Kansas City Royals All-Time Worst 25 Man Roster

Oct 23, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals fans hold up signs and celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in game six of the ALCS at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Scott Elarton – Starting Pitcher

The Kansas City Royals were so bad in the mid-noughts that if you sort of looked like a major league pitcher, and had worn a uniform for another team, you could easily find yourself on the mound in Kauffman Stadium starting for the Royals.

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That’s sort of how Scott Elarton ended up pitching in Kansas City from 2006 to 2007. At one time, Elarton was a well thought of prospect that the Houston Astros made their first round draft pick in 1994. By 1998, he was pitching in Houston and even won 17 games (with a 4.81 ERA) as the Astros Pitcher of the Year in  2000.

However, shoulder troubles that plagued him that season caught up to him. He was terrible in 2001. The Astros dealt Elarton’s used up husk to Colorado where the launching pad in Coors Field did nothing to help his career. Then Scott Elarton missed all of 2002 with major shoulder surgery.

Scott Elarton bounced from Colorado to Cleveland, where Elarton posted an almost acceptable 11-9 record with a 4.61 ERA in 181.2 innings. KC Royals GM Allard Baird thought that looked pretty good and brought him to Kansas City as a free-agent.

Elarton, was a disaster in Kansas City. Elarton went 4-9 in 2006 with a 5.34 ERA while not fooling anyone at the plate with a 3.8 K/9. Since that wasn’t bad enough to get kicked off a team that lost 100 games, Elarton came back in 2007 to make nine starts with a 2-4 record and 10.46 ERA.

Hey, Scott Elarton’s did make one mark on baseball history during his time in Kansas City. He was the pitcher that surrendered Derek Jeter‘s 2000th career hit in 2006.

Scott Elarton is a good example of the “talent” that new GM Dayton Moore inherited when he took over the job after the 2007 June draft.

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