It's been 22 years of miserable baseball since the Royals won 92 games and finished as high as second place. Looking back on this team Royal fans have bitter sweet memories. It was only 4 years earlier that the Royals captured their one and only World Championship with an aging veteran nucleus surrounded by a phenomenal staff of young arms. Fast forward 4 years and the veteran nucleus was either gone or hanging on for dear life. Future Hall of Famer George Brett hit a solid .282 with 12 homers, but by his own estimations was not playing at the level that he had been playing at for the past 15 years. Other "core" guys, Frank White (.256) and Willie Wilson (.253) were well north of 30 and more support players than go to guys at this point in their careers. The void left by departing vets like John Wathan, who was now the team's manager and guys like Hal McRae were filled nicely by two sport star Bo Jackson, who was the king of feast or famine. Bo knows homers (32), Bo knows RBI's (105), Bo knows stolen bases (26), but Bo also knows strikeouts (172). Young Danny Tartabull (.268-18-62) backs up Bo in the lineup and also strikes out a lot (123). Jim Eisenreich, who battle back from injuries and psychological challenges to play 134 games and hit a solid .293. The rest of the bench is sub par at best. A 39 year old Billy Buckner hit just .216 in 79 games and was ready to pack it in.
That young staff that came of age in time for the 1985 Championship run still had enough left to finish 3rd in he league in ERA. It was an "odd" numbered year, so Bret Saberhagen (23-6, 2.16) was due to claim the Cy Young award once again. Mark Gubicza was solid (15-11, 3.04). Charlie Liebrandt faltered (5-11, 5.14), so when he's on the mound expect to see the bullpen called on early and often. Floyd Bannister, Tom "Flash" Gordon and Luis Aquino will split time between the pen and the rotation. The 21 year old Gordon posted an impressive 17-9, 3.64 record in just 16 starts and 33 relief appearances. To close out games the ball belongs to Jeff Montgomery (7-3, 1.37), who would have been considered the dominant pitcher in the AL if it wasn't for that guy named "Eck" over in Oakland. Terry Leach, Steve Farr, and Steve "Caveman" Crawford setup "Monty".
Piloting the Royals once again is Justin Ryan, who plays "Billy Ball" or small ball game in and game out. He will catch you napping with a late game stolen base from an unlikely source or a potpourri of bunts that turn into hits, which turn into runs. Justin has been with us since KOD3 and has had numerous post season appearances with some scrappy, but understaffed teams. Justin, who also manages the '99 Astros in the NL is still in search of his first pennant winner as he inches closer and closer season after season.
Robert Chisholm, who already had the 1989 Topps template in his back pocket, created 9 additional cards to round out this set. Year in and year out we only need to add a handful of cards to round out the Royals set. This is because the Royals, during their mid 70's-late 80's run had very little turnover and a ton of consistency.
That young staff that came of age in time for the 1985 Championship run still had enough left to finish 3rd in he league in ERA. It was an "odd" numbered year, so Bret Saberhagen (23-6, 2.16) was due to claim the Cy Young award once again. Mark Gubicza was solid (15-11, 3.04). Charlie Liebrandt faltered (5-11, 5.14), so when he's on the mound expect to see the bullpen called on early and often. Floyd Bannister, Tom "Flash" Gordon and Luis Aquino will split time between the pen and the rotation. The 21 year old Gordon posted an impressive 17-9, 3.64 record in just 16 starts and 33 relief appearances. To close out games the ball belongs to Jeff Montgomery (7-3, 1.37), who would have been considered the dominant pitcher in the AL if it wasn't for that guy named "Eck" over in Oakland. Terry Leach, Steve Farr, and Steve "Caveman" Crawford setup "Monty".
Piloting the Royals once again is Justin Ryan, who plays "Billy Ball" or small ball game in and game out. He will catch you napping with a late game stolen base from an unlikely source or a potpourri of bunts that turn into hits, which turn into runs. Justin has been with us since KOD3 and has had numerous post season appearances with some scrappy, but understaffed teams. Justin, who also manages the '99 Astros in the NL is still in search of his first pennant winner as he inches closer and closer season after season.
Robert Chisholm, who already had the 1989 Topps template in his back pocket, created 9 additional cards to round out this set. Year in and year out we only need to add a handful of cards to round out the Royals set. This is because the Royals, during their mid 70's-late 80's run had very little turnover and a ton of consistency.
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