KC Royals: The 5 Worst Moves of Royals GM Dayton Moore

Apr 6, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore walks on the field before the game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore walks on the field before the game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 6, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore walks on the field before the game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore walks on the field before the game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

It has been just over ten years since David Glass and the KC Royals signed Dayton Moore to be their General Manager.  The year Moore was hired, June 2006, the KC Royals lost exactly 100 games on their way to another 5th place finish in the AL Central.

In fact, before Dayton Moore took over as the KC Royals General Manager, the team had exactly one winning season since the strike in the mid 90’s where in 2003, the KC Royals went 83 – 79. The stretch of futility after the 1995 – 1996 strike included three 90+ loss seasons and four 100 loss seasons including the season Dayton Moore was hired.

The very worst of season, which many of us KC Royals fans will fondly remember, was 2005 where the team lost 106 games and finished exactly 43 games out of first place. The futility of the 2005 season was however overshadowed a bit by the fact that it was sandwiched between two other 100 loss seasons in 2004 and 2006.

Those dark days in the KC Royals past have been compartmentalized by most of us and after miles of self-help tapes, we have moved on. The best therapy for Royals fans however has been the fact that the team improved their regular season win total in every season beginning in 2009.  Then of course, the demons were completely exercised in 2015 when the KC Royals took home a World Championship Trophy.

To be sure, Dayton Moore made some very astute moves during that period to pull the KC Royals out of the cellar. John Viril recently posted an article highlighting the 10 best moves that Dayton Moore has made since becoming the GM. Some of the highlights include hiring Ned Yost as the next manager, trading Zach Greinke and Yunieski Betancourt for Lorenzo Cain, Alcedes Escobar, and Jake Odorizzi, and trading for James Shields, Wade Davis, and Elliot Johnson.

However, while you will not find anyone in KC Royals land right now who would rather have anyone other than Dayton Moore as GM, including me, nobody is perfect. Even the great Dayton Moore has made a few mistakes along the way. The following are the Top Five Worst Moves that Dayton Moore has made since being named General Manager of the KC Royals.

Next: Mistake No. 5