Kansas City Royals All-Time Worst 25 Man Roster

By David Hill | Dec 21, 2015

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Apr 21, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals mascot entertains the crowd after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won the game 6-5. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Third Base – Phil Hiatt

The Kansas City Royals expected that Phil Hiatt would become their next start third baseman. In the minors, he had displayed solid power potential, hitting 29 home runs between two stops in 1992. With that in mind, he was brought up to the Royals early in the 1993 season, as they hoped he could be their next franchise player.

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Instead, Hiatt struggled at the plate, producing a meager .218/.285/.366 batting line with seven home runs in his 81 games. Sent back to the minors the following season, Hiatt again began to hit once again. Hiatt was called up the following year, and once again, struggled. He would only get two more brief chances at the majors before settling in as a AAA power hitter, toiling in the minors until 2004 when he ended his career in the Astros organization.

Overall for the Royals, Hiatt hit eleven home runs, but only produced a .214/.278/.365 batting line, striking out 119 times in 387 plate appearances. Defensively, he was a disaster at third for Kansas City, costing them eight runs in his 70 games at the position. Those struggles led to a shift in position, as the Royals sent him to the outfield the following season.

Phil Hiatt was expected to be the next franchise hitter for the Royals. Instead, he proved to be nothing more than another Quad-A player.

Next: One of the most loathed players in Royals history

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