Royals All Time All-Star Team – Part One

1980 Topps Darrell Porter Baseball Card

Catcher: Darrell Porter (3)

As it turns out, Perez is already close to being on this list, as he is only one more All-Star appearance from tying Porter for the most times making the Mid-Summer Classic. However, Perez has a lot of work cut out for him to match porter in the percentage of All-Star seasons he had for the Royals, as Porter received the honor in three of his four seasons in Kansas City.

Overall in his career in Kansas City, Darrell Porter put together a .271/.375/.435 batting line, hitting 61 home runs with 301 RBIs. Porter also had a very good eye at the plate, walking 318 times against 260 strikeouts. During his time as a member of the Royals, Porter twice finished in the top ten in the American League MVP ballot, finishing as high as ninth in 1979, when he posted a .291/.421/.484 batting line with 20 home runs and a league leading 121 walks.

Porter was also a solid defensive catcher with an above average arm. In an era when stolen bases and running games were commonplace, Porter was routinely able to throw out more than 40% of would be basestealers, shutting down the opponents running game to the best of his ability. While Porter had problems with passed balls in during his career, he was still above average behind the dish.

With his overall abilities both behind and at the plate, Darrell Porter was a very good major league catcher. For the Royals, he was one of the best in the game during those four years.