It’s a curious move, and some have suggested it’s done to reach the big leagues and push his candidacy for the Hall of Fame back five years in light of the controversy about PEDs and his perjury trial.

But perhaps that’s cynical. Maybe he can still go. He’s always been a competitor.

With his return in mind, I thought about a few Royals pitchers that I’d like to see try to make a comeback. My criteria is simple: how fun would it be to see them back on the mound in Kansas City?

Kevin Appier

Really, who wouldn’t want to see Appier dust off the cleats and take the mound again? He’s the career leader in pitching bWAR as a Royal and one of the most underrated pitchers of the 90s. He never got the win totals to open enough eyes, as evidenced by his 1993 third place finish in Cy Young Voting.

He was a workhorse in his prime but also suffered some arm injuries. There were still flashes of brilliance, though. In a sense, those flashes he showed in 2003 upon returning to the Royals almost work as his “unretirement” phase. I would guess that that slider-slash-”thing” could still get some batters out.

Tim Belcher

I don’t know why, but whenever Tim Belcher pitched against the Royals, I felt like he was a machine sent to beat the Royals. My memory deceives me, however, and I now have the aid of the internet to tell me that my perception then was very wrong. Against the Royals, Belcher made nine starts and carried a 7.41 ERA. My fuzzy memory must be based off of a few outings where he went deep into the game.

I think I just bought into the wily veteran reputation when he signed with Kansas City before 1996 but he did have some of his better seasons with Kansas City, especially among seasons in the twilight of his career. Belcher was the Indians pitching coach until stepping down at the end of last season. Maybe he can use his experience in coaching to make a return. Like Clemens, Belcher is 50 years old.

Jeff Montgomery

Montgomery had some of the best seasons of any reliever in Royals history and in the process made a few All-Star teams. Nowadays, we see him on the Fox Sports Kansas City broadcasts of Royals games, but he could still bring it, I bet.

Monty never relied on gas like a lot of closers. Instead, he used multiple pitches and hit his spots. Those kinds of pitchers can last a long time in the league if they can muster up the guile to keep getting batters out. In a recent Royals television segment, he showed he’s not afraid to challenge a hitter, as he plunked Rex Hudler on the hip (which elicited some cheers from some viewers, I’m sure). He still wants to claim that plate as his.

Bret Saberhagen

He won two Cy Young Awards as a Royal. He was the 1985 World Series MVP. He threw the most recent no-hitter in team history.

After arm troubles, he bounced around the league, but by this point, he’s got to be recovered, right?

Jose Rosado

Just because.

Rosado is one of the great “what-ifs” in Royals history. A two-time All-Star and a lefty with promise, his career was snuffed out due to shoulder injuries that he never recovered from. His issues began right as the Mike Sweeney/Carlos Beltran/Jermaine Dye teams started to develop into run-scoring teams and a solid starter would have helped that group out immensely.

Instead, Rosado’s final game as a big leaguer came as a 25-year-old.

He’s currently just 37 years old. Maybe he could throw right-handed?

David Cone

Cone had such a strange history as a Royals pitcher. Traded for virtually nothing to the Mets, he developed into a star before signing with Kansas City before 1993 with high expectations and much fanfare. He ran into terrible run support that year and despite a 3.33 ERA and 138 ERA+, he finished just 11-14. The following year, of course, he won the Cy Young Award.

Then the Royals traded him to the Blue Jays for virtually nothing in a salary dump, which we can see how was an omen of future salary dumps and traded stars. He later pitched in four World Series for the Yankees.

There are so many more pitchers who’d be fun to see again. Oh, they’ll never do it because, let’s face it, trying to pitch to major league hitters now when you’re 50 years old just isn’t a likely scenario for success. Typically, the batters will tell the pitchers when it’s time to hang them up.

But just in case. Just supposing. On the off chance that a Royals pitcher wanted to come out of retirement and try it again, those are the guys I’d most like to see pull a Clemens.

That being the case, I went through and constructed a roster of players made up only of those players the Royals traded at the deadline. For this purpose, I considered a “deadline trade” anything within three weeks of the deadline (prior to 1986, the deadline was June 15 each year).

Warning: Some of the names to follow are painful memories of awful teams, bad deals, and it’s not for the faint of heart:

C – Matt Treanor (1997)

Before his 2011 stint with the Royals, Treanor had been drafted by Kansas City in 1994. On July 29, 1997, the Royals traded him to Florida for left-handed pitcher Matt Whisenant, who made 142 appearances as a Royal with a 5.05 ERA.

1B – Matt Stairs (2006)

Stairs was a part of some of the worst Royals teams ever, hitting 39 homers from 2004 until July 31, 2006 as a Royal. The Royals got right-handed pitcher Jose Diaz from Texas for him. He threw 25 innings in the Royals organization before going to Japan.

2B – Mike Aviles (2011)

July 15, 2012; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Mike Aviles (3) hits a 2-run home run in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Last year, Aviles was struggling with the Royals and his defense was suspect. With Alcides Escobar and Johnny Giavotella around, the Royals found him expendable and sent him to Boston for infielder Yamaico Navarro and right-hander Kendal Volz. Aviles went on to produce a .775 OPS for Boston the rest of the year and started out hot in 2012 as well.

Volz pitched in Double A before retiring earlier this month. Navarro didn’t fit within the organization and had some character problems (he was arrested for a DUI earlier this month) and was flipped to Pittsburgh for Brooks Pounders and Diego Goris.

SS – Rey Sanchez (2001)

Sanchez didn’t have a lot of power, but when he was with the Royals he showed he was fine as a contact hitter and provided solid defense at short. After two years in Kansas City, Sanchez was traded to Atlanta at the deadline in 2001 for minor league outfielder Alejandro Machado and pitcher Brad Voyles.

Machado would be traded in a deadline deal in 2003 for Curtis Leskanic as the Royals found themselves in contention.

3B – Alberto Callaspo (2010)

When he started his Royals career, Callaspo looked like he might develop into a potent bat at second base. In 2009, he hit .300 and had 60 extra base hits. In 2010, his name came up in trade talks and the Royals, with other options to play third base (where Callaspo had played more and more starting that year), they dealt him on July 22, 2010 to the Angels for righty Sean O’Sullivan and lefty Will Smith.

O’Sullivan pitched as a spot starter and long relief guy for the Royals until being traded to the Blue Jays for cash. Will Smith has surfaced as a member of the Royals starting rotation after injuries and solid work in Omaha.

OF – Tom Goodwin (1997)

The Royals grabbed Goodwin off waivers in 1994 and put him in their lineup starting in 1995 where he proceeded to steal 150 bases in two and a half seasons.

On July 25, 1997, they traded him to Texas, getting Dean Palmer in return. This is an example of one of their more successful deadline deals, as Palmer went on to hit .278/.335/.487 in over 200 plate appearances the rest of the year and hit as a Royal in 1998. Goodwin went on to play until 2004, carving out a decent career for himself.

OF – Jose Bautista (2004)

If you blinked in 2004, you missed Bautista’s Royals career. He played a grand 13 games with the Royals in a season where he made appearances for four different big league teams.

He’s in here because he’s a fun name to include – the move a the time was of little significance to anyone. Nobody though he’d go on to lead the American League in homers two years in a row. He wasn’t even a full time player until 2010. On July 30, the Royals sent him to the Mets for an infamous name among Royals fans – Justin Huber.

OF – Jermaine Dye (2001)

Jun 11, 2009; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye (23) before the game against the Detroit Tigers at US Cellular Field. The White Sox won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Ugh.

That’s almost all you can say about this one, right? The Royals turned a young All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder into Neifi Perez. I don’t even want to talk about this move. It’s too painful. At least in the other notable trades of Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran, the Royals got something of value (though barely) – Perez is among the worst everyday players in recent memory.

July 25, 2001 is a painful memory.

SP – Kevin Appier (1999)

This one hurts, but after 1998 was lost to shoulder surgery, it doesn’t hurt as much as Dye’s trade. Appier wasn’t the same after the surgery but still ended up in demand at the deadline. On July 31, 1999, the Royals sent him to the A’s for Jeff D’Amico (NOT the former Brewer), Brad Rigby and Blake Stein, all right-handed pitchers.

Appier wasn’t much more effective for the A’s and ended up bouncing around the league before returning to the Royals in late 2003. D’Amico and Rigby both put up ERAs above 9.00 as Royals, though Stein at least approached league average as a pitcher for Kansas City until disappearing from baseball after 2002.

RP – Octavio Dotel (2007)

The Royals signed Dotel to a one-year deal and it wasn’t a surprise when they looked to move him at the deadline in 2007. They put him in 24 games where he earned 11 saves but they didn’t need a closer very much in a year where they lost 93 games and had Rule 5 pick Joakim Soria pitching well enough to take over the role.

Dotel’s time with the Royals is just a blip on his nomadic radar (13 teams in 14 years). For 7.2 innings of work, the Braves sent Kyle Davies to Kansas City on the last day of the month and the rest is history.

Other notable deadline departures:

• Jon Lieber to Pittsburgh (1993)
• Mark Davis to Atlanta (1992)
• Jeremy Affeldt to Colorado (2006)
• Kyle Farnsworth to Atlanta (2010)
• Mike MacDougal to Chicago (2006)
• Wilson Betemit to Detroit (2011)
• Tony Graffanino to Boston (2005)/Tony Graffanino to Milwaukee (2006)
• Buddy Biancalana to Houston (1987)

So I started looking back, year by year, at old All-Star games to see how the Royals have done in the past and I came up with ten notable performances. Five of those stand out as very good, but here, I want to glance at five that were solid, though maybe lacking in impact of the game or in Royals history. The All-Star Game is where some stars shine brighter and it’s always great to see your team’s representative(s) doing well on that stage.

1972 – Cookie Rojas

Rojas was coming off of an All-Star year in 1971 where he’d hit .300 and appeared in his first All-Star Game as a Royal. In 1972, he was a reserve and entered the game in the top of the eighth inning. Pinch-hitting for Rod Carew and with Carlton Fisk on first, Rojas homered to left to put the American League up 3-2.

He looked primed to be named the MVP of the game, but Wilbur Wood came in for the bottom of the ninth and gave up a tying run and the National League won in the bottom of the tenth.

Rojas went on to play in two more All-Star Games in 1973 and 1974 in the latter stages of his baseball career.

1990 – Bret Saberhagen

Bret Saberhagen.

Saberhagen was coming off of a Cy Young season in 1989 and made the All-Star team in 1990 with a 2.98 ERA in 121 innings.

He threw two perfect innings, facing Chris Sabo, Mike Scioscia and Barry Bonds in the first inning, striking out Scioscia. In his second inning of work, Saberhagen got flyouts from Shawon Dunston, Lenny Dykstra and Ryne Sandberg. In the following inning, Julio Franco drove in two to break a 0-0 tie and Saberhagen ended up being the pitcher of record and the first Royal to be named the winner of an All-Star Game.

The honor came with a price – Saberhagen made only three more starts in 1990 due to ligament damage in his right elbow. He made his first post-ASG start on July 15 but didn’t resurface until September.

1986 – Frank White

Frank White.

In 1986, the All-Star Game was in the Astrodome, and for the second time ever, featured a Royals manager as Dick Howser led the American League squad after winning the World Series in 1985.

George Brett was selected as a reserve, but due to injury didn’t play in the game.

That left White as the only Royal to represent the World Champion Royals. Earlier in the game, Lou Whitaker, the starting second baseman for the AL, had homered off of Dwight Gooden. White replaced him in the seventh inning and hit a homer of his own off of Mike Scott. White got another at bat in the ninth but flied out against Mike Krukow.

White was an All-Star five times, but 1986 was his final selection. The home run was his only hit as an All-Star in seven at bats.

2009 – Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke in the 2009 All-Star Game. Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

2009 was a special year. The Royals started out 18-11 and were three games up in the AL Central in early May. While that success eventually faded, Zack Greinke made every fifth day an event.

Greinke started the year by giving up just four earned runs in his first 60 innings pitched en route to one of the best pitching seasons in Royals history. As the All-Star Game approached, it looked like Greinke could be the game’s starter in St. Louis but Roy Halladay started instead.

Nonetheless, when Greinke’s turn came up, he flashed the same brilliance he’d shown in the regular season.

He only threw one inning, and it’s difficult to judge an All-Star Game performance on just one inning, but he started out by inducing a weak foul out from Raul Ibanez to third on the first pitch then striking out David Wright on a 1-2 pitch (looking) and finishing off a perfect inning by getting Shane Victorino on a 1-2 pitch on his own for a second strikeout.

Greinke of course went on to win the AL Cy Young Award after 229.1 innings with a 2.16 ERA.

1995 – Kevin Appier

Kevin Appier.

Despite being one of the best pitchers in the 1990s, this was Kevin Appier’s only All-Star selection. Despite surpassing a 100 ERA+ every year from 1990 to 1997, and being the best candidate for the 1993 Cy Young Award, Appier never got the recognition he deserved.

In 1995, he made his one shot count.

Appier had a 3.04 ERA in 121 innings going into the All-Star Game and came into the game after Randy Johnson started for the AL and dominated. In the third inning, he retired Barry Larkin, struck out Vinnie Castilla and finished off Craig Biggio, then continued into the fourth, mowing down Lenny Dykstra, Tony Gwynn and Barry Bonds. That’s four Hall of Famers (or deserving Hall of Famers) and two of the best of the early 90s in that group, and Appier cut them all down in order.

Every batter but Castilla grounded out, in Appier’s impressive showing.

Appier faded a bit as the season wore on, finishing with 201.1 innings and a 3.89 ERA, but he was still one of the best starters that year.

These are performances worth pointing out, but I’ve decided on five performances by Royals in the All-Star Game that stand out even better.

Let me give you an example.  I was recently looking at the Royals team history page and discovered something interesting.  If you review the column of “Top Players” you’ll see a number of recognizable names of athletes that contributed mightily to the success (or relative success) of each specific season.  You’ll find Alex Gordon, Amos Otis, Bret Saberhagen, Carlos Beltran, David Cone, Johnny Damon, Kevin Appier, Zack Greinke, John Mayberry, Dan Quisenberry, Willie Wilson, Joakim Soria, etc. and of course George Brett – a veritable who’s who of Royal’s history.  You’ll also see Jose Offerman, Mark Teahen and a couple other mild surprises.

This made me think…  What is, or what should be, the definition of the Top or Best player?  Baseball Reference defines the Top Player as the individual with the highest WAR (Wins Against Replacement) rating of any player on the team.  WAR is a tangible analysis that takes both offense and defense into account, but it doesn’t make any attempt to measure leadership or intangibles, and it seems to favor pitchers slightly in my opinion.

5 time All Star Mike Sweeney was never the best player on the Royals according to Baseball Reference (Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

Let me give you an example of the lack of leadership skills and intangibles in the WAR calculation.  Remember Mike Sweeney?  There is a lot of mixed opinion about Mike, and deservedly so, yet he put up some dynamite offensive numbers for a few years combined with the ability to hold his own at first base, and he was the undeniable leader of the Royals during his time as Captain.  Yet this 5 time All Star who hit .333 with 144 RBIs, 71 walks, and a league leading 15 HBPs in 2000, and a 2002 season that saw him hit .340, .563 slugging, and 148 OPS+ was never the “Top Player” for the Royals according to Baseball Reference and his WAR rating.  In 2002, that honor went to Paul Byrd.

What do you think of that?  Was Paul Byrd a more important piece of the puzzle for the Royals in 2002 than Mike Sweeney and his .340 batting average? (.340 is 2^nd only to George Brett’s .390 in 1980, and how would you like to have a .340 hitter on the Royals right now?)  In 2002, Paul Byrd was 17-11 with a 3.90 ERA and he led the league with 7 complete games – he was definitely a very valuable pitcher, but I don’t think his performance could be defined as “dominating.”  Paul Byrd appeared in 33 games.  Mike Sweeney played in 126 (less than a full season due to the beginning signs of his many recurring back issues), had the first straight steal of home by a Royal in over 20 years, was named to his 3^rd consecutive All-Star game, led the league in defensive assists by a 1^st baseman – and he was the Captain of the team.  But this wasn’t good enough to be the Royals “Top Player.”

Obviously, my definition of the best player on the team is going to differ from other fans, and from other experts as well.  My subjective definition simply asks, “Who was the player the Royals could least afford to do without?”  In 2002, I believe the answer has to be Mike Sweeney.

Before the 2012 season began, who did you think the Royals’ best player would be this season?  If you’re like most of the rest of us, you may have thought, or at least hoped, it would be Eric Hosmer.  If so, those hopes were dashed weeks ago as we’ve witnessed one of the most dramatic sophomore slumps in recent memory.  A few of you may have predicted Alex Gordon, or maybe Joakim Soria prior to his injury.  Predictions are based on hopes, and as a Royals fan you certainly know that hopes are often dashed.

If you said Billy Butler, you were pretty much on target.  (Although according to WAR rating, Alex Gordon is on top for the second year in a row – I don’t agree in 2012.)  However, I am hesitant to name a DH as the best player citing the same reservations many have for naming a pitcher as MVP.  And unless a Royals pitcher is completely and utterly dominating (see Steve Busby, Dennis Leonard, David Cone, Zach Greinke, or Bret Saberhagen) I have similar misgivings.

For 2013 we have several potential candidates for best player.  I’ll list my nominations below and include the odds that I think I’m right.  And, I’ll also acknowledge that there’s no possible way any reader will agree with me 100%.

Could Mike Moustakas become the best player on the Royals? (Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE)

Mike Moustakas:  The improvement Mike has shown from 2011 to 2012 has been nothing short of breathtaking.  He is much more comfortable at the plate this year, and in the field he doesn’t even look like the same player.  I believe Mike’s personality has many leadership qualities and he’s maturing into a presence that will almost certainly make him the best player on the team at some point in his career.  For 2013, I’d say the odds of Mike being the Royals best player, the guy they can least afford to do without, are about 3 to 1.

Eric Hosmer:  Although he hasn’t come close to fulfilling our expectations this year, Hosmer’s potential is so tantalizing that I have to put him near the top of the list.  I believe Eric is just a tweak or two away from “righting the ship” and getting back on track to becoming the offensive powerhouse we all know he can be.  His defense is still solid, but it may take a while for his personality to mature into a true clubhouse big dog.  I’ll put Hosmer’s odds of being the best player in 2013 at 5 to 1.

Alcides Escobar:  If you told me I could only watch one play from each Royals game, I would pick the inevitable web gem that Esky turns in virtually every night.  It is truly a thrill to watch Alcides display his otherworldly defensive skills while protecting the left side of the diamond.  I’ll go out on a limb and say that after watching him for less than two seasons he may not be the absolute best defensive shortstop I’ve ever seen, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anyone better than him.  Escober is hitting around .290 at a premium position and I believe the only thing that could potentially limit his ability to be a great club house leader are his English language skills.  Alcides is my dark horse candidate for best player in 2013 and he’s my favorite to watch play in 2012.  I’ll put his odds at 10-1.

Jeff Francoeur:  I believe Jeff is the closest thing the 2012 Royals have to a clubhouse leader and his rocket arm and intangibles are great.  Who’s the guy you see chest bumping his team mates every night and cheering them on with one of the most upbeat personalities in the majors?  It’s Frenchy.  Who else tosses baseballs wrapped in $100 bills and gets into hilarious mock disputes with opposing mascots?  Frenchy’s power numbers are way down this year and his average has dipped, so his on-field performance is not trending in the right direction which makes him a risky wager.  I also wouldn’t bet on Jeff being “da man” in 2013 due to the fact that he may not even play in a Royals uniform.   If he is still wearing Royals blue in 2013, I would put Francoeur’s odds at 15-1.

Wil Myers:  At some point in 2012, no matter how hard the Royals brass try to hold him back, he’ll force his way to Kansas City.  And he may light it up offensively when he arrives, but his defense still needs work and there’s almost no way anyone can be a true clubhouse leader in his first or second year.  Odds 30-1.

Billy Butler:  Great DH, one of the best in baseball.  But as I explained earlier, I just don’t think a DH can be the best player.  If a DH is your best player, then your team is in trouble.  Odds 30-1.

Jake Odorizzi:  See “Wil Myers.”  Odds 50-1.

Alex Gordon:  Gold Glove defensive left fielder who has been a disappointment at the plate this year.  He’s a solid contributor and I want him on my team, but he’s not a vocal clubhouse leader and has little chance to be the best player on the team in my rating system.  In 2013, I’d rate him at 50-1.

There are a few other players who have a shot at being the best player, but all of them have significant question marks either because they may not recover from injuries (Joakim Soria and Danny Duffy), they haven’t played in the majors long enough for us to get a good sense of their performance (Salvador Perez), or because Dayton Moore hasn’t traded for them yet or signed them as a free agent (Zach Greinke – hint, hint…)

And don’t get me started about relief pitchers.  Unless you are Mariano Rivera, Dan Quisenberry, or Joakim Soria in his prime, you can’t even be considered the Top Player on the team.  It would be the same as voting the field goal kicker as the top player on an NFL team – it’s not going to happen.

Could Yuniesky Betancourt be the best player? Haha, just kidding! Almost got you, didn't we? (Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE)

Yuniesky Betancourt:  I’ll just skip straight to the odds.  10,000,000,000 to 1.  I had to throw him in just for kicks.

The biggest reason we have difficulty selecting the potential top player is because the Royals are so young.  Most of the time I believe that’s a good thing and not a bad thing, but it causes them to be inconsistent as they go through the struggles of figuring out how to succeed in the big leagues, and most of them simply have not matured into the true leaders that they will hopefully one day become.

I still believe that we are two solid starting pitchers away from being a contending team and I’m holding on to hope that we find these hurlers somewhere, either in the farm system, through trades or free agency, before the start of the 2013 season.  When this happens, we’ll find our team playing in October, and this is the time when true clubhouse leadership emerges and performance on the field has a historical impact on your team and your legacy.   When we play in October, that’s when we’ll definitely learn who is the best player on this team.

We had a pretty fun show on Thursday, talking about the Royals solid road trip and their return home. We pitched the idea of the Melky Cabrera trade from the offseason and if it was a mistake or not – opinions were divided. Also we played a little trivia and gave away a suite pass to Saturday’s game against Oakland. Along with those updates, we checked in with a minor league and T-Bones update.

Then we brought in Rene Lachemann, former catcher for the Kansas City A’s and asked him about his time in Kansas City and just what made the A’s such a hotbed for future managers. Tony LaRussa, Tommy Lasorda, Lachemann and others went from the A’s to managing in their careers. He also gave us some info on Rockies prospects as he’s the hitting coach for their Triple A affiliate, the Colorado Sky Sox.

Our final guest was Andy from High Heat Stats to discuss building a Royals Mount Rushmore. He explained his approach to the project and covered the voting results and his thoughts about the players nominated. It was an interesting discussion since there are so many different ways to evaluate who to put on the mountain. I selected my four players earlier in the week.

We’ll be back next week with more discussion of Kansas City baseball, past, present and future on ESPN 1510 Thursday at 6 p.m. CST.

You can catch up on old episodes of the Kansas City Baseball Vault here on Kings of Kauffman. Episodes of the Royalman Report are available on the site as well.

Follow the Kansas City Baseball Vault on Twitter and Facebook for future programming updates. Also follow Kings of Kauffman for article updates, discussion and other information.

A project over at High Heat Stats has been taking this to another level, determining by vote which players are deserving of landing on a “Mount Rushmore” and commemorating their teams’ best. Recently, HHS put the Royals up for discussion. Voting has been open for a week and ends today.

I like this sort of thing because there are some obvious choices and some tough choices.

The criteria someone could use is entirely up to them. You can lean entirely on stats. You can look at overall impact. You can try to balance all of that with how they represent the franchise.

Here’s my Royals Mount Rushmore:

George Brett

This is the obvious first choice. The only reason someone might leave Brett off of their vote is because they’re looking to add a fringe candidate, knowing that Brett is a lock.

As the franchise’s best player, their only Hall 0f Famer and holder of multiple offensive accolades, Brett’s also a lifelong Royal and still involved with the team. He hits every criteria one could examine. He’s got the numbers, was always the key player in the lineup to stop and is recognized as a Royal by baseball fans and writers.

Frank White

White hasn’t fared as well in this poll as one might imagine. He was lagging at one point, but after more Kansas City folks saw the discussion, he’s landed within safe territory.

Frankly (no pun intended) there’s an argument that White fits all the criteria better than Brett. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star said on the Royalman Report back in December that Brett could have been a star in Seattle, New York, Houston, anywhere. White could have only made it in Kansas City. He literally helped build Kauffman Stadium. He’s the most famous of Ewing Kauffman’s Baseball Academy graduates, winning eight Gold Gloves, playing in two World Series, and making five All Star teams. Without the opportunity, he probably wouldn’t have made it into the majors at all. After retiring, he helped coach in the Royals minor league system and stepped into the broadcast booth until his split with the team this past winter.

He’s also the only other player besides Brett with his number retired by the club.

Bret Saberhagen

Steve Busby and Dennis Leonard were among the best starters in Royals history, but to me, Saberhagen’s run as a Royal would be impressive for nearly any club.

A two-time Cy Young Award winner before the age of 26, Saberhagen was also the 1985 World Series MVP, a two-time All Star, a Gold Glove winner and threw a no-hitter in 1991. His 3.21 ERA as a Royal is the best of any starter in team history, as is his 1.134 WHIP (which leads all pitchers, regardless of role). He’s among the club leaders in complete games, innings and shutouts, but didn’t play for the Royals as long as some, like Leonard and Paul Splittorff.

That may be one way to keep Saberhagen off the mountain. He only played for the Royals until 1991, after which he was traded to the Mets (which still hurts to this day).

Saberhagen was among the best in the game while with the Royals and his resume makes him an easy choice for me for a third spot on Royals Mount Rushmore.

Here’s where it gets tricky. There are many good cases to be made. Amos Otis, Freddy Patek, Hal McRae, Willie Wilson, Mark Gubicza and others could be a fit. Even Bo Jackson or the vastly underrated Danny Tartabull could make it.

Part of my difficulty is that players like Otis, Busby and Leonard played in those dark ages when I knew Bert and Ernie better than any Royals. Some of these players were on the team until the mid-80s, but were past their prime. Royals baseball didn’t come to my hometown’s TV schedule until 1988 as I remember it, so I missed out on a lot of those who have since been inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame.

It comes down to two players for the last spot: Kevin Appier and Dan Quisenberry.

Kevin Appier

My favorite Royals pitcher of all time. I mimicked his pitching motion as closely as I could when I started pitching in summers – which is not advised to anyone wanting to try it.

Appier leads the Royals in WAR according to Baseball-Reference. He leads the franchise in strikeouts, is third in wins (despite trailing the next closest starter by more than 300 innings pitched as a Royal), and put up a 130 ERA+ as a Royal. He’s one of the most underrated pitchers of the 1990s and was robbed of the 1993 Cy Young Award after logging a better ERA (by three quarters of a run) and WHIP than both Jack McDowell and Randy Johnson, who ended up ahead of him in the voting.

Dan Quisenberry

Quiz was instrumental to the Royals success in the 1980s. His 2.55 ERA is the best mark by any Royals pitcher who qualifies (500 IP at least).

Quisenberry filled the role of the fireman as well as anyone during his stretch with Kansas City. He led the league in appearances three times. He led in saves five times. As a Royal, he finished in the top five in Cy Young voting five times. Also, he landed in the top eleven of MVP voting five times. Only Brett has more such finishes as a Royal.

A character in every sense of the word, Quisenberry’s great performance on the mound was mirrored with his involvement in the community, and the Royals recognize a player every offseason with the Dan Quisenberry Award for their outstanding achievements and service within their community.

That’s the clincher. Kevin Appier was a great pitcher for the Royals, but he doesn’t have an award named after him.

It’s only fitting that Quisenberry closes the discussion by landing on the last spot on the mountain.

That makes my Royals Mount Rushmore the quartet of George Brett, Frank White, Bret Saberhagen and Dan Quisenberry. There are many cases to be made for other players, but those are my four.

You can weigh in by voting today at High Heat Stats, and we’ll be discussing the final results on the Kansas City Baseball Vault Thursday night at 6 p.m. on ESPN 1510 AM.

Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

I remember reading Joe Posnanski’s article that seemed to confront Allard Baird with the reality of Jeremy Affeldt first making the KC Royals in 2002.  I had listened to his Spring Training debut on the radio and was fascinated by the hard-throwing left-hander with a sweeping curve.  I quickly became a fan.

I remember the fingernail-blister problems that developed in his rookie season.  I remember listening to all the post-game questions and newspaper commentary about ridiculous solutions for the problem.

I remember wanting Affeldt to be the Opening Day starter in 2003, and couldn’t believe that Pena decided on Runelvys Hernandez on the basis of a coin toss.

I remember going to a game against the Yankees for my birthday and watching Affeldt pitch a couple of innings out of the bullpen relieving Kevin Appier.  The Royals won the game by the historic score of 11 – 0.

Affeldt was traded by the Royals to Colorado, where he got his first World Series experience, and then to Cincinnati.  Affeldt experienced the trials of injury and the ups and downs of a major league career before landing in San Francisco.

In 2009, Affeldt was awarded the Set-Up Man of the Year Award and won the World Series with the Giants the following season.  He has now started his own non-profit organization called Generation Alive and engages younger fans in helping to feed the hungry and provide clean water for people around the world.

Last summer, as part of the Blue Crew package, my daughters received a voucher to go take a tour of the stadium.  We picked a random day when the team was out of town and ended up being the only people in the last tour.  The woman giving us the tour shared numerous stories about the inner-workings of the stadium as well as experiences she had had with players over the years.  We sat in locker rooms and dugouts and in the interview room.  We saw everything. Trevor Vance even invited the girls to step on the sacred grass.  At the end of the tour, there was a box of autographed baseballs, and the tour conductor let my daughters each pick one ball.  Both girls chose a ball with Affeldt’s autograph.

“Dad, do you remember anything about Jeremy Affeldt?” my oldest asked.

We stopped at Krispy Kreme and, while eating fresh doughnuts, spent time remembering together.

The optimist-dreamer part of me still thinks that we can play the “remembering” game later this season.

“Do you remember (fill-in-the-blank’s) injury?”

“Do you remember when they lost 12 in a row?”

“Do you remember when Duffy was removed from the game?”

“Do you remember when Perez joined the team?”

“Do you remember…?”

We’ll look back and remember all the struggles and trials the Royals went through as they learned to play together while celebrating their push to get into the post-season.

Which brings us to 1994.

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This week on the Royalman Report I joined Troy “Royalman” Olsen and Brian McGannon (of Royals Kingdom) at the KC Icehouse to talk about Kevin Appier’s election to the Royals Hall of Fame, the Royals homestand and hot start to the season, and Troy offered some apologies to Alex Gordon, Ned Yost and others.

To listen to the show, you can find it in the following ways:

• Go to RoyalmanReport.com
• Download the MP3 directly
• Download and subscribe on iTunes
• Listen from the embedded player below.  Just press play.

Usually, the Royalman Report is presented by Kings of Kauffman live on Sunday nights at 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.  This next Sunday, however, we will not be live, but there should be a podcast to download and listen to.  The following week (Easter Sunday) we are not planning on having a show (though we could always change our minds).

In the meantime, you can call in to the Royalman Hotline at 1-816-394-9578 to leave a voicemail with any comments, questions or what have you and we may play it on the air.  You can also direct questions or comments to the Royalman Report on Twitter.

Stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

For anyone who followed the Royals in the 90s, this is no surprise.

With 82.5% of the voting going his way (75% is required for election), he becomes the 24th Royal in the team HOF. He’s more than deserving.
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A Topps card of Kevin Appier not unlike the one that hung in my room for more than 10 years.

My fandom is perpetually in doubt. Everywhere I go here I see Cardinals merchandise or the hats and t-shirts of more famous and successful clubs. I’m tempted and wonder why I stick with this bunch of bums.

Fandom, to me at least, means more than just tuning into the game on a lazy afternoon and heading out the ball park a few times a year. It means emotionally investing in your team and believing beyond the point of reason.

In my life, there has been little right about the Kansas City Royals. I was born in 1989 and since then the Royals have won more than 80 games only three times. By the time I was old enough to understand baseball the Royals were already firmly entrenched in the basement of the AL Central. Back then, my Dad took the the family to Buck Nights and we stayed all the way through nine innings of flimsy baseball to watch the fireworks.

It’s nights like those and the players that stood out that stay in your mind. The wondrous pitching of Kevin Appier dazzled me. He was a real star, a king on the mound and we loved him.

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