1983 Kansas City Royals season

March 2026 November 2013 Kansas City Royals 1983 Kansas City Royals Insignia (1969–2001).svg American League West Royals Stadium Kansas City, Missouri 79 83 y 2nd Ewing Kauffman John Schuerholz Dick Howser WDAF-TV(Denny Matthews, Denny Trease, Fred White) WIBW (AM)(Denny Matthews, Fred White) The 1983 Kansas City Royals season was their 15th in Major League Baseball. The Royals finished second in the American League West at 79–83, 20 games behind the Chicago White Sox. Dan Quisenberry's league-leading 45 saves also set a single-season franchise record. Offseason December 8, 1982: Tim Ireland was released by the Royals.Tim Ireland at Baseball Reference February 5, 1983: Cecil Fielder was traded by the Royals to the Toronto Blue Jays for Leon Roberts.Cecil Fielder at Baseball Reference Regular season April 20, 1983: George Brett had 7 RBI in one game versus the Detroit Tigers. Season standings Kansas City Royals Record vs. opponents KC Notable transactions April 1, 1983: Bombo Rivera was released by the Royals.Bombo Rivera at Baseball Reference July 6, 1983: Gaylord Perry was signed as a free agent by the Royals.Gaylord Perry at Baseball Reference July 22, 1983: Mélido Pérez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Royals.Mélido Pérez at Baseball Reference August 2, 1983: Eric Rasmussen was purchased by the Royals from the St. Louis Cardinals.Eric Rasmussen at Baseball Reference August 5, 1983: Vida Blue was released by the Royals.Vida Blue at Baseball Reference Pine Tar Game Pine Tar Incident thumb|300px|right|The baseball bat used by Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett in the Pine Tar Incident on July 24, 1983. The Pine Tar Game refers to a controversial incident that took place in an American League baseball game played between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees on July 24, 1983. Playing at New York's Yankee Stadium, the Royals were trailing 4–3 with two outs in the top of the ninth and U L Washington on first base. In the on deck circle, George Brett was heard remarking to a teammate, "Watch this baby fly" as he shook his bat. He then came to the plate and connected off Yankee reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage for a two-run home run and a 5–4 lead. As Brett crossed the plate, New York manager Billy Martin approached home plate umpire Tim McClelland and requested that Brett's bat be examined. Earlier in the season, Martin and other members (most notably, third baseman Graig Nettles, who as a member of the Minnesota Twins, recalled a similar incident involving Thurman Munson) of the Yankees had noticed the amount of pine tar used by Brett, but Martin had chosen not to say anything until the home run. With Brett watching from the dugout, McClelland and the rest of the umpiring crew inspected the bat. Measuring the bat against the width of home plate (which is 17 inches), they determined that the amount of pine tar on the bat's handle exceeded that allowed by Rule 1.10(b) of the Major League Baseball rule book, which read that "a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than 18 in mm from the tip of the handle." Brett was called out, which nullified the home run and ended the game, giving the Yankees a 4–3 victory; a Royals protest immediately after the game was successful, reversing McClelland's out call, restoring the home run, and forcing the teams to play the final four outs at a future date. Roster 1983 Kansas City Royals roster Roster Pitchers 31 Mike Armstrong 40 Bud Black 14,33 Vida Blue 39 Bill Castro 21 Keith Creel 32 Larry Gura 48 Don Hood 38 Mark Huismann 45 Danny Jackson 22 Dennis Leonard 36 Gaylord Perry 29 Dan Quisenberry 28 Eric Rasmussen 18 Steve Renko 34 Paul Splittorff 36 Bob Tufts 19 Frank Wills Catchers  7 Don Slaught 12 John Wathan Infielders 24 Willie Aikens  1 Buddy Biancalana  5 George Brett  2 Onix Concepción 35 Ron Johnson  3 Cliff Pastornicky  4 Greg Pryor  9 Joe Simpson 30 U L Washington 20 Frank White Outfielders 33 Butch Davis 23 César Gerónimo 25 Jerry Martin 49 Darryl Motley 26 Amos Otis 16 Leon Roberts 15 Pat Sheridan  6 Willie Wilson Other batters 11 Hal McRae Manager 10 Dick Howser Coaches 43 Cloyd Boyer  8 Rocky Colavito 42 José Martínez 41 Joe Nossek 44 Jimmie Schaffer Player stats 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 John Wathan 128 437 107 .245 2 32 1B Willie Aikens 125 410 124 .302 23 72 2B Frank White 146 549 143 .260 11 77 SS UL Washington 144 547 129 .236 5 41 3B George Brett 123 464 144 .310 25 93 LF Butch Davis 33 122 42 .344 2 18 CF Willie Wilson 137 576 159 .276 2 33 RF Amos Otis 98 356 93 .261 4 41 DH Hal McRae 157 589 183 .311 12 82 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 Pat Sheridan 109 333 90 .270 7 36 Don Slaught 83 276 86 .312 0 28 Onix Concepción 80 219 53 .242 0 20 Leon Roberts 84 213 55 .258 8 24 Joe Simpson 89 119 20 .168 0 8 Greg Pryor 68 115 25 .217 1 14 César Gerónimo 38 87 18 .207 0 4 Darryl Motley 19 68 16 .235 3 11 Jerry Martin 13 44 14 .318 2 13 Cliff Pastornicky 10 32 4 .125 2 5 Ron Johnson 9 27 7 .259 0 1 Buddy Biancalana 6 15 3 .200 0 0 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 Larry Gura 34 200.1 11 18 4.90 57 Bud Black 24 161.1 10 7 3.79 58 Paul Splittorff 27 156.0 13 8 3.63 61 Gaylord Perry 14 84.1 4 4 4.27 40 Dennis Leonard 10 63.0 6 3 3.71 31 Eric Rasmussen 11 52.2 3 6 4.78 18 Frank Wills 6 34.2 2 1 4.15 23 Danny Jackson 4 19.0 1 1 5.21 9 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 Steve Renko 25 121.1 6 11 4.30 54 Keith Creel 25 89.1 2 5 6.35 31 Vida Blue 19 85.1 0 5 6.01 53 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 Dan Quisenberry 69 5 3 45 1.94 48 Mike Armstrong 58 10 7 3 3.86 52 Don Hood 27 2 3 0 2.27 17 Bill Castro 18 2 0 0 6.64 17 Mark Huismann 13 2 1 0 5.58 20 Bob Tufts 6 0 0 0 8.10 3 Joe Simpson 2 0 0 0 3.00 1 Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Omaha Royals American Association Joe Sparks AA Jacksonville Suns Southern League Gene Lamont A Fort Myers Royals Florida State League Rick Mathews A Charleston Royals South Atlantic League Roy Tanner Rookie GCL Royals Gulf Coast League Joe Jones Rookie Butte Copper Kings Pioneer League Tommy Jones Notes 2 References Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 External links 1983 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference 1983 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac Category:Kansas City Royals seasons Category:1983 Major League Baseball season Kansas City