Kansas City Royals: Back in time, George Brett’s 1980 MVP Season

Last night, Patrick Mahomes joined former Kansas City Royals star George Brett as the only two players to win league MVP honors for Kansas City professional teams.

The news of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes taking home the NFL’s Most Valuable Player honors sparked an interesting realization. Mahomes is only the second player from a Kansas City professional team to win MVP. The first? Kansas City Royals legend, George Brett.

ESPN once referred to Brett’s 1980 campaign as one of the greatest in baseball history. Similar to the Kansas City Chiefs this year, though, the 1980 Royals fell just short of accomplishing the ultimate team goal: winning it all.

Just as the Chiefs lost to the Tom Brady and the infamous New England Patriots, the Kansas City Royals of 1980 made it to the World Series after sweeping the New York Yankees in the ALCS. They ultimately were bested by Mike Schmidt and the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2.

Back in Time

It’s hard to believe that 1980 was nearly 40 years ago. George Brett was drafted in the second round in 1971 by the Kansas City Royals. Brett was promoted to the majors in 1973. He played in 117 games throughout the 1980 season and nearly hit for an average of .400.

Though he ended the 1980 season with a .390, he was still awarded the Most Valuable Player honors at the end of the season. His complete slash sat at .390/.454/.664 for the season. He recorded 175 hits, 24 home runs, 118 RBI’s, 58 walks, and only 22 strikeouts.

Brett started the season off slowly, but he hit .494 in the month of July, through 21 games. In August, he hit .430. With just five weeks to go in the season, his average sat at .403. He hit a slump heading into the end of the season, but he still led the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Out of the 28 possible first place votes for MVP, he secured 17.

The 1980 season was also when he left game two of the World Series with hemorrhoid pain in the sixth, had minor surgery the next day, and was back for game three.

George Brett earned many honors in his time as a Kansas City Royal, but having been the only professional athlete to have received an MVP award was something special. Even now that he is joined by Patrick Mahomes, it is still a great accomplishment.