Kansas City Royals Top Five Right Fielders

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

4. Clint Hurdle (1977-1981, 4.8 WAR)

You have to wonder what could have been with Clint Hurdle. He was a first round pick out of high school who made his debut with the Kansas City Royals at age 19. It seemed as though he could be a future cornerstone for the franchise. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his career, forcing Hurdle to retire at age 29.

Although Hurdle was only a regular at the major league level for two seasons, he was still productive in his time with the Royals. While his power never developed as expected, Hurdle produced a respectable .276/.353/.432 batting line with 26 home runs and 69 doubles during his time in Kansas City. As a young player on a team filled with star power, that was certainly good enough.

As good as Clint Hurdle was offensively, he struggled in the field. In 1980, Hurdle led the American League with nine errors in right, and his ten errors overall were the second most in the outfield that season. While he had a deent range factor that year, Hurdle was consistently below average. However, he was primarily in the lineup for his expected hitting prowess, which never had a chance to develop.

One has to wonder what type of a player Clint Hurdle would have been had he not hurt his back.

Next: A germane addition to the list