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85 Kansas City (#1) vs 89 Kansas City (#4)

In a bit of delayed justice (don't tell Cardinal fans that), the Brett/McRae/White Royals finally got a ring in 1985. It was not, however, one of their strongest teams. They won 91 games but had a pythagorean record of 86-76. The Royals came back from 3-1 deficits to Toronto and St. Louis to win it all. The 85 Royals' offense, frankly, was not good. A 252/313/401 line is about as bad as it gets for a division winner, let alone a WS winner. George Brett (.335, 30, 112), of course, was great as usual. Hal McRae was still productive (.259, 14, 70) in limited duty at the age of 39, and Steve Balboni (.243, 88 rbi) hit 36 dingers. Willie Wilson (.278) hit 21(!) triples, but was otherwise very average at the plate. KC had very good pitching, and needed every ounce of it considering the lackluster offense. Charlie Liebrandt (17-9, 2.69) and 21-year old Bret Saberhagen (20-6, 2.87) were a deadly one-two punch in a rotation where all five starters won at least 10 games. Dan Quisenberry (2.37, 31 sv) was outstanding as always.


The 1989 Kansas City Royals (92-70) made a late run at Oakland before bowing out in second place, relying on timely hitting and the right arm of Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen (23-6, 2.16, 12 CG). Mark Gubicza (15-11, 3.04) was very good in the 2nd spot, but the rest of the rotation was messy. Jeff Montgomery (1.37, 18 sv) established himself as a closer for the first time in what would be a long, successful career in that role. George Brett (.282, 12, 80) and enigmatic Danny Tartabull(.268, 18, 88) chipped in some home runs for the punchless Royals, who depnded on superfreak Bo Jackson (.256, 32, 105) for power. Bob Boone (.274, 1, 43) won his 7th and final gold glove at the age of 41.

Prediction:
A lot of low-scoring games...one big hit could make the difference in each game, as neither team hits consistently or has the power to come from behind. That said, I'll put my chips on the 85 Royals because of their deeper starting staff. 85 Royals in 6 games.


82 Kansas City (#2) vs 84 Kansas City (#3)

The 82 Royals were 90-72, but finished 3 games behind California. They led the American League in hitting (.285), hits, doubles, and triples. George Brett (.301, 21, 82) had a quiet season by his standards but 36-year-old Hal McRae (.308, 27, 133) was a monster. The lowest batting average in the regular lineup belonged to free-swinging Jerry Martin (15, 65 rbi with a respectable .266 clip. Dick Howser's pitchers were not as respectable, finishing in the bottom half of the AL in runs allowed and home runs given up. They were dead last in strikeouts. Larry Gura (4.03) rode great run support to 18 wins atop a middling rotation. A solid bullpen was again highlighted by Dan Quisenberry (2.57, 35 sv, 136.2 IP).

Just a year away from unexpected glory, the 84 Royals were far from impressive as they won an awful division by 3 games with an 84-78 record. KC gave up 13 more runs than they scored, however, so it could have been worse. Not surprisingly, Detroit made short work of Kansas City in the ALCS. The Royals' offense was offensive, ranking 11th out of 14 AL teams in runs scored, 12th in home runs and last in walks. George Brett (.284, 13, 69) struggled with injuries and hemorrhoids, totalling just 377 at-bats. Steve Balboni (.244) had 28 home runs to lead the team; Frank White (.271) was second with 17. A yeoman effort from Kansas City pitching kept the team afloat, although their superb control was tempered by their inability to strike out opposing hitters. Bud Black (17-12, 3.12), anchored the staff and Dan Quisenberry (2.64, 44 sv, 129 IP) continued to do the job of two men in the bullpen.

Prediction:
A couple of flawed teams here, but I don't really like anything about the 84 team at all. The 82 Royals can hit, at least, and they should do so in spades in this series. 82 Kansas City in 5 games.