .261 | 7 | 54 |
| LF | Bo Jackson | 135 | 515 | 132 | .256 | 32 | 105 |
| CF | Willie Wilson | 112 | 383 | 97 | .253 | 3 | 43 |
| RF | Danny Tartabull | 133 | 441 | 118 | .268 | 18 | 62 |
| DH | Pat Tabler | 123 | 390 | 101 | .259 | 2 | 42 |
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Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Eisenreich | 134 | 475 | 139 | .293 | 9 | 59 |
| Brad Wellman | 103 | 178 | 41 | .230 | 2 | 12 |
| Bill Buckner | 79 | 176 | 38 | .216 | 1 | 16 |
| Mike Macfarlane | 69 | 157 | 35 | .223 | 2 | 19 |
| Matt Winters | 42 | 107 | 25 | .234 | 2 | 9 |
| Gary Thurman | 72 | 87 | 17 | .195 | 0 | 5 |
| Luis de los Santos | 28 | 87 | 22 | .253 | 0 | 6 |
| Bill Pecota | 65 | 83 | 17 | .205 | 3 | 5 |
| Rey Palacios | 55 | 47 | 8 | .170 | 1 | 8 |
| Jeff Schulz | 7 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 1 |
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Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bret Saberhagen | 36 | 262.1 | 23 | 6 | 2.16 | 193 |
| Mark Gubicza | 36 | 255.0 | 15 | 11 | 3.04 | 173 |
| Charlie Leibrandt | 33 | 161.0 | 5 | 11 | 5.14 | 73 |
| Floyd Bannister | 14 | 75.1 | 4 | 1 | 4.66 | 35 |
| Stan Clarke | 2 | 7.0 | 0 | 2 | 15.43 | 2 |
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Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Gordon | 49 | 163.0 | 17 | 9 | 3.64 | 153 |
| Luis Aquino | 34 | 141.1 | 6 | 8 | 3.50 | 68 |
| Larry McWilliams | 8 | 32.2 | 2 | 2 | 4.13 | 24 |
| Kevin Appier | 6 | 21.2 | 1 | 4 | 9.14 | 10 |
| José DeJesús | 3 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 2 |
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Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
More information Player, G ...
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Montgomery | 63 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 1.37 | 94 |
| Steve Farr | 51 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 4.12 | 56 |
| Terry Leach | 30 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4.15 | 34 |
| Steve Crawford | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.83 | 33 |
| Rick Luecken | 19 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3.42 | 16 |
| Jerry Don Gleaton | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.65 | 9 |
| Bob Buchanan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 3 |
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- Bo Jackson, All-Star Game, American League, Starting Lineup
- Bo Jackson, MLB All-Star Game MVP
- Bret Saberhagen, Cy Young Award
See also: Minor League Baseball
More information Level, Team ...
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- Bill Buckner at Baseball Reference
- Daryl Smith at Baseball Reference
- Posnanski, Joe (May 30, 2007). "Between the Seams: Recalling Bo Jackson's days in baseball". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
- Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.99, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997
- 1989 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference
- 1989 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac