Kansas City Royals: Top Twenty Hitters In Team History

Nov 3, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; A Kansas City Royals fans shows support while waiting on players to arrive for the World Series victory celebration at Union Station. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

2. Amos Otis

Amos Otis had a terrific career. He played 17 years, earning five All-Star berths (all with KC) and three gold gloves. Yet, fans and pundits paid far more attention to George Brett, Hal McRae,and John Mayberry.

A.O. as he was called, was simply one of those all-around good players like Alex Gordon and Ben Zobrist that people didn’t really appreciate until sabermetrics came along. Kansas City’s first great center-fielder could do everything well.

He arrived in Kansas City after a trade from the New York Mets (another Cedric Tallis steal) at age 23 in 1970. He immediately moved into center, and hit .284/.353/.424 with 11 home runs and 33 stolen bases.

Otis’s best season came in 1978 at age 31, when he slashed .298/.380/.525 with 22 home runs, 96 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases in a mere 486 at bats. For his 14 years with the Kansas City Royals, Otis hit .280/.347/.433 with 193 home runs and 340 stolen bases. After the 1983 season, he joined Pittsburgh for one final season before retiring at age 37.

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