Royals Hall of Fame ballot loaded with tough voting choices for KC fans

Three other stars ought to make it into the Royals HOF

A trio of other deserving players should join Gordon for induction.

Billy Butler, 1B & DH, 2007-16

Few players have touched KC fans like Butler. Slugger of 127 home runs as a Royal — good enough for a 10th-place career tie with teammate Eric Hosmer on the club's all-time list — Butler suffered through some of the worst seasons in franchise history but still finished his eight-year Kansas City tenure with a .295 average (fourth best in team history) and a fine .354 OBP.

His 427 walks and 628 RBI rank seventh and eighth in club history, only seven Royals have more doubles than his 276, and he ranks in the top 10 in hits, total bases, extra-base hits, and walks. In 2012, he made the AL All-Star team and won a Silver Slugger.

Wade Davis, RP, 2013-16 & 2021

Davis didn't have a long Kansas City career, but what he did during his first five seasons warrants induction in the club Hall. The "D" between Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland in the famous and feared "H-D-H" bullpen trio that helped fuel the Royals' runs to the World Series in 2014 and 2015, Davis went an incredible 17-3 with a tiny 0.97 ERA and 20 saves over those two seasons, and gave up only two runs in seven postseason appearances.

Davis also dominated in the closer role he inherited when a torn UCL robbed Holland of the two weeks of the 2015 regular season. Striking out 8 batters and surrendering only a run in 5.2 innings, he posted 4 saves and 1 win in the six games he pitched after Holland went down. For good measure, he also struck out the Mets' Wilmer Flores for the final out of that year's World Series.

Davis retired after a final, but unfortunately less-than-stellar, single-season stint with the Royals in 2021. He was worthy of the Royals Hall then, and nothing has happened since to damage his prospects.

Johnny Damon, OF, 1995-2000

Damon spent far less than half his 18-year big league career with the Royals, but what he accomplished in six seasons with the club should put him in its Hall of Fame. He hit .292 with a .351 OBP and had 256 extra-base hits, 156 steals, and a 17.3 bWAR.

Anyone who believes his Royal tenure was too short, or his numbers not good enough, for induction need only compare him to Bo Jackson, who joined the KC Hall this year. Jackson's KC numbers — .250 average, .308 OBP, and 189 extra-base hits — don't approach Damon's. Yes, he had more power and played one less season than Damon, but if Jackson deserves a place in the Hall, and he does, so does Damon.