Meet the Royals W hen people hear the words true blue it makes them think em think of being loyal When baseball fans in Kansas and Missouri ssouri hear those words they think of the Kansas City Royals For the he fans and players true blue means playing hard and playing smart until the final out The Royals are always on the lookout for players with a winning attitude Rather than filling the roster with superstars Kansas City searches for super people Even in the years when the team struggles fans always have something to cheer about This book tells the story of the Royals They teach their players to put the team first They find ways to win that other her teams don’t think of That is why when things look their very worst worst the Royals are often at their very best Alex Gordon returns to the dugout after a home run Young stars like Gordon have kept Royals fans true blue for more than 40 years 5
Glory Days B aseball in Kansas City Missouri has changed quite a bit over the years Back in the 1880s real cowboys rode into town to watch a National League NL team called the Cowboys In the early 1900s fans in the city rooted for teams in the minor leagues and the Negro Leagues From 1955 to 1967 Kansas City was the hometown of the A’s They now play in Oakland The story of the Royals began in 1969 That year they were one of two new teams in the American League AL The Royals won 69 games their first year and put some good players on the field including Lou Piniella Pat Kelly and Bob Oliver Over the next few seasons the Royals made smart trades for Amos Otis Freddie Patek Hal McRae and John Mayberry They also developed several good players on their own including Paul Splittorff Steve Busby Frank White and George Brett After a 6
LEFT Freddie Patek RIGHT Dan Quisenberry coach named Charlie Lau taught the Royals a new way of hitting their batting averages soared By 1976 Kansas City had one of the best teams in baseball The Royals reminded many people of old-time clubs The players were tough and were always thinking of new ways to win games They could beat you with their bats their gloves their arms or their feet If an opponent lost focus for even an inning the Royals were likely to win the game From 1973 to 1985 Kansas City finished first or second in the AL West 12 times The Royal advanced to the American League Championship Series ALCS three years in a row from 1976 to 1978 Each time they lost to the New York Yankees They finally beat the Bronx Bombers in 1980 to win their first pennant Joining Brett White and McRae on that team were relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry and speedy outfielder Willie Wilson 7
