Stars you may have forgotten were once KC Royals

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(Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /

Plenty of big-name stars will forever be remembered for being KC Royals. There’s Hall of Famer George Brett, of, course, but also Frank White, Amos Otis, Bret Saberhagen and Carlos Beltran, just to name a few.

But there are other stars many may forget donned Royal Blue for a short time.

For example, did you know 13-time All-Star, six-time American League home run leader and 1969 American League MVP Harmon Killebrew played for the Royals in 1975 after getting released by the Twins?

By the time he came to Kansas City, Killebrew’s bat wasn’t the same—he slashed .199/.317/.375 with a .692 OPS and 44 RBIs in 106 games. Despite his low average, Killebrew still had some pop, smashing 14 home runs his lone year with the Royals.

Another player who spent his last year in Kansas City was Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry.

After Perry went 3-10 with a 4.94 ERA in 102 innings in 1983 with Seattle, the Mariners released him and the Royals signed him. During his short stay in Kansas City, Perry posted a 4-4, 4.27 ERA record and became the third pitcher in major league history to record 3, 500 strikeouts.

What’s also interesting was Perry’s involvement in the Pine Tar incident. After Brett and the Royals were arguing Brett’s ejection for having too much pine tar on his bat, Perry took off with the bat before being caught by security. Perry was also ejected.

Another terrific star gave his career one last shot with the KC Royals.

Hideo Nomo was a big sensation from Japan. He was an All-Star and Rookie of the Year winner with the Dodgers in 1995 who was known for strikeouts. His 236 strikeouts in 1995 led all National League pitchers and was second in the majors behind Randy Johnson. He also posted a 11.1 K/9 rate to break Sandy Koufax’s 1962 franchise record.

Nomo soon struggled when he bounced around multiple teams before returning to the Dodgers in 2002.

His last season was supposedly 2005 with the Devil Rays, when he went 5-8 with a 7.24 ERA and only 59 strikeouts in 100.2 innings. But three years later, Nomo decided to return and signed on with the Royals.

Nomo ended up pitching only 4.1 innings with Kansas City. He surrendered nine runs on 10 hits (three were homers) and was soon DFA’d.

That July, Nomo announced his retirement from baseball.

(Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /

These postseason enemies were once KC Royals during their long careers.

When thinking of José Bautista, what comes to mind? His bat flip against the Rangers in the 2015 American League Division Series? His pesky bat during that postseason? Or maybe his miscue with Ryan Goins in Game 2 of that season’s ALCS against Kansas City that allowed Ben Zobrist to reach base to ignite a five-run Royal seventh inning?

Well, before he helped the Royals as an opponent, Bautista was part of the club very briefly in 2004. After playing 16 games in Baltimore that season, Tampa Bay claimed him off waivers. After he played 12 games with the Devil Rays, the Royals purchased Bautista. He ended up playing just 13 games with the club, not contributing much offensively.

Bautista drove in one run, slashed .200/.231/.240 and struck out 12 times before the Royals traded him to the Mets for Justin Huber. The Mets immediately flipped him, sending him (along with Ty Wigginton and Matt Peterson) to the Pirates for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger.

Bautista made a name for himself when the Pirates traded him in 2008 to Toronto, where he flourished. Despite a low .253 average, he smashed 288 home runs, had 766 RBIs, and notched 803 walks in 10 years with the Blue Jays.

Speaking of postseason enemies, remember Coco Crisp? Crisp, who spent the majority of his career with Oakland and had two hits, an RBI and scored a run against the Royals in the 2014 Wild Card game, was once with Kansas City, too.

Crisp had a 49-game stint with the Royals in 2009. He got off to a hot start during the opening series against the White Sox, hitting .364 with four hits, three RBIs and two walks in three games, but soon fell off. He ended up slashing .228/.336/.378 with three home runs, 14 RBIs, 29 walks, and 13 stolen bases by June before being sidelined by season-ending shoulder surgery.

Three MVP’s and a Rookie of the Year also once played with the KC Royals.

Kirk Gibson will always be known for his dramatic, game-winning pinch-hit home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series:

Gibson, well-known for his 1988 MVP, Silver Slugger season with the Dodgers and the 12 years he spent with the Tigers, was also with Kansas City for a year.

In 1991, Gibson signed on with the Royals as a free agent. He played 132 games that year, and slashed .236/.341/.403 with a .744 OPS and 16 home runs, 55 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases.

While Gibson was with Kansas City, Terry Pendleton won the National League MVP with Atlanta. He slashed .319/.363/.517 with 22 home runs and 88 RBIs. Little did he know that several years later, he, too, would don Royal Blue.

Pendleton came to Kansas City in 1998 when the club was seeking veteran leadership for a young core of players. Although he backed up Dean Palmer the majority of the year, Pendleton ended up playing in 79 games, slashing .257/.299/.338 with a .637 OPS with three home runs and 29 RBIs. He retired after the season.

In 2004, two-time MVP Juan González arrived in Kansas City. Known for his time with the Rangers when he hit .293 with 372 home runs in13 years, he signed with the Royals for a year but ended up playing only 33 games due to injury. He hit .276 with five home runs and 17 RBIs.

After the Royals declined to pick up his option, González went to Cleveland, but a hamstring injury during his very first plate appearance of 2005 ended his season.

Another star who arrived in 2004 was five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger and 1987 National League Rookie of the Year Benito Santiago.

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Santiago slashed .274/.312/.434 with six home runs and 23 RBIs before a fractured hand derailed his season in June. It was a huge blow—Santiago was putting on a clinic in June, hitting .364 with two home runs and nine RBIs before the injury. After the season, the Royals traded him to Pittsburgh for minor league pitcher Leo Nuñez, later known as Juan Carlos Oviedo. Santiago did not appear in another major league game after his 23 at-bat stint with the Pirates in 2005.

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The Royals have had many stars in their history, among them some who fans may forget spent time in Kansas City.

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Another terrific star gave his career one last shot with the KC Royals.

These postseason enemies were once KC Royals during their long careers.

Three MVP’s and a Rookie of the Year also once played with the KC Royals.

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