The 1974 KC Royals take a disappointing step back

1 of 3

This season, many new and younger Royals fans are experiencing something they never have before — a competitive and successful KC Royals team. Fielding a relevant baseball team feels like a novel concept in Kansas City, but such wasn't always the case.

The Royals have had their share of success, and it isn't limited to just the 1980, 1985, 2014, and 2015 World Series years. For roughly a decade from the mid-'70s to the mid-'80s, Kansas City was one of the most successful franchises in baseball. In what I hope will be the first in a series of new stories, I want to give Royals fans overviews of individual seasons in the club's storied history.

Where to start? How about 50 years ago, a season after a big breakthrough campaign?

The KC Royals made a big leap in 1973

The 1973 season is an obvious jumping-off point. It was a momentous campaign in team history. Just five years after making their debut as an expansion franchise, the Royals posted their second winning season, going 88-74, but set a then-club record for wins with 88. They finished only six games behind eventual world champion Oakland. This was especially impressive given that expansion franchises weren't given the same kinds of boosts they are today, and most new teams struggled for at least a decade before finally turning things around.

The Royals were an exception, however, and 1973 was a big year for them in more ways than one. The club moved into their recently completed new stadium — originally dubbed Royals Stadium and later renamed Kauffman Stadium — and Kansas City hosted the All-Star Game in July. Steve Busby threw the first no-hitter in club history in April, and while less a cause for celebration among hometown fans, but certainly noteworthy, Nolan Ryan tossed the first no-hitter of his storied career in the new stadium.

Also, some guy named George Brett debuted in August.

The Royals entered 1974 with high expectations

Understandably, the club rode into 1974 on a high, but the good times didn't last. During the offseason, shrewd Royals general manager Cedric Tallis, whose dealmaking laid the foundation for his club's '73 breakthrough and the greater successes that followed, made one of the few bad trades on his resume, sending Lou Piniella to the Yankees for pitcher Lindy McDaniel.

McDaniel had a fine 21-year major league career, but was rapidly approaching the end when the Royals acquired him. He went 1-4 in 38 games as a reliever in 1974 and retired after the next season. Piniella, on the other hand, became a fixture in the Yankee lineup, and a passionate adversary in the rivalry that developed between the two teams over the next decade. It is only speculation, but one can't help but wonder if this misfire paved the way for Kauffman to replace Tallis with Joe Burke that June.

Tallis hadn't completely lost his touch, though. He traded third baseman Paul Schaal to the Angels in April, cementing Brett at the hot corner. Unfortunately, Brett wasn't yet the Hall-of-Famer Royals fans came to love — Brett hit .282, but with only two home runs and 47 RBI in 133 games. Fortunately, though, famed hitting coach Charlie Lau began working with him that season ... the rest is history.

But in his second year, Frank White was making strides as a backup infielder and learning at the feet of Cookie Rojas. And on his way out the door, Tallis drafted Willie Wilson, providing the Royals with another future star and an important piece to their dominant late '70s run.

Much of the core was in place in 1974 and producing at a high level. Hal McRae was the breakout star of the group, putting together the best season of his career at that point, and setting a precedent for the next decade by slashing .310/.375/.475 with 15 home runs, 88 RBI, 36 doubles, and a 139 OPS+.

And he wasn't the only Royal wowing Kansas City fans. Amos Otis, then the face of the franchise, posted a 121 OPS+ with 12 homers, 73 RBI, 31 doubles, and nine triples. At first base, Big John Mayberry slugged 22 home runs and drove in 69 runs. Rojas and Freddie Patek didn't bring the same pop to the plate, but they manned the middle infield at a high level.

The lineup had its holes, but at a glance, it's difficult to understand how this team struggled as much as it did. Perhaps the answer lies in its pitching.

A record-setting performance isn't enough to salvage the '74 season

Pitching let the Royals down in 1974, but it was hardly a disastrous performance. The rotation didn't then have the kind of depth it developed later in the decade; the team got little out of its four and five starters, and the bullpen was nothing special — Dan Quisenberry's debut was still five years away, and Doug Bird led the team with only 10 saves.

The biggest disappointment came from an unlikely source. Paul Splittorff was one of the greatest pitchers in Royals history, a cornerstone of the team's success in the late '70s and early '80s. He was 20-11 in 1973 but had a rare down year in '74, easily the worst of his prime, finishing 13-19 with a 4.10 ERA.

As uncharacteristic as those numbers were for Splittorff, two other Royals pitchers had good years. Al Fitzmorris was 13-6 with a 2.79 ERA, but the real stud was Steve Busby, who enjoyed arguably the best season of his career. He threw his second no-hitter in June and finished 22-14; those 22 victories set a team record that wasn't broken until 1989, when Bret Saberhagen won 23 and nabbed his second Cy Young award.

But all of these numbers combined for a confusing result. The 1974 Royals had weak spots and several young stars were just finding their footing. One of their aces, Splittorff, underachieved. But the club still had tremendous talent producing at the plate and on the mound. The Royals should have been better.

But baseball is more than just numbers, something players and fans in 1974 probably understood better than we do today with the game's embrace of analytics. Sometimes, the whole thing doesn't come together like it should — so it was with the '74 Royals, who finished 77-85, 13 games behind the A's and next-to-last in the American League West.

More about the KC Royals

feed

Home / KC Royals News