Kansas City Royals Top Ten Pitchers in Franchise History

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

7. Dan Quisenberry

There are a number of arguments either for or against the WAR statistic. One of the issues with this metric is that closers tend to be undervalued. Such is the case with the late Dan Quisenberry who, despite his six year run of dominance for the Kansas City Royals, ranks only twelfth all time with a 13.7 WAR.

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Yet, as dismissive of his accomplishments as the metric may be, there is no denying what Quisenberry meant to the Royals. Arguably the best closer in baseball from 1980 through 1985, Quisenberry made three All-Star games, finished in the top five of the Cy Young balloting five times, and finished as high as third in the 1984 MVP vote. He set what was then a major league record with 45 saves in 1983, frustrating the opposition as his submarine style had opponents hammer the ball into the ground.

As unorthodox of a closer as he may have been, even back in the early to mid 1980’s, Quisenberry was quite effective. With the Royals, he notched 238 saves while recording a 2.55 ERA and a 1.150 WHiP. His superb control was the stuff of legend, as Quisenberry allowed only 81 unintentional walks and four wild pitches in his ten seasons with the Royals.

One of the all time greats on the Royals, it is no surprise to see Dan Quisenberry on this list. In fact, despite the bias that WAR has against closers, he likely could have ranked even higher.

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