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.
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.Mike Bielecki at Baseball Reference February 26, 1979: Eduardo Rodríguez was purchased by the Royals from the Milwaukee Brewers.Eduardo Rodríguez page on Baseball Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions April 3, 1979: Doug Bird was traded by the Royals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Todd Cruz.Todd Cruz at Baseball Reference 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.Keith Drumright at Baseball Reference June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball draft Atlee Hammaker was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (21st pick).Atlee Hammaker at Baseball Reference Dan Marino was drafted by the Royals in the 4th round (99th pick overall). John Elway was drafted by the Royals in the 18th round (463rd pick overall).
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 1123 1B Pete LaCock 132 408 113 .277 3 562 2B 127 467 124 .266 10 4828 3B 154 645 212 .329 23 10717 SS 106 306 77 .252 1 3711 LF 154 588 185 .315 6 4983 CF Al Cowens 136 516 152 .295 9 7310 RF Hal McRae 101 393 113 .288 10 745
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 101 268 68 .254 2 25 John Wathan 90 199 41 .206 2 28 Clint Hurdle 59 171 41 .240 3 30 44 146 39 .267 1 20 55 118 24 .203 2 15 58 116 31 .267 4 10 Jamie Quirk 51 79 24 .304 1 11 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 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 39 233.2 13 12 4.47 85 34 181.2 9 10 5.65 103 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 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 29 4 1 2 4.84 26 Renie Martin 25 0 3 5 5.19 25 7 0 1 0 6.59 3 6 0 0 0 3.38 4 5 0 0 0 2.70 4 4 0 0 0 13.50 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 0
Awards and honors
All-Star Game
Darrell Porter, Catcher, Starter Frank White, Second Base, Starter George Brett, Third Base, Starter
Farm system
Notes
References
1979 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference 1979 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac