KC Royals Trades: Four great deals with Milwaukee

Two other notable players the KC Royals received helped in postseason play.

Jim Sundberg is perhaps best known as a Ranger, but in January 1985 he was part of a four-team trade between the Rangers, Brewers, Royals and Mets. Among other components of the deal, the Brewers sent Sundberg to Kansas City while the Royals sent Don Slaught to Texas and Frank Wills to the Mets.

Sundberg hit only .227 in his two years with the Royals, but he made considerable noise in the 1985 postseason.

In the ALCS against Toronto, Sundberg drove in four runs in the deciding Game 7 to help give the Royals the AL pennant. His effort included a bases-loaded triple to score Hal McRae, Pat Sheridan and Steve Balboni in the sixth inning.

Then, in the controversial Game Six of the 1985 World Series, Sundberg scored the winning run on a Dane Iorg single by avoiding Darrell Porter’s tag.

Although he didn’t have the dramatic flair of Sundberg, Nori Aoki was traded by Milwaukee to the Royals for Will Smith in December 2013.

Aoki spent one year in Kansas City, but in that lone season he slashed .285/.349/.360, stole 17 bases and slapped 22 doubles. His only home run was a grand slam off Bo Shultz in an August game against the Diamondbacks. He also broke Kansas City’s franchise record for the most hits in a three-game series when he had 11 against the White Sox.

Aoki rose to the occasion in the 2014 ALDS when he hit .333 in Kansas City’s three-game sweep of the Angels.