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KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Member of the Cracker Jack Baseball League

1975 Yearbook

Paul Casanova Catcher The rangy, cat-like Cuban refugee was named TSN AL all-star catcher as a Senators rookie in 1966. An enthusiastic, fun-loving spendthrift, he had a rifle arm and led AL catchers in double plays three times, but his hitting tailed off after his first two seasons. He caught all 22 innings and drove in the winning run against the White Sox in the longest night game in AL history (6/12/67).

Manny Sanguillen Catcher Speedy for a catcher, free-swinging Manny Sanguillen had great hitting ability, a strong arm, and a cat-like quality behind the plate. The ever-smiling Panamanian twice finished third in the NL batting race: in his second full season (1970), when he batted .325, and again in 1975, when he hit a career-high .328. The bad-ball-hitting Sanguillen was a good contact hitter, but rarely walked. Overshadowed by Johnny Bench, he edged out the Cincinnati catcher on TSN's NL All-Star Team in 1971 - the only time between 1967 and 1975 that Bench was not selected. He was durable, catching more than 100 games in seven of his first eight full seasons with the Pirates. The exception was 1973, the season after his close friend, Roberto Clemente, was killed in an airplane crash; Sanguillen was chosen to replace Clemente in right field. The move did not work and Sanguillen returned to catching. After playing for five division-champion Pirate clubs, Sanguillen was sent with $100,000 to Oakland for Chuck Tanner in a rare player-for-manager trade on November 5, 1976. Pittsburgh reacquired the popular Sanguillen in April 1978. His pinch single with two out in the ninth in Game Two of the 1979 World Series gave the Pirates a 3-2 victory.

Keith Hernandez Firstbaseman Hernandez was indisputably the best-fielding first baseman of his time, winning eleven straight Gold Gloves and setting major league records for most seasons leading league first basemen in double plays (six) and lifetime assists by a first baseman. He revived Ferris Fain's practice of charging to the third base line on bunts and made the technique his own; trying for the force in such situations is usually a risky proposition, but Hernandez's judgment was rarely wrong. His great range helped him lead NL first basemen in assists five times, putouts four times, and fielding average twice. Twice he tied for the lead in errors with 13; it is the lowest total ever to lead the NL, and he never made more errors than that in a season.

Chuck Goggin Secondbaseman At 28 years old, Goggin would not normally be considered a future prospect, but the Royals are seaching for a secondbaseman for the future. Ron Hunt is aging and his contract is up in 1974. Goggin can hit and may see some time with the Royals this season if Hunt is dealt.

Lenny Randle Secondbaseman Randle will try to win a starting job this season. Once again he spent most of last year in the minors but the Royals feel that he needs to developed enough to challege at the Major League level. This season will win the secondbase job as Ron Hunt has left Kansas City. While with the Mariners, Randle got down on all fours and tried to blow a rolling bunt foul at the Kingdome. These and other antics failed to ensure his job. Randle went to Italy to play ball, and became a big star there.

Terry Hughes Thirdbaseman The Cubs tap SS Terry Hughes with the next pick. All 20 first-round picks are high school players, and only 11 will eventually reach the major leagues.

Phil Garner Thirdbaseman A gritty infielder who got by as much on determination as talent, Phil Garner established himself as a second baseman with the A's under manager Chuck Tanner. When Tanner moved to Pittsburgh, he promptly traded for Garner, who was used at third, then at second after the Pirates acquired Bill Madlock. Despite constant ribbing from teammates Madlock and Dave Parker, Garner was an important member of the 1979 World Champion Pirates. Impressed by Garner's tenacity, teammate Willie Stargell dubbed him "Scrap Iron". With Pittsburgh, Garner was sometimes called "the best number-eight hitter in baseball".

Dave Chalk Shortstop The Angels' (and baseball's) number-one pick in the 1972 free agent draft, Chalk led AL shortstops with 29 errors as a rookie in 1974 but with Jim Sundberg was one of two rookies to make the All-Star team. He became an outstanding fielder at both short and third base. A notoriously slow starter at bat, he often didn't hit for average until August and never showed much home run power. His top season was 1977, when he hit .277 with 69 RBI. A 1979 knee injury finished him as a regular.

Bucky Dent Shortstop Dent, a promising White Sox shortstop, came to the Yankees in a much heralded deal in April 1977. He was touted as the final piece in the great Yankee team. Dent was a natural with his boyish good looks, the perfect foil for the Yankees' rough and abrasive identity. He became an instant idol with legions of adoring teenage girls to cheer him on. Dent played two years for Texas and finished his career in Kansas City in 1984.

Warren Cromartie Leftfielder Cromartie, Ellis Valentine, and Andre Dawson formed what Expos announcer Duke Snider termed "the best young outfield" he'd ever seen in 1977-79. Only Dawson really lived up to Snider's billing. Cromartie always hustled but was erratic, prone to long slumps, and was not a power hitter. Extremely popular in Montreal, he hit .304 in 1981 as the Expos won their only division title, then skidded to .254 in '82. After being platooned in '83, he signed with the Yomiuri Giants of the Japan Central League. A great success in Japan, he hit over 30 home runs in each of his first three seasons while compiling good batting averages.

Merv Rettenmund Leftfielder Merv had an off year in 1973, hitting only 17 home runs and batting .269. The Royals need Rettenmund to rebound from last year so they can improve from their last place finish. He is the Royals career leader in batting average, hits, runs, and home runs. A football player at Ball State University, Rettenmund was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, but chose to play baseball. Aquired from the Orioles, Merv made an imediate impact on the Royals.

Ollie Brown Centerfielder Brown has earned the nickname of "Downtown" because he hit 40 homeruns in the Pacific Coast League in 1964, presumably in the direction of the business district. In 1970, Ollie hit 19 homers and drove in 78 runs while hitting .258. "Downtown" top that year in 1971 as he hit .317 with 25 homers and drove in 114 runs. In 1972, Brown only played 116 games due to an injury yet he led the Royals with 99 runs batted in.

Rick Manning Centerfielder Manning is fast and can cover the cavernous centerfield in Municipal Stadium in Kansas City. A good hitter he could break into the Royals already talented outfield. If the Royals can not re-sign Ollie Brown then the centerfield job will be Manning's.

Morris Nettles Rightfielder The International League Player of the Year in 1975, Nettles was called up by the Angels that August and hit in 23 straight games to tie what was then both a club record and a modern NL rookie record. He dislocated his foot playing basketball the following February, missed half of the season, and was sold to Cleveland in 1978. He was an effective pinch hitter and fourth outfielder for the 1978-80 Cubs.

Amos Otis Rightfielder Mets fans think of Otis as the one that got away. The Royals aquired him with pitcher Bob Johnson after the 1969 season. In 1970 Amos imediately became the regular rightfielder for the Royals. He hit .250 and hit 11 home runs and stole over 25 bases in 1970. Amos topped 1970 by hitting .288 and swiping 32 bases. Otis is the future of the Kansas City Royals.

Sam McDowell Pitcher A lanky 6'5" lefthander with a ferocious fastball, a good changeup, and just enough wildness to keep hitters nervous, McDowell was overwhelming from 1965 to 1970, winning five strikeout titles and twice fanning over 300 batters by the age of 28 (only Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, and J.R. Richard have struck out 300 batters as many times). McDowell started one game for the Indians as a 19-year-old in 1961, and found little success in Cleveland in 1962-63, walking almost seven batters per nine innings. By 1964 he was beginning to harness his tremendous talent, and in 1965 he dominated AL hitters. McDowell led the AL with a 2.18 ERA, despite walking a league-high 132 batters, and allowed only 178 hits in 273 innings while striking out 325, at the time the fourth-best total in modern ML history. He struck out 15 Tigers in 10 innings June 5, and his 10.71 strikeouts per nine innings set a ML record broken by Dwight Gooden in 1984.

Wade Blasingame Pitcher Wade won 17 games with a 3.09 earned run average for the Royals and pitched in the All Star Game in 1970. He started off good in 1971 as he has a record of 7-3 with a 2.69 earned run average, but he finished with only 12 wins and a 3.75 earned run average. Blasingame along with Bob Johnson is the Royals career leader in wins. Wade is the number four guy on the Royals starting rotation.

Bob Johnson Pitcher A power pitcher who struck out a rookie record 254 hitters in 1970. Aquired from the Mets with outfielder Amos Otis, Johnson has claimed the number three slot in the starting rotation for the Royals. Bob was 9-16 with a 4.34 earned run average in 1970, but has turned that around in 1971 winning 18 games and striking out 259 batters while tabulating a 2.73 earned run average. The Royals were disappointed when he did not win the 1971 Cy Young Award in the AL.

Jon Matlack Pitcher Number one draft pick by the Royals in the 1971 Rookie Draft. Jon has never played any minor league ball. He was wisked right up to the Royals major league roster and is impressing the brass. Definitly the best pitching prospect in the Royals organization, Jon finished his rookie year with 18 wins and a 2.75 earned run average. In 1972, Matlack won 14 games and again had an earned run average of 2.75.

Juan Marichal Pitcher When he was signed out of the Dominican Air Force at age 19, high-kicking Juan Marichal already had pinpoint control of his curve, slider, screwball, and blinding fastball, all thrown with a variety of motions. He led the 1958 Midwest League and the 1959 Eastern League in wins and ERA. When he debuted with the Giants on July 19, 1960, he shut out the Phillies on one hit - Clay Dalrymple's eighth-inning pinch single. Four days later, he four-hit the World Championship-bound Pirates.

Jerry Augustine Pitcher Named to the 1976 AL All-Rookie Team (9-12, 3.30) as a starter, most of Augustine's career was spent in the bullpen. He retired in the Brewer's top ten in eight major pitching categories.

Will McEnaney Pitcher McEnaney's one outstanding season came as the number-two man out of the 1975 World Champion Reds' bullpen. He was 5-2 with 15 saves and a 2.47 ERA, all career bests, and his 70 appearances were second in the NL. He capped it off by saving Game Seven of the World Series against the Red Sox, getting Carl Yastrzemski to fly to center for the final out in a 4-3 win. In 1976 he tied a World Series record with two saves, closing out Games Three and Four as Cincinnati swept the Yankees. He never started a game in the ML, after being a starter through most of his minor league career.

Oscar Zamora Pitcher Zamora was the Cubs' main righthanded reliever in 1974-75, saving ten each season despite fighting a back injury. He threw strikes, but, as one writer put it, "When the pitch is so fat, that the ball hits the bat, that's Zamora." Bruce Sutter's 1976 arrival made the Cuban reliever expendable. Zamora pitched a seven-inning perfect game for Denver (American Association) on September 2, 1972.

Charlie Hudson Pitcher Hudson made an immediate impact when the Phillies brought him up from Triple-A in June 1983. Inserted into the starting rotation, he posted an 8-8 record in 26 starts. He took a no-hitter into the ninth inning on July 20 against Houston before Craig Reynolds broke it up with a one-out bloop single. Hudson helped the Phillies reach the World Series by defeating the Dodgers in Game Three of the LCS. But he lost two games during the Series to the Orioles, never lasting through the fifth inning and tying a five-game Series record by allowing four home runs. He never reached .500 again with the Phillies and was traded to New York in 1987, where he won his first six decisions. A month-long slump led to a brief demotion to Columbus, but he recovered to finish 11-7 in 16 starts and 19 relief appearances. After a 6-6 1988 season, the Yankees traded him to Detroit.

Jerry Crider Pitcher Crider, a junkballer, was a mediocre spot starter and long relief man for the pitching-thin 1970 White Sox. In one performance against the Red Sox, Crider allowed a game-winning home run off the bat of Vicente Romo - Boston's relief pitcher. It was the only homer of Romo's eight-year career.

Dennis Higgins Closer Higgins had a herky-jerky motion and a live fastball, and was among the AL's best relievers during his two years with the Senators. In 1968 he was 4-4 with 13 saves, and he finished third in the 1969 Fireman of the Year balloting with a 10-9 record and 16 saves.