Kansas City Royals Countdown: Top 10 Outfielders

OMAHA, NE – July 19: Kaleb Seffron throws out the first pitch to Two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and 1985 World Series Champion Willie Wilson as part of the Mobil Super ‘Go the Distance’ Baseball Tour on July 19, 2014 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images for Mobil Super)

2. Willie Wilson (1976-90, 42.2 WAR)

There are several records George Brett holds in the Kansas City Royals history book. Many of them will likely never be broken. Willie Wilson has his fair share, too. Some of them are hard to even fathom in today’s game.

His 1980 season is one of the best a Kansas City Royals player has ever put together. He led the league in plate appearance (745), at-bats (705), runs (133), hits (230) and triples (15). A year after leading the league with 83 steals, he regressed to all of 79 stolen bases. Wilson even recorded a joint-career-high in RBI with 49.

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That campaign earned him his only Gold Glove and his first of two Silver Slugger awards. Wilson also finished fourth in MVP voting, although he might have finished even higher if his teammate Brett hadn’t taken home the award. Surprisingly, Wilson did not make the All-Star team that season.

Among his many single-season records that might never be broken, Wilson had 21 triples in 1985. (He has four of the top-five seasons with the most triples in franchise history.) He also holds the record for singles in a season with 184 during that 1980 season. To put that number in perspective, it’s equal to the number of total hits Brett accumulated in 1985.

While his batting average started to decline after peaking at a league-best .332 in 1982—Wilson’s first of two straight All-Star Game nods, his speed on the base-paths didn’t drop much. At the age of 31, Wilson posted 15 triples and 59 stolen bases.

Needless to say, he lived up to being a first-round draft pick. One could argue Wilson is the greatest outfielder in Kansas City Royals history, but the formula we used places him just behind one of his former teammates.

2. Willie Wilson (1976-90, 42.2 WAR)

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