Royals Seasons – SS
By Wally Fish
Welcome the 2nd installment of Royals Seasons!
In 40 seasons, 15 different players have held down the position of SS for the Royals. While this is actually 3 fewer players than at 2B, there is no 21 year run for Rojas/White to fall back on. The longest tenured SS is Freddie Patek with 9 seasons as the starter (1971-1979). Three players are tied for second in terms of tenure with 4 seasons each. Those players are; U.L. Washington (1980-1983), Kurt Stillwell (1988-1991) and everybody’s favorite underachiever Angel Berroa (2003-2006). Stillwell (one) and Patek (three) have the only four All-Star team appearances in the team’s history.
In a single season, no Royals SS has ever:
Scored 100 runs
Accumulated 100 RBI
Hit more than 35 2B
Hit more than 21 HR
Had an OBP over 0.370
Won a Gold Glove
Received more than 3 MVP votes (Greg Gagne finished 22nd in 1993 with those 3 votes)
Other starters for the Royals over the years:
Jackie Hernandez (1969-1970)
Onix Concepcion (1984-1985)
Angel Salazar (1986-1987)
David Howard (1992 and 1996)
Greg Gagne (1993-1995)
Jay Bell (1997)
Mendy Lopez (1998)
Rey Sanchez (1999-2001)
Neifi Perez (2002)
Tony Pena Jr. (2007)
Mike Aviles (2008)
Stillwell (one) and Patek (three) have the only four All-Star team appearances in the team’s history.
The top 10 seasons at SS are:
#10: Freddie Patek (1977)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
32
154
72
26
6
5
60
41
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
84
0.262
0.320
0.368
53
86
0.958
4.59
#9: Greg Gagne (1993)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
31
159
66
32
3
10
57
33
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
93
0.280
0.319
0.406
10
89
0.986
4.85
#8: U.L. Washington (1980)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
26
153
79
16
11
6
53
53
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
78
0.273
0.336
0.375
20
95
0.957
4.83
#7: Kurt Stillwell (1989)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
24
130
52
20
7
7
54
42
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
64
0.261
0.325
0.380
9
99
0.970
4.24
#6: Freddie Patek (1971)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
26
147
86
21
11
6
36
44
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
80
0.267
0.323
0.371
49
97
0.968
5.43
#5: Kurt Stillwell (1988)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
23
128
63
28
5
10
53
47
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
76
0.251
0.322
0.399
6
101
0.976
4.41
#4: U.L. Washington (1982)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
28
119
64
19
3
10
60
38
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
48
0.286
0.338
0.412
23
106
0.961
4.92
#3: Angel Berroa (2003)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
25
158
92
28
7
17
73
29
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
100
0.287
0.338
0.451
21
101
0.968
4.79
#2: Jay Bell (1997)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
31
153
89
28
3
21
92
71
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
101
0.291
0.368
0.461
10
115
0.985
4.74
#1: Mike Aviles (2008)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
27
102
68
27
4
10
51
18
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
58
0.325
0.354
0.480
8
122
0.974
4.56
Mike Aviles hit .325 in 2008 which is far and away the highest BA at the position in Royals history. Only one other player has hit .300 for the season at SS for Kansas City and that was Rey Sanchez who hit .303 in 2001. Aviles’ .480 SLG is a Royals record at the position and his OBP of .354 is second only to Jay Bell’s .368 in 1997. Much was made about Aviles lack of defensive prowess, but in his 1st season he was actually above league average. His 0.974 fielding percentage was slightly above the league average of .971 and his RF9 of 4.56 was above the league average of 4.39.
Best Royals SS Seasons by Category:
Games
159
Angel Berroa
2005
At Bats
608
Angel Berroa
2005
Runs
92
Angel Berroa
2003
Hits
167
Jay Bell
1997
Doubles
35
Kurt Stillwell
1990
Triples
11
U.L. Washington
1980
11
Freddie Patek
1971
Home Runs
21
Jay Bell
1997
RBI
92
Jay Bell
1997
Walks
77
Freddie Patek
1974
Strikeouts (fewest)
29
Onix Concepcion
1985
Batting Average
.325
Mike Aviles
2008
On Base %
.368
Jay Bell
1997
Slugging %
.480
Mike Aviles
2008
Stolen Bases
53
Freddie Patek
1977
Fielding %
.994
Rey Sanchez
2001
.994
Rey Sanchez
2000
Range Factor 9
5.91
Freddie Patek
1973
The worst 10 seasons at SS are:
#10: Angel Salazar (1986)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
24
117
24
20
2
0
24
7
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
47
0.245
0.266
0.326
1
59
0.978
4.38
#9: Mendy Lopez (1998)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
24
74
18
10
2
1
15
12
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
40
0.243
0.286
0.325
5
59
0.955
5.15
#8: Jackie Hernandez (1970)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
29
83
14
4
1
2
10
15
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
50
0.231
0.281
0.282
1
57
0.951
4.88
#7: Jackie Hernandez (1969)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
28
145
54
14
2
4
40
38
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
111
0.222
0.278
0.282
17
58
0.954
5.50
#6: David Howard (1992)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
25
74
19
6
2
1
18
15
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
43
0.224
0.271
0.283
3
55
0.976
4.79
#5: David Howard (1996)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
29
143
51
14
5
4
48
40
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
74
0.219
0.291
0.305
5
52
0.982
4.86
#4: Angel Berroa (2006)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
28
132
45
18
1
9
54
14
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
88
0.234
0.259
0.333
3
52
0.969
4.47
#3: Neifi Perez (2002)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
29
145
65
20
4
3
37
20
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
53
0.236
0.260
0.303
8
44
0.972
4.85
#2: Onix Concepcion (1985)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
27
131
32
5
1
2
20
16
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
29
0.204
0.255
0.245
4
38
0.959
4.67
#1: Angel Salazar (1987)
Age
G
R
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
25
116
24
7
0
2
21
6
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
SB
OPS+
FP
RF9
46
0.205
0.219
0.246
4
23
0.981
5.06
Not only did Mike Aviles save the Royals from themselves and post the best season at SS in the team’s history, he also saved Tony Pena Jr. from posting the worst season ever by a Royals SS.
How bad was Tony Pena Jr. in 2008? How does a line of .169/.189/.209 with an OPS+ of 7, yes freaking SEVEN, strike you? Take a look at Salazar’s 1987 season and then look again at Pena’s line, then let it sink in for a while. More food for thought, in 2008 Aviles had a better fielding percentage and range factor than Pena who was below league average by both measures.
Apparently someone needs to send the Royals a memo, not only should Pena not have remained on the roster last season, he should not have even been invited to spring training this season.
Worst Royals SS Seasons by Category:
Games
74
David Howard
1992
74
Mendy Lopez
1998
At Bats
206
Mendy Lopez
1998
Runs
14
Jackie Hernandez
1970
Hits
49
David Howard
1992
Doubles
4
Jackie Hernandez
1970
Triples
0
Angel Salazar
1987
0
Freddie Patek
1979
Home Runs
0
Angel Salazar
1986
0
Freddie Patek
1972
0
Rey Sanchez
2001
RBI
10
Jackie Hernandez
1970
Walks
6
Angel Salazar
1987
Strikeouts (most)
111
Jackie Hernandez
1969
Batting Average
.204
Onix Concepcion
1985
On Base %
.219
Angel Salazar
1987
Slugging %
.245
Onix Concepcion
1985
Stolen Bases
0
Kurt Stillwell
1990
Fielding %
.947
U.L. Washington
1983
Range Factor 9
4.19
Kurt Stillwell
1990
Kurt Stillwell has the 3 worst and 4 of the bottom 5 range factor seasons, it is a good thing that his bat put in into the top 10 twice and just missed a third time.
I haven’t completed my research on the other positions, but I am fairly certain that SS is worst overall position in the franchise’s history. Hopefully Mike Aviles can do something about that over the next several years.