The 1989 Kansas City Royals season was the 21st season for the franchise, their 17th at Kauffman Stadium and their 3rd full season under the management of John Wathan. It involved the Royals finishing second in the American League West with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses. The Royals' record was tied for the third best in baseball, but in the pre-wild card era, the team did not qualify for the post-season.
Offseason November 30, 1988: Bob Boone was signed as a free agent by the Royals.Bob Boone at Baseball Reference December 6, 1988: Bill Buckner was signed as a free agent by the Royals.Bill Buckner at Baseball Reference December 6, 1988: Mauro Gozzo was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays from the Kansas City Royals in the 1988 minor league draft. March 22, 1989: Daryl Smith was signed as a free agent by the Royals.Daryl Smith at Baseball Reference
Regular season May 15, 1989: Royals pitcher Floyd Bannister threw exactly three pitches and recorded three outs.3 Pitch Inning This was accomplished in the second inning. June 5, 1989: Kansas City outfielder Bo Jackson made a spectacular defensive play in a game against the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome. With the game tied at 3–3 in the bottom of the 10th inning and Harold Reynolds on first, Scott Bradley lashed a double to deep left field. Reynolds, running with the pitch, thought he would easily score the winning run on the play, and was shocked when teammate Darnell Coles instructed him to slide. Jackson fielded Bradley's double and launched a flat-footed, 300-foot throw on the fly to Royals catcher Bob Boone, who tagged Reynolds out at the plate. During the season, Bret Saberhagen would be the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in one season for the Royals in the 20th century.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.99, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, The last time the Royals will win at least 90 games until the 2015 season.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Transactions June 5, 1989: Brent Mayne was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 1st round (13th pick) of the 1989 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 1989.
Roster
1989 Kansas City Royals Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches (bullpen)
(bench)
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 Bob Boone 131 405 111 .274 1 43 1B George Brett 124 457 129 .282 12 80 2B Frank White 135 418 107 .256 2 36 3B Kevin Seitzer 160 597 168 .281 4 48 SS Kurt Stillwell 130 463 121 .261 7 54 LF Bo Jackson 135 515 132 .256 32 105 CF Willie Wilson 112 383 97 .253 3 43 RF Danny Tartabull 133 441 118 .268 18 62 DH Pat Tabler 123 390 101 .259 2 42
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 Jim Eisenreich 134 475 139 .293 9 59 Brad Wellman 103 178 41 .230 2 12 Bill Buckner 79 176 38 .216 1 16 Mike Macfarlane 69 157 35 .223 2 19 Matt Winters 42 107 25 .234 2 9 Gary Thurman 72 87 17 .195 0 5 Luis de los Santos 28 87 22 .253 0 6 Bill Pecota 65 83 17 .205 3 5 Rey Palacios 55 47 8 .170 1 8 Jeff Schulz 7 9 2 .222 0 1
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Bret Saberhagen 36 262.1 23 6 2.16 193 Mark Gubicza 36 255.0 15 11 3.04 173 Charlie Leibrandt 33 161.0 5 11 5.14 73 Floyd Bannister 14 75.1 4 1 4.66 35 Stan Clarke 2 7.0 0 2 15.43 2
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 Tom Gordon 49 163.0 17 9 3.64 153 Luis Aquino 34 141.1 6 8 3.50 68 Larry McWilliams 8 32.2 2 2 4.13 24 Kevin Appier 6 21.2 1 4 9.14 10 José DeJesús 3 8.0 0 0 4.50 2
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Jeff Montgomery 63 7 3 18 1.37 94 Steve Farr 51 2 5 18 4.12 56 Terry Leach 30 5 6 0 4.15 34 Steve Crawford 25 3 1 0 2.83 33 Rick Luecken 19 2 1 1 3.42 16 Jerry Don Gleaton 15 0 0 0 5.65 9 Bob Buchanan 2 0 0 0 16.20 3
Awards and honors Bo Jackson, All-Star Game, American League, Starting Lineup Bo Jackson, MLB All-Star Game MVP Bret Saberhagen, Cy Young Award
Farm system
Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997
References
External links 1989 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference 1989 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac