1971 Kansas City Royals season

March 2026 November 2013 Kansas City Royals 1971 Kansas City Royals Insignia (1969–2001).svg American League West Municipal Stadium Kansas City, Missouri 85 76 y 2nd Ewing Kauffman Cedric Tallis Bob Lemon (first full season) KMBC-TV KMBZ(Buddy Blattner, Denny Matthews) The 1971 season was the Kansas City Royals' third in Major League Baseball. The Royals had the first winning season (85–76) in franchise history, good enough for second place in the American League West and 16 games behind the Oakland Athletics. Kansas City earning a winning record in its third season was the second fastest of any expansion club in Major League Baseball history up to that point, the 1962 Los Angeles Angels achieved a winning record in their second season. The record would stand until the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks won the National League West title in their second season. By comparison, none of the Royals' expansion brethren--the Milwaukee Brewers, Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres--enjoyed a winning season prior to 1978. Offseason February 2, 1971: Ellie Rodríguez was traded by the Royals to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carl Taylor.Ellie Rodríguez at Baseball Reference Prior to 1971 season: Gary Lance was signed as an amateur free agent by the Royals.Gary Lance at Baseball Reference Regular season Season standings Kansas City Royals Record vs. opponents KC Notable transactions May 11, 1971: Tom Matchick was traded by the Royals to the Milwaukee Brewers for Ted Savage.Tom Matchick at Baseball Reference June 8, 1971: George Brett was drafted by the Royals in the 2nd round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.George Brett at Baseball Reference Roster 1971 Kansas City Royals Roster Pitchers 36 Ted Abernathy 27 Wally Bunker 29 Bill Butler 22 Tom Burgmeier 27 Lance Clemons 43 Bruce Dal Canton 41 Dick Drago 23 Al Fitzmorris 32 Mike Hedlund 25 Mike McCormick 20 Monty Montgomery 35 Roger Nelson 14 Jim Rooker 25 Paul Splittorff 28 Ken Wright 40 Jim York Catchers  6 Buck Martinez 12 Jerry May 17 Dennis Paepke Infielders 15 Bobby Floyd  7 Chuck Harrison 18,39 Gail Hopkins 19 Bobby Knoop 33 Bob Oliver 2,37 Freddie Patek  1 Cookie Rojas 10 Paul Schaal 15 Rich Severson Outfielders 16 Joe Keough  8 Ed Kirkpatrick 26 Amos Otis  9 Lou Piniella  5 Ted Savage 44 Carl Taylor 49 Sandy Valdespino Manager 21 Bob Lemon Coaches  3 Galen Cisco (Pitching)  4 Harry Dunlop (Third base) 24 Charley Lau (Hitting) 11 George Strickland (First base) Player stats = Indicates team leader Batting 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 Jerry May Jerry May (baseball) 71 218 55 .252 1 24 1B Gail Hopkins 103 295 82 .278 9 47 2B Cookie Rojas 115 414 124 .300 6 59 SS Freddie Patek 147 591 158 .267 6 36 3B Paul Schaal 161 548 150 .274 11 63 LF Lou Piniella 126 448 125 .279 3 51 CF Amos Otis 147 555 167 .301 15 79 RF Joe Keough 110 351 87 .248 3 30 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 Bob Oliver 128 373 91 .244 8 52 Ed Kirkpatrick 120 365 80 .219 9 46 Bobby Knoop 72 161 33 .205 1 11 Dennis Paepke 60 152 31 .204 2 14 Chuck Harrison Chuck Harrison (baseball) 49 143 31 .217 2 21 Bobby Floyd baseball 31 66 10 .152 0 2 Sandy Valdespino 18 63 20 .317 2 15 Buck Martinez 22 46 7 .152 0 1 Carl Taylor Carl Taylor (baseball) 20 39 7 .179 0 3 Rich Severson 16 30 9 .300 0 1 Ted Savage 19 29 5 .172 0 1 Pitching 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 Dick Drago 35 241.1 17 11 2.98 109 Mike Hedlund 32 205.2 15 8 2.71 76 Paul Splittorff 22 144.1 8 9 2.68 80 Bruce Dal Canton 25 141.1 8 6 3.44 58 Wally Bunker 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 Al Fitzmorris 36 127.1 7 5 4.17 53 Ken Wright Ken Wright (baseball) 21 78.0 3 6 3.69 56 Jim Rooker 20 54.0 2 7 5.33 31 Bill Butler Bill Butler (pitcher) 14 44.1 1 2 3.45 32 Lance Clemons 10 24.0 1 0 4.12 20 Monty Montgomery Monty Montgomery (baseball) 3 21.1 3 0 2.11 12 Mike McCormick Mike McCormick (pitcher) 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 Ted Abernathy 63 4 6 23 2.56 55 Tom Burgmeier 67 9 7 17 1.73 44 Jim York pitcher 53 5 5 3 2.89 103 Roger Nelson Roger Nelson (baseball) 13 0 1 0 5.29 29 Awards and honors All-Star Game Cookie Rojas, Second Base, Reserve Amos Otis, Outfield, Reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Omaha Royals American Association Jack McKeon AA Elmira Royals Eastern League Harry Malmberg A San Jose Bees California League Buddy Peterson A Waterloo Royals Midwest League Steve Boros Rookie Kingsport Royals Appalachian League Owen Friend Rookie GCL Royals Gulf Coast League Buzzy Keller Rookie Billings Mustangs Pioneer League Gary Blaylock LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elmira, GCL Royals Notes 2 References 1971 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference 1971 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 Category:Kansas City Royals seasons Kansas City Royals season Kansas City