The 1990 Kansas City Royals season was the 22nd season for the franchise, their 18th at Kauffman Stadium and their 4th full season under the management of John Wathan. It involved the Royals finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 75 wins and 86 losses.
Offseason
Kansas City maintained their reputation as one of the American League West's top contenders throughout the late 1980s. The club posted a winning record in three of the last four seasons following their World Series championship season. The Royals finished the 1989 season with a 92–70 record (third best record in franchise history) and a second-place finish in the AL West seven games behind the season's World Series champion Oakland Athletics. Though the team boasted a powerhouse rotation in the AL Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen (set franchise record with 23 wins in 1989), two time All-Star Mark Gubicza (15 game winner in 1989) and 1989 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Tom Gordon (won 17 games in 1989), the organization felt they were still missing a few pieces that would give the Oakland Athletics a run for their money.
The Royals were left without a high-caliber closing pitcher when Dan Quisenberry, the team's All-Star ace closer for much of the 1980s, was dropped from the club in 1988. Mark Davis, last season's league leader in saves (44) and boasting a 1.85 earned run average with the San Diego Padres, became a free agent at the close of the 1989 season. Kansas City had their eye on the 1989 National League Cy Young winner and back-to-back All-Star (1988, 1989), and after several attempts to acquire Davis, the organization was ultimately successful in signing him to a four-year $13 million contract (the largest annual salary in baseball history at the time). Several days earlier, the Royals bulked up their rotation by inking starting pitcher Storm Davis, who was enjoying a career-high 19 game win record (3rd best in the league) with the Athletics in 1989, on a three-year $6 million contract. With a solid pitching rotation, which was now ranked among the best in the league, the team traded away starting pitcher Charlie Leibrandt and prospect Rick Luecken to the Atlanta Braves for 1988 All-Star first baseman Gerald Perry as an added offensive threat. The Royals filled in their fifth starting pitching slot by signing yet another free agent with veteran right-hander Richard Dotson. Kansas City concluded a milestone off-season as its biggest commitment to free agents in the club's entire history.
Transactions December 5, 1989: Richard Dotson was signed as a free agent by the Royals. December 7, 1989: Storm Davis was signed as a free agent by the Royals. December 7, 1989: Willie Wilson was signed as a free agent by the Royals. December 11, 1989: Mark Davis was signed as a free agent by the Royals. December 15, 1989: Charlie Leibrandt and Rick Luecken were traded by the Royals to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Gerald Perry and Jim LeMasters (minors).
Regular season Despite the promising off-season moves, the team suffered critical bullpen injuries while the newly signed Davis hurlers both experienced lackluster performances throughout the season. The Royals concluded the 1990 campaign with a 75-86 finish and second-to-last place standing in the AL West (worst franchise record since 1970). Though the team would bounce back with winning records during the next several years, the disastrous season would symbolically come to mark the beginning of the end of Kansas City's relevance in professional baseball.
George Brett became a three decade batting champ by winning the 1990 American League batting title. July 11, 1990: In a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Bo Jackson performed his famous "wall run", when he caught a ball approximately 2-3 strides away from the wall. As he caught the ball at full tilt, Jackson looked up and noticed the wall and began to run up the wall, one leg reaching higher as he ascended. He ran along the wall almost parallel to the ground, and came down with the catch, to avoid impact and the risk of injury from the fence. July 17, 1990: In a game against the New York Yankees, Bo Jackson would have an outstanding performance where he blasts three home runs in his first three at bats, putting up seven RBI's, just before he exits the game with a shoulder injury. July 25, 1990: George Brett hit for the cycle (reverse) for the second time in his career against the Toronto Blue Jays. August 31, 1990: Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners made history by being the first father and son to play in a game together. This historic game was played against the Royals.
Opening Day Roster Bob Boone George Brett Jim Eisenreich Bo Jackson Gerald Perry Bret Saberhagen Kevin Seitzer Kurt Stillwell Danny Tartabull Frank White
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions March 31, 1990: José DeJesús was traded by the Royals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Steve Jeltz. March 31, 1990: Mark Lee was released by the Royals. June 21, 1990: Richard Dotson was released by the Royals. August 30, 1990: Pat Tabler was traded by the Royals to the New York Mets for Archie Corbin.
Roster
1990 Kansas City Royals Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches (bullpen)
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 Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Mike Macfarlane 124 400 102 .255 6 58 1B George Brett 142 544 179 .329 14 87 2B Frank White 82 241 52 .216 2 21 3B Kevin Seitzer 158 622 171 .275 6 38 SS Kurt Stillwell 144 506 126 .249 3 51 LF Jim Eisenreich 142 496 139 .280 5 51 CF Bo Jackson 111 405 110 .272 28 78 RF Danny Tartabull 88 313 84 .268 15 60 DH Gerald Perry 133 465 118 .254 8 57
Other batters Note: G = Games pitched; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Willie Wilson 115 307 89 .290 2 42 Bill Pecota 87 240 58 .242 5 20 Pat Tabler 75 195 53 .272 1 19 Brian McRae 46 168 48 .286 2 23 Bob Boone 40 117 28 .239 0 9 Steve Jeltz 74 103 16 .155 0 10 Terry Shumpert 32 91 25 .275 0 8 Jeff Schulz 30 66 17 .258 0 6 Gary Thurman 23 60 14 .233 0 3 Rey Palacios 41 56 13 .232 2 9 Russ Morman 12 37 10 .270 1 3 Sean Berry 8 23 5 .217 0 4 Jeff Conine 9 20 5 .250 0 2 Brent Mayne 5 13 3 .231 0 1
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 Tom Gordon 32 195.1 12 11 3.73 175 Kevin Appier 32 185.2 12 8 2.76 127 Bret Saberhagen 20 135.0 5 9 3.27 87 Storm Davis 21 112.0 7 10 4.74 62 Mark Gubicza 16 94.0 4 7 4.50 71 Héctor Wagner 5 23.1 0 2 8.10 14 Jim Campbell 2 9.2 1 0 8.38 2
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 Farr 57 127.0 13 7 1.98 94 Andy McGaffigan 24 78.2 4 3 3.09 49 Luis Aquino 20 68.1 4 1 3.16 28 Pete Filson 8 35.0 0 4 5.91 9 Mel Stottlemyre Jr. 13 31.1 0 1 4.88 14 Richard Dotson 8 28.2 0 4 8.48 9 Chris Codiroli 6 10.1 0 1 9.58 8 Daryl Smith 2 6.2 0 1 4.05 6
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 Jeff Montgomery 73 6 5 24 2.39 94 Mark Davis 53 2 7 6 5.11 73 Steve Crawford 46 5 4 1 4.16 54 Larry McWilliams 13 0 0 0 9.72 7 Israel Sánchez 11 0 0 0 8.38 5 Luis Encarnación 4 0 0 0 7.84 8 Carlos Maldonado 4 0 0 0 9.00 9 Jay Baller 3 0 1 0 15.43 1
Awards and honors George Brett – American League Batting Champion (.329)
All-Star Game
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Omaha, Memphis
References
External links 1990 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference 1990 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac