Kansas City Royals Franchise Four Retrospective

Mandatory Credit: Charlie Neibergall/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

A few months back, when the 2015 season was just beginning, Major league Baseball announced quite the interesting concept of the Franchise Four. Essentially, fans would get to vote on their team’s Mount Rushmore of players, those four legends of the past and present whose exploits resonate throughout time. The Kansas City Royals had a solid collection of candidates, and even with those players who were snubbed, would have had a solid foursome.

Before the All-Star Game, the final results were announced. The Royals Mount Rushmore, at least for the time being, has been set. There, immortalized as the four greatest Royals players, are George Brett, the most obvious name to be included. We have Dan Quisenberry, the submarine pitcher who baffled hitters with his variety of slow pitches and ground ball tendencies. Along side the late Quisenberry, we have Bret Saberhagen, perhaps the best starting pitcher the Royals have had. And finally, Frank White, the great second baseman who may be the second best player in Royals history.

It is certainly a collection of players that any team would be proud of. It is also a reminder of another time, back when the Royals were the model franchise in baseball. Here, we see the luminaries of the Golden Era of Royals baseball, once again given a moment in the spotlight and having their accomplishments recounted.

And so, let us fond look back at the careers of these greats, and remember their time with the Kansas City Royals one more time.

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Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

George Brett

Quite frankly, we all had to know that George Brett would be on this list. After all, he is the only member of the Kansas City Royals in the Hall of Fame who, at the very least, spent most of his career in Kansas City. More than that, Brett was a Royals lifer, heading into the front office after his time on the field ended. He has served in a variety of capacities, including coming down and filling in as he interim hitting coach during 2013. He is Kansas City baseball.

Brett’s accomplishments on the field put him in rarefied air. Producing an excellent .305/.369/.487 career batting line, Brett also had 3154 hits, 317 home runs and 1595 RBI. He won a batting title in three different decades, becoming the only player in Major League history to do so. He won an MVP award in 1980, made the All-Star Team 13 times and was a three time Silver Slugger.

That excellent career was capped off with his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, when he received 98.2% of the vote, tied for the fourth most in history. Brett was an icon, a true superstar known as much for his fiery play as his skill on the diamond. After all, who can forget his reaction during the Pine Tar Game when he was ruled out, or when he punched Graig Nettles during the 1977 American League Championship Series?

George Brett was easily the greatest player in the history of the Kansas City Royals. It would be unthinkable to leave him off the Royals Mount Rushmore.

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Dan Quisenberry

My favorite baseball player growing up, and the reason why I became a Kansas City Royals fan despite living in the heart of Red Sox country, Dan Quisenberry was quite the unique player. A submarine pitcher who relied upon pinpoint control and an uncanny ability to generate ground balls, Quisenberry would often poke fun at his pitching style, once stating that his style of pitching was to lull batters into a false sense of security.

Yet, despite his lack of overpowering stuff, there is no question that Quisenberry was the most dominant closer in baseball during his peak. From 1980 through 1985, Quisenberry won the Rolaids American League Relief Pitcher of the Year award five times, made three All-Star Games, had four top ten MVP finishes and was in the top three for the Cy Young Award another four times. Not bad for a pitcher who once stated that he did not fear losing his fastball, because he didn’t have one.

During that peak, Quisenberry was just about untouchable, posting a 2.45 ERA and a 1.087 WHiP while recording 212 saves. He had only 57 unintentional walks in 724.2 innings, causing the best that the major leagues had to offer to hit the ball straight into the ground. Overall, Quisenberry finished his Royals career with 238 saves, a 2.55 ERA and a 1.150 WHiP. He was certainly a unique pitcher, even for his era.

The Kansas City Royals have a tradition of having excellent closers, starting with the Dan Quisenberry era. As the first of those lights out relievers, Quiz will now be remembered for more than his submarine delivery and excellent wit.

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Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Frank White

Excluding the incomparable George Brett, if one was to debate the greatest player in Kansas City Royals history, it would be quite the interesting topic of discussion. While the case could be made for any number of candidates, including the likes of Willie Wilson, Amos Otis and Jeff Montgomery, as well as Quisenberry or Saberhagen, that title may belong to Frank White.

A player whose career compares favorably with Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski, White never received that same level of attention after his career. However, that is not to say that he did not receive any accolades during his playing days, as White won eight Gold Glove awards, was a five time All-Star and won the 1986 Silver Slugger award.

With an incredible 126 defensive runs saved at second, the second most in the history of baseball, White was essentially peerless with the glove. Yet, he was far more than a defensive second baseman, producing a solid .255/.293/.383 batting line in an era where players like Rafael Belliard saw regular playing time. White finished his career with 2006 hits, 407 doubles, 160 home runs and 178 stolen bases, proving to be one of the better offensive second bassemen of his time.

Frank White may not have received enough love when it came to his Hall of Fame candidacy, but his career still resonates with Kansas City Royals fans. Perhaps, at some point, we can even get to see White back at Kauffman Stadium.

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