The 1971 Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

 season was a season in American baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

. It involved the Royals finishing second in the American League West

American League West

The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...

 with a record of 85 wins and 76 losses, 16 games behind the Oakland Athletics

1971 Oakland Athletics season

The Oakland Athletics season involved the A's finishing first in the American League West with a record of 101 wins and 60 losses. In their first postseason appearance of any kind since 1931, the A's were swept in three games by the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship...

. This was also the first time in franchise history that the Royals had finished with a winning record. It happened in only their third season, the fastest of any expansion club in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 history to that point. The record would stand until the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks

1999 Arizona Diamondbacks season

The 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks looked to improve on their 1998 expansion season. They looked to contend in what was a strong National League West Division. They finished the season with a highly surprising record of 100-62, good enough for the NL West division title. In the NLDS, however, they fell...

 won the National League West

National League West

The National League Western Division, or NL West, is one of the three divisions of Major League Baseball's National League. It was created in 1969 when the previously undivided National League expanded its membership to twelve teams, positioning half of them in an Eastern division and the other...

 title in their second season.

Offseason

• February 2, 1971: Ellie Rodríguez
  Ellie Rodríguez
  Eliseo Rodríguez Delgado , is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He played from 1968-1976 for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, and Los Angeles Dodgers....
  
   was traded by the Royals to the Milwaukee Brewers
  Milwaukee Brewers
  The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
  
   for Carl Taylor.
• Prior to 1971 season: Gary Lance
  Gary Lance
  Gary Dean Lance is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He appeared in one game for the Kansas City Royals in , pitching two innings of relief against the Oakland Athletics on September 28. He came into the game in the 8th inning in relief of Mark Littell after the A's had tied the game at 5-5...
  
   was signed as an amateur free agent by the Royals.

Notable transactions

• May 11, 1971: Tom Matchick
  Tom Matchick
  John Thomas Matchick is a former professional baseball player. He was a utility infielder over parts of 6 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles. Matchick was a member of the 1968 World Series champion Tigers...
  
   was traded by the Royals to the Milwaukee Brewers
  Milwaukee Brewers
  The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
  
   for Ted Savage
  Ted Savage
  Theodore Edmund Savage, Jr., born as Ephesian Savage on February 21, 1936 in Venice, Illinois, was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1962-1971.-Biography:Ted Savage played for eight teams in a nine-year major league career...
  
  .
• June 8, 1971: George Brett
  George Brett
  George Brett , is an American baseball player.George Brett may also refer to:*George Edward Brett , British-born American publisher*George Brett , World War II USAAF general...
  
   was drafted by the Royals in the 2nd round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft
  1971 Major League Baseball Draft
  -First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :The June 1971 draft was a productive one, even though none of its top ten choices yielded players who would have memorable major league careers...
  
  .

Roster

1971 Kansas City Royals
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager Coaches

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C		71	218	55	.252	1	24
3B		161	548	150	.274	11	63
LF		126	448	125	.279	3	51

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	49	143	31	.217	2	21
	20	39	7	.179	0	3
	19	29	5	.172	0	1

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	35	241.1	17	11	2.98	109
	32	205.2	15	8	2.71	76
	25	141.1	8	6	3.44	58
	7	32.1	2	3	5.01	15

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	36	127.1	7	5	4.17	53
	13	34	0	1	5.29	29
	10	24	1	0	4.12	20
	3	21.1	3	0	2.11	12
	4	9.2	0	0	9.31	2

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	67	9	7	17	1.73	44
	63	4	6	23	2.56	55

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elmira, GCL Royals