Kansas City Royals Top Five Shortstops

credit: kansascitybaseballhistoricalsociety.com

5. Bill Pecota (1986-1991, 6.0 WAR)

If you ever want to win a bet, or depress a Kansas City Royals fan, ask them who the best shortstop in Royals history, according to Fangraphs, is on offense. Chances are, even if you give those people multiple guesses, Bill Pecota will not be among them. Yet, Pecota, who cost the Royals 6.4 runs on offense when in the lineup, is still considered to be the best offensive shortstop in Royals history, at least with the bat. Yikes.

While Pecota may have been more of a utility player than a shortstop per se, he was still considered as primarily being a shortstop from 1987 through 1989. During his tenure with the Royals, Pecota appeared in 138 games at short, spending his time between there, third and second. A solid defensive player, Pecota was above average at all three positions, and even ranked in the top five in runs saved as a third baseman in 1986, despite playing only 12 games.

With the bat, Bill Pecota was not about to strike fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers, but he was relatively solid. His .254/.330/.370 batting line for the Royals may not seem spectacular, but it was worth an OPS+ of 94. Considering that middle infielders at the time, and especially utility infielders, were not expected to produce much offensively, Pecota performing right about league average was actually pretty good indeed.

These days, Bill Pecota may be better remembered for being the namesake of the PECOTA system, but he was a solid enough player in his own right. One just would not have expected that he would be the Kansas City Royals best batting shortstop, and fifth best of all time.

Next: A truly excellent defensive shortstop