1979 Kansas City Royals season
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.
1979 Kansas City Royals | |
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Owner(s) | Ewing Kauffman |
General manager(s) | Joe Burke |
Manager(s) | Whitey Herzog (fourth full season) |
Local television | KBMA (Steve Shannon, Dave Nelson) |
Local radio | WIBW (AM) (Denny Matthews, Fred White) |
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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.[1]
- February 26, 1979: Eduardo Rodríguez was purchased by the Royals from the Milwaukee Brewers.[2]
Regular season
Season standings
AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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California Angels | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | — | 49–32 | 39–42 |
Kansas City Royals | 85 | 77 | 0.525 | 3 | 46–35 | 39–42 |
Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 5 | 44–37 | 39–42 |
Minnesota Twins | 82 | 80 | 0.506 | 6 | 39–42 | 43–38 |
Chicago White Sox | 73 | 87 | 0.456 | 14 | 33–46 | 40–41 |
Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | 0.414 | 21 | 36–45 | 31–50 |
Oakland Athletics | 54 | 108 | 0.333 | 34 | 31–50 | 23–58 |
Record vs. opponents
1979 American League Records Sources: | ||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- April 3, 1979: Doug Bird was traded by the Royals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Todd Cruz.[3]
- 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.[4]
- June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball draft
- Atlee Hammaker was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (21st pick).[5]
- Dan Marino was drafted by the Royals in the 4th round (99th pick overall).[6]
- John Elway was drafted by the Royals in the 18th round (463rd pick overall).[7]
Roster
1979 Kansas City Royals | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
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 |
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2B | Frank White | 127 | 467 | 124 | .266 | 10 | 48 |
3B | George Brett | 154 | 645 | 212 | .329 | 23 | 107 |
SS | Freddie Patek | 106 | 306 | 77 | .252 | 1 | 37 |
LF | Willie Wilson | 154 | 588 | 185 | .315 | 6 | 49 |
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 |
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U L Washington | 101 | 268 | 68 | .254 | 2 | 25 |
George Scott | 44 | 146 | 39 | .267 | 1 | 20 |
Todd Cruz | 55 | 118 | 24 | .203 | 2 | 15 |
Steve Braun | 58 | 116 | 31 | .267 | 4 | 10 |
Jerry Terrell | 31 | 40 | 12 | .300 | 1 | 2 |
Germán Barranca | 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 |
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Larry Gura | 39 | 233.2 | 13 | 12 | 4.47 | 85 |
Rich Gale | 34 | 181.2 | 9 | 10 | 5.65 | 103 |
Craig Chamberlain | 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 |
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Steve Busby | 22 | 94.1 | 6 | 6 | 3.63 | 45 |
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 |
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Eduardo Rodríguez | 29 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4.84 | 26 |
Bill Paschall | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.59 | 3 |
Gary Christenson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 4 |
Craig Eaton | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 4 |
George Throop | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 |
Jerry Terrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Farm system
Level | Team | League | Manager |
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AAA | Omaha Royals | American Association | Gordon Mackenzie |
AA | Jacksonville Suns | Southern League | Joe Jones |
A | Fort Myers Royals | Florida State League | Gene Lamont |
Rookie | GCL Royals Blue | Gulf Coast League | Brian Murphy |
Rookie | GCL Royals Gold | Gulf Coast League | José Martínez |
Notes
- Mike Bielecki at Baseball Reference
- Eduardo Rodríguez page on Baseball Reference
- Todd Cruz at Baseball Reference
- Keith Drumright at Baseball Reference
- Atlee Hammaker at Baseball Reference
- https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.cgi?year_ID=1979&round=4&draft_type=junreg
- https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.cgi?year_ID=1979&round=18&draft_type=junreg
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1979 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference
- 1979 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac