1990 Kansas City Royals season

Major League Baseball team season

1990 Kansas City Royals

League| American League
Division| West
Ballpark| Royals Stadium
City| Kansas City, Missouri
Record| 75–86 (.466)
Divisional place| 6th
Owners| Ewing Kauffman
General managers| John Schuerholz
Managers| John Wathan
Television| WDAF-TV
(Paul Splittorff, Denny Trease)
Radio| WIBW (AM)
(Denny Matthews, Fred White)
| <- 1989 | Seasons | 1991 ->

|
|

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

[edit]

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.[1] 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.[1] 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),[2] the organization felt they were still missing a few pieces that would give the Oakland Athletics a run for their money.[3]

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.[3] 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).[4] 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.[4] 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.[2] The Royals filled in their fifth starting pitching slot by signing yet another free agent with veteran right-hander Richard Dotson.[2] Kansas City concluded a milestone off-season as its biggest commitment to free agents in the club's entire history.[2]

With the Royals pitching combined with offensive talent the likes of future Hall of Famer George Brett, Bo Jackson (1989 All-Star), Kevin Seitzer (1987 MLB hits league leader), Kurt Stillwell (1988 All-Star), Danny Tartabull and Bob Boone, preseason writers predicted Kansas City as the shoo-in for the 1990 AL West title.[3]

### Transactions

[edit]

* December 5, 1989: Richard Dotson was signed as a free agent by the Royals.[5]
* December 7, 1989: Storm Davis was signed as a free agent by the Royals.[6]
* December 7, 1989: Willie Wilson was signed as a free agent by the Royals.[7]
* December 11, 1989: Mark Davis was signed as a free agent by the Royals.[8]
* 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).[9]

## Regular season

[edit]

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.[3] 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).[1] 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.[3]

* 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.[10]
* 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

[edit]

* Bob Boone
* George Brett
* Jim Eisenreich
* Bo Jackson
* Gerald Perry
* Bret Saberhagen
* Kevin Seitzer
* Kurt Stillwell
* Danny Tartabull
* Frank White

### Season standings

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

AL West Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

Oakland Athletics | 103 | 59  | .636  | —  | 51‍–‍30  | 52‍–‍29
Chicago White Sox | 94 | 68  | .580  | 9  | 49‍–‍31  | 45‍–‍37
Texas Rangers | 83 | 79  | .512  | 20  | 47‍–‍35  | 36‍–‍44
California Angels | 80 | 82  | .494  | 23  | 42‍–‍39  | 38‍–‍43
Seattle Mariners | 77 | 85  | .475  | 26  | 38‍–‍43  | 39‍–‍42
Kansas City Royals | 75 | 86  | .466  | 27½  | 45‍–‍36  | 30‍–‍50
Minnesota Twins | 74 | 88  | .457  | 29  | 41‍–‍40  | 33‍–‍48

### Record vs. opponents

[edit]

1990 American League record

* v
* t
* e

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Team  | BAL  | BOS  | CAL  | CWS  | CLE  | DET  | KC  | MIL  | MIN  | NYY  | OAK  | SEA  | TEX  | TOR
Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 8–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–8
Boston | 9–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–3
California | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–5
Chicago | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 10–2 | 7–6 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 5–7
Cleveland | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 5–8 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–9
Detroit | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8
Kansas City | 3–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7
Milwaukee | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 4–9 | 10–3 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–6
Minnesota | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 3–9
New York | 7–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 0–12 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 5–8
Oakland | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 12–0 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5
Seattle | 9–3 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 4–9 | — | 7–6 | 6–6
Texas | 4–8 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 6–7 | — | 7–5
Toronto | 8–5 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | —

### Notable transactions

[edit]

* March 31, 1990: José DeJesús was traded by the Royals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Steve Jeltz.[11]
* March 31, 1990: Mark Lee was released by the Royals.[12]
* June 21, 1990: Richard Dotson was released by the Royals.[5]
* August 30, 1990: Pat Tabler was traded by the Royals to the New York Mets for Archie Corbin.[13]

### Roster

[edit]

1990 Kansas City Royals

Roster
Pitchers

* 55 Kevin Appier
* 27 Luis Aquino
* 37 Jay Baller
* 57 Jim Campbell
* 34 Chris Codiroli
* 49 Steve Crawford
* 48 Mark Davis
* 14 Storm Davis
* 37 Richard Dotson
* 54 Luis Encarnación
* 26 Steve Farr
* 35 Pete Filson
* 36 Tom Gordon
* 23 Mark Gubicza
* 59 Carlos Maldonado
* 38 Andy McGaffigan
* 34 Larry McWilliams
* 21 Jeff Montgomery
* 18 Bret Saberhagen
* 31 Israel Sánchez
* 40 Daryl Smith
* 52 Mel Stottlemyre Jr.
* 58 Héctor Wagner

|  | Catchers

* 8 Bob Boone
* 15 Mike Macfarlane
* 49 Brent Mayne
* 29 Rey Palacios

Infielders

* 47 Sean Berry
* 5 George Brett
* 19 Jeff Conine
* 2 Steve Jeltz
* 32 Bill Pecota
* 17 Gerald Perry
* 33 Kevin Seitzer
* 50 Terry Shumpert
* 1 Kurt Stillwell
* 20 Frank White

|  | Outfielders

* 22 Jim Eisenreich
* 16 Bo Jackson
* 56 Brian McRae
* 45 Russ Morman
* 24 Jeff Schulz
* 30 Pat Tabler
* 4 Danny Tartabull
* 25 Gary Thurman
* 6 Willie Wilson

|  | Manager

* 12 John Wathan

Coaches

* 44 Glenn Ezell (bullpen)
* 43 Frank Funk (pitching)
* 41 Adrian Garrett (third base)
* 7 John Mayberry
* 42 Bob Schaefer (first base)

## Player stats

[edit]

| = Indicates team leader

|

| = Indicates league leader

|

### Batting

[edit]

#### Starters by position

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

#### Starting pitchers

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

* George Brett – American League Batting Champion (.329)

All-Star Game

## Farm system

[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

|
|
|

AAA | Omaha Royals | American Association | Sal Rende
AA | Memphis Chicks | Southern League | Jeff Cox
A | Baseball City Royals | Florida State League | Brian Poldberg
A | Appleton Foxes | Midwest League | Joe Breeden
A-Short Season | Eugene Emeralds | Northwest League | P. K. Kirsch
Rookie | GCL Royals | Gulf Coast League | Carlos Tosca

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Omaha, Memphis[14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Kansas City Royals Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
2. ^ a b c d Horst, Craig (March 25, 1990). "Royals' lineup for 1990 is virtually set". The Daily Union. p. 15. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
3. ^ a b c d e Engel, Michael (December 17, 2011). "The Cautionary Tale of the 1990 Royals". Kings of Kauffman. FanSided. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
4. ^ a b Nightengale, Bob (December 12, 1989). "Royals Sign Mark Davis to $13-Million Contract". Los Angeles Times. p. C1. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
5. ^ a b "Richard Dotson". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
6. ^ "Storm Davis". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
7. ^ "Willie Wilson". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
8. ^ "Mark Davis". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
9. ^ "Charlie Leibrandt". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
10. ^ MLB (November 6, 2013) [Recorded July 17, 1990]. KC@NYY: Jackson blasts three homers before leaving. Retrieved September 10, 2024 - via YouTube.
11. ^ "Steve Jeltz". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
12. ^ "Mark Lee". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
13. ^ "Pat Tabler". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
14. ^ Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-96-371897-6.

## External links

[edit]

* 1990 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference
* 1990 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac

* v
* t
* e

1990 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Milwaukee
* New York
* Toronto

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Minnesota
* Oakland
* Seattle
* Texas

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1990 MLB draft
* 1990 MLB lockout
* 1990 All-Star Game
* 1990 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Kansas City Royals

* Established in 1969
* Based in Kansas City, Missouri

Franchise|

* History
* Expansion and draft
* Seasons
* Current roster
* Owners and executives
* Managers
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* All-time roster
* First-round draft picks
* Records
* No-hitters
* Awards and league leaders
* Royals Academy
* Broadcasting
* FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City
* KSMO-TV

Ballparks|

Municipal Stadium
Kauffman Stadium
New Royals Stadium (proposed)
Spring training
Terry Park
Baseball City Stadium
Surprise Stadium

Culture|

* Sluggerrr
* Denny Matthews
* Ryan Lefebvre
* George Toma
* American Royal
* "Royals" (song)

Lore|

* Pine Tar Incident
* The Call
* 2014 AL Wild Card Game
* MLB in Omaha
* A drive into deep left field by Castellanos
* Bo Knows

Team Hall of Fame|

* Steve Busby
* Amos Otis
* Dick Howser
* Cookie Rojas
* Paul Splittorff
* Dennis Leonard
* Hal McRae
* Joe Burke
* Larry Gura
* Freddie Patek
* Ewing Kauffman
* George Brett
* Frank White
* Muriel Kauffman
* John Mayberry
* Dan Quisenberry
* Whitey Herzog
* Willie Wilson
* Jeff Montgomery
* Denny Matthews
* Bret Saberhagen
* Mark Gubicza
* Art Stewart
* Kevin Appier
* Mike Sweeney
* Ned Yost

Retired numbers|

* 5
* 10
* 20
* 42

Minor league
affiliates|

Triple-A
Omaha Storm Chasers
Double-A
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
High-A
Quad Cities River Bandits
Single-A
Columbia Fireflies
Rookie
ACL Royals
DSL Royals Fortuna
DSL Royals Ventura

Key personnel|

* Owner: John Sherman
* President of Baseball Operations & General Manager: J. J. Picollo
* Manager: Matt Quatraro

World Series
championships (2)|

* 1985
* 2015

American League
pennants (4)|

* 1980
* 1985
* 2014
* 2015

Division titles|

West
1976
1977
1978
1980
1981 (second half)
1984
1985
Central
2015
Wild Card
2014
2024

Seasons (57)

1960s|

* 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 ·  1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

1980s|

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

2000s|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

2020s|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

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