Kansas City Royals Top Five Center Fielders

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

1. Amos Otis (1970-1983, 42.0 WAR)

Back in the early days of the Kansas City Royals, the front office made a number of brilliant trades to quickly make the team a legitimate contender. One of those deals was to get Amos Otis and Bob Johnson for Joe Foy.

While Foy was winding down his career, Otis was becoming a star. He made the All-Star team in his first five seasons in Kansas City, and was a six time All-Star overall. Otis finished as high as third in the MVP ballot, led the American League in double twice and won three Gold Glove awards. He was quite the steal for Kansas City.

Overall, Amos Otis produced a .280/.347/.433 batting line, hitting 193 home runs and stealing 340 bases. While not a classic power/speed threat, Otis hit over twenty home runs twice and led the American League with 52 stolen bases in 1971.

On defense, Otis was not exactly Willie Wilson, but he was a solid player in his own right. In his prime, Otis was one of the best defensive center fielders, a player whose strong arm kept him among the league leaders in assists and double plays. While he wasn’t the same player as he got older, Otis still ranks 22nd with a .991 fielding percentage in center and is 30th with a 2.83 range factor per game.

Amos Otis was part of one of the best trades the Kansas City Royals ever made. In exchange for a player with two years left in his career, they received a franchise center fielder.

Next: Kansas City Royals Top Five Right Fielders