KC Royals: Is Ned Yost’s ‘Mount Rushmore’ accurate?

With his Royals numbers, Amos Otis is a good “Mount Rushmore” candidate.

George Brett is indisputably the club’s best player ever, but Amos Otis may well be the second best.

Acquired by Kansas City in a trade with the New York Mets in 1969, Otis made an immediate positive impact on the Royals. He made the All-Star team in each of his first four Royal seasons and in 1971 led the AL with 52 stolen bases.

In 1976, his .279 average, 86 RBIs, 26 stolen bases, 18 home runs, and AL-leading 40 doubles helped KC to its first AL West Division title. In Kansas City’s 1980 World Series loss to the Phillies, he slashed an incredible .478/.538/.957 with a 1.495 OPS and three home runs, seven runs driven in, 11 hits and 22 total bases.

As his three Gold Gloves prove, Otis was also an excellent outfielder who finished his 17-year big league career with a .991 fielding percentage.

In 14 years as a Royal, Otis slashed .280/.347/.433 with a .780 OPS. He also is among the top five in club history in hits, runs, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, walks, triples, doubles, and extra base hits. He made five All-Star teams and is a member of the team Hall of Fame.

Ned Yost put George Brett, Paul Splittorff, Frank White and Mike Sweeney on his personal Royals “Mount Rushmore.” He was clearly right about Brett, but could he have chosen Salvador Perez, Bret Saberhagen, Dan Quisenberry, or Amos Otis instead of any of the others? What do you think?