On April 10, 1973 the Royals embarked upon a new era by opening their brand new home Royals Stadium and defeating the Texas Rangers. After 4 seasons in the old run down KC Municipal Stadium the Royals had a home of their own (finally). Owner Ewing Kaufman was a visionary. While everyone else was building cookie cutter multi-sport stadiums he built the only baseball specific ballpark from 1963-1990. Kaufman wanted something like Dodger Stadium and nothing like Shea Stadium. His ballpark had great sight lines and a beautiful waterfall and fountain in centerfield. Cloaked with Plastic grass and base cutouts Royal Stadium was the most modern park in the game for a decade.
A new ballpark wasn't the only debut in KC. This expansion team, in just it's 4th season made their official debut into a pennant race. In fact the pesky Royals just wouldn't go away and threatened to spoil what many thought was going to be the defending champion Oakland A's coronation. The A's had to take plenty of notice, because as August started the Royals were sitting on top of the AL West, which they continued to do until August 16th when the team went on a 4 game losing streak and the A's got hot. After sweeping the Yankees to climb within 2 games of the A's the Royals faced Baltimore and embarked on another 4 game losing streak. On September 1st the Royals were 5 1/2 back of the A's. KC dropped the first game of their much anticipated showdown with Oakland then rallied back to win 10-9 in walk off fashion on September 1st in front of a near capacity crowd of 38,468 crazy fans at Royals Stadium. With 2 out in the bottom of the 9th Carl Taylor singled to right off of Darold Knowles to score Kurt Bevacqua to cut the A's lead to 4 1/2. The following night they eked out a 6-5 victory to cut Oakland's lead to 3 1/2. With games against the Twins and Angels the Royals figured to gain more ground on the reeling A's. Unfortunately for the Royals the 2 losses set the A's on fire and took all the wind out of the Royals who dropped 4 straight which erased their modest gains. Still they were being exposed to a pennant race and learning what it takes to win. The Royals rallied back to within 5 1/2 with 6 to go, but could not get any closer as the A's steamrolled through September for their 3rd straight AL West crown.
Jack McKeon did a fantastic job with this team who's average age was 26. His pitching staff was ranked 11th in the league, but it was good enough thanks to the team scoring the second most runs in the league. Paul Splittorff won 20 games against 11 defeats and he was the ace of the staff. 23 year old Steve Busby logged 238 innings and showed flashes of brilliance. Doug Bird saved 20 games and Gene Garber saved 11 for a a bullpen that had an up and down season. John Mayberry and Amos Otis, who was turning into a star, both slammed 16 homers. Otis hit an even .300. The keystone combo of Cookie Rojas and Freddie Patek were as smooth as silk turning DP's which are a pitcher's best friend. Paul Schaal hit .288 with 8 homers at the hot corner, but everyone in the organization knew his days were numbered at that position with some kid named Brett tearing up the American Association. McKeon used his bench judiciously. 16 players had over 100AB's. The team found a new hero every night. 1973 was just the beginning for something special in KC.
To complete this set I created 24 brand new cards. Some players had cards, that needed an update. I couldn't live with the horrible airbrush job that Topps gave Wayne Simpson. Patek had one of those horizontal action shot flops, and Hal McRae was still pictured with Cincy.
Raziano was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 47th round of the 1965 draft and was traded to Kansas City for Jerry Cram on February 1, 1973. Raziano was traded to the Angels for Vada Pinson and cash in February 1974 and made 13 appearances for them, also pitching for the Angels' AAA team at Salt Lake City in 1974 and 1975. After not pitching in 1976, his professional career ended with 20 relief appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals in AA New Orleans, 1977. Raziano appeared in just 2 games for the Royals in '73 and had a 5.40 ERA after allowing 3 earned runs in 5 innings worth of action. He was 5-2, 3.66 in 38 relief appearances in AAA-Omaha that year.
Floyd was a career utility player, who never played in more than 61 games in a single season. He must have been heartbroken to have been traded from the Orioles in 1970 to the Royals, thus missing his chance to get a WS ring. 1973 was his best season in the majors. In 51 games he went 26-78 for a .333 average. It was one of 2 seasons where he spent the full year with the big club and didn't shuttle back and forth with AAA. 1974 was his final shot in the biggs. He hit .111 in jut 10 games and spent 49 games in AAA-Omaha (.272 avg). After playing in just 42 games and hitting .234 with Omaha in 1975 his playing days were over sans a 4 inning stint as a pitcher for a AA team in Lynn, MA (Eastern League) where he pitched 4 innings and gave up 1 run.
Most of us probably thing of Buck as the no frills, but easy to listen to ESPN broadcaster. 40+ years ago he was a backup catcher for the Royals (1969-71, 1973-77), Brewers (1978-80) and Blue Jays (1981-1986). Buck spent a lot of years as a solid #2 or the righty half of a catching platoon. Managers loved his insight and grit as evidenced by the fact that he stuck around a long time after he was serviceable. Buck spent all of 1972 in AAA-Omaha hitting .174. It's no shock why he didn't get a call-up in September. It is a shock that he wasn't released. 1973 saw him rebound by hitting .272 and getting a call up to the show. Once he established himself as a contributor he stayed in the biggs from 1974-1986.
Rookie Doug Bird was thrown straight into the fire by manager Jack McKeon. Bird (4-4, 2.99) saved 20 games as the team's closer. It would turn out to be his best statistical year in his career, which spanned 11 seasons. Bird ruled the Royals pen for the next 2 seasons until he was promoted to the rotation in 1976 and did quite well (12-10, 3.37). 1977 saw him return to the pen where he won 11 and lost 4, but his ERA ballooned to 3.88, which was a harbinger of things to come. 1978 saw him lose his closer spot. His ERA went up almost a run and a half, which spelt the end of his time in KC. Stops in Philly, the Bronx, the Northside of Chicago and then Boston were to follow. His greatest success was his first 5 seasons in KC.
Original Royal Fran Healy arrived back in KC on April 2 from SF, just in time for the start of the season. KC needed a starting catcher and they knew what he brought to the table. What they got out of FranDog was his best statistical season (.276-6-34). He lost his starting job a few years later when Porter arrived, so the Royals traded him to the Yankees in May of 1976 for Larry Gura. Gura helped steady the Royals rotation for the next decade, but Fran won a pennant in the Bronx and a World Championship the following season. After his career ended he spent almost a quarter of a century as a broadcaster for both NY baseball teams.
Ortenzio's major league career consisted of just 9 games played for the Royals in 1973. In 25 AB's he got 7 hits for a .280 average. He hit his only homer on 9/29 off of Rangers reliever Don Durham. His best season was in 1977 where he won the American Association MVP with a .311 average, 40 homers and 126 RBI's for Montreal's AAA affiliate Denver. Sadly the follow up season was terrible and he wound up spending 2 seasons in Japan before hanging up his spikes.
The 22 year old whit hit just .223 in 139 AB's in 1973. Modest beginnings for a player who would turn out to be a 5 time All-Star and 8 time Gold Glover winner. White would go on to play 18 seasons in the major leagues, all in KC. 1973 would be his first introduction the the majors. After being promoted on June 12th he never returned to the farm. White hit .545 and was the ALCS MVP in 1980 as KC won it's first pennant in it's 12 season.
When we interviewed Freddie on the Mark & Marc show back in August (2017) he confided that he hated leaving the Pirates in 1971, but he was sure glad to finally get an opportunity to play everyday. For 9 seasons in KC Freddie was the anchor of the infield. 1973 was a mediocre season for him with the bat, as he hit only .234, but Freddie's contributions to a team could not be measured purely with stats. He stole 36 bases that season, something he did in 8 of his 9 seasons with the Royals. Patek was known throughout the league as the "Biggest Little Man". The 3x All-Star is beloved by his teammates and fans.
Garber got his first extended look in the majors in 1973 after arriving from Pittsburgh in an October 25th trade with Pittsburgh for Jim Rooker. In 48 games, mostly out of the pen, he finished an even 9-9, 4.24 with 11 saves. Garber was on the move again. After just 17 games with the Royals in '74 he headed to the city of Brotherly Love for the next 4 1/2 seasons. Then it was 10 years in Atlanta where he became one of the top closers in the game. At the age of 39 he returned to KC for a season and a half to finish up a career that included 218 saves in 19 seasons.
August 2, 1973 marked the debut of one George Brett. At the time no one could have known that this skinny kid from Glen Dale, WV would turn out to be the greatest player in franchise history and a first ballot HOF'er. Why would anyone have thought that after George hit just .215 in his 13 game audition. After being recalled from Omaha in 1974 he hit .282 and finished 3rd in the AL-ROY voting. Brett was here to stay. The 1980 AL-MVP was a 13x All-Star and is the only man in major league history to win the batting title in 3 consecutive decades.
After floundering in Cincy with high expectations and not much playing time McCrae scratched off the winning lottery ticket in November of 1972 when the Reds shipped him off to Kansas City. In his first year in KC (1973) McRae started off slowly hitting just .234, but once he got his feet wet (hopefully not in the CF waterfall) and his assignment to the DH role he became a doubles hitting machine. McRae was like a freight train when he broke up DP's and was definitely the team leader. He hit over .300 seven times in a Royals uniform.
This was "Trader Jack's" first job as a big league manager. Winning 88 games with this group was impressive. When the team slipped to 77-85 the following year he was put on warning. When they started just 50-46 in 1975 he was let go and Whitey was hired. McKeon made stops in Oakland, San Diego and Cincy, before winning a World Championship with the Marlins in 2003 at the age of 72.
"Wolfie" hit .266 in 45 games for the Royals during the '73 season after hitting just .240 in 15 games the season before. Wolfie could flat out rake when he came off the bench to pinch hit or if the team made a righty/lefty switch. He forged a nice 15 year career as a DH/PH and 4th outfielder. He too was a fantastic guest on the Mark & Marc Show.
Hoerner was a bullpen stalwart for those late 60's Cardinals teams that won back to back pennants. When he was traded to Philly he literally went from first to worst, but he still maintained his consistency and professionalism while those around him crumbled. After a pair of sub par season in Atlanta the Braves sold his contract to KC on July 18, 1973. Hoerner didn't fare well 2-0, 5.12, 4sv in 22 games. He was invited back in '74 and showed modest improvement, but at the age of 37 people began to speculate that he was done. Philly thought he had something left and gave him a shot in 1975. The following season in Texas was a big disappointment. Most folks figured that was the end of the road, but the Reds needed bullpen help and convinced him to hold off on retiring. Neither his heart, nor his skill were in it and afer 8 games 0-0, 12.71 he decided to retire at the age of 40. Horner's career numbers: 39-34, 2.99, 98sv were more than respectable for a lefty reliever, who wasn't just a lefty specialist.
Keith Marshall was never really a top not prospect for the Royals. Outfielders who hit .252 (career) in the minors seldom are. His best season in pro ball was in AAA-Omaha where he hit .271 in 1972. His 4 homers were also his career high. While hitting just .209 in Omaha in '73 he was called up to the biggs for his one and only time and hit .22 in 8 games. After 2 more AAA seasons in Omaha, where he hit in the .240's he was released and picked up by the Reds who assigned him to their AAA affiliate in Indianapolis where he posted a .262 average, but not much else. His career, at the age of 24, was over after the 1976 season.
Bevacqua was baseball's ultimate utility man for 15 years starting with his time in Cleveland (1971-1972) through his 2nd stint in San Diego (1982-1985). His flexibility in the field and ability to come of the bench in a pinch gave him value to any team he played for. He hit .257 in 99 games for the Royals in '73 and played 6 positions.
This was my broadcast buddy's first taste of life in the bigs. The 20 year old hard throwing country boy from Gideon was called up from Omaha where he was a dominant 16-6, 2.51 as a starter. In his 8 games with the big club he as 1-3, 5.68. After 2 more years of seasoning he arrived back in KC as a 23 year old closer in 1976 in time for them to win their first division title. At the conclusion of the '77 season both he and Buck Martinez were dealt to the Cardinals for Al Hrabosky (the Mad Hungarian). After 5 seasons in STL arm trouble prematurely ended his career. He's now an accomplished author and inventor (The Nutty Buddy) and you can listen to him every week on the Comfortably Zoned Radio Network along with me as we talk to baseball players/writers/umpires past and present.
On the major league level Jackson split time with the Royals and the Indians. He pitched in 9 games for KC with no decisions and a 6.85 ERA. His minor league numbers in OKC-AAA (CLE) were actually worse. He was demoted to AA-Thetford Mines (PIT) for the '74 seasons, then released.
Angelini did surprisingly well in his 21 game audition (2-1, 2.25) for the Royals in 1972. He would not fare as well (0-0, 4.91, 1sv) in '73. With 1973's failures behind him he got a fresh start in AA-Jacksonville in 1974 and somewhat rebounded (9-7, 2.49). That earned him a promotion back to AAA-Omaha where the numbers were again not good. A two year stint in the Braves Organization did not show any marked improvement. His final 4 years were in Montreal's AAA-Denver affiliate, where despite the thin air he wasn't victimized for many homers. 1981 was Angelini's best year in a long time (10-7, 3.18, 4sv), but at the age of 33 and with no major league suitor out there he decided to hang it up.
Reichardt could not duplicate his early season success in Chicago where he hit .275. In 41 games with KC he hit just .220. After one AB the following season he was gone. Still he is an important figure in MLB history and the disintegration of the reserve clause. Back when he signed with the Angels he got a 200k+ bonus that turned out to be more $ than the best players in the game. To solve this problem the owners instituted the draft, which then locked players into a team and a salary. That draft made it easier to challenge the reserve clause because it removed ownership's defense that player had a choice as to where they played.
Busby had a tremendous arm, but injuries capped his talent to a brief, but brilliant career. He would rank much higher on this list but for the fact he basically pitched just three full seasons in the big leagues. In his 10th career start in 1973 he tossed a no-hitter against Detroit. Other than the no-hitter he was hitting more pot holes than a car on a NYC street. Then late in the summer he turned it around an won 8 of 10 decisions. With a 16-15, 4.23 record he placed 3rd in the ROY voting and was chosen the best rookie pitcher in baseball. The following season he threw his second career no-no. Midway through the '75 season his arm troubles began to start. In 1976 he had to have rotator cuff surgery. 1977 wound up a wash out thanks to a knee injury. The following year he needed knee surgery. By 1980 he was out of baseball. After baseball he found his stride in the broadcast booth.
Minogri was a late bloomer. He didn't arrive in the majors until he was 26. He had 3 good seasons with the bottom feeder Indians before the Royals acquired him on June 8, 1973. For the next 7 seasons where he was the lefty go to guy in their pen.
Every time I hear his name I hear a voice inside my head saying, "and don't forget we'll leave the light on". At that point I tell myself, "it Poquette not Bodett, you dummy". Well that's kind of how my mind works, or doesn't work. So I digress from my analysis of Poquette's career, which lasted 7 seasons. 1973 was his first cup of coffee and the determination was that he needed to sip more from the minor league cup (2 more years) before he could return. In 21 games he hit just .214. When he returned in 1976 as a mature 24 year old he hit .302 and followed it up with a .292 average in '78. When he failed to hit .200 in 1979 the Royals sent him to the Red Sox for an over the hill George Scott. Boston got the better end of the deal with Poquette hitting .331 in 63 games. Injuries kept him out of action for all of 1980 and most of '81. A return to KC in '82 yielded a .145 average and an unconditional release.
Simpson could never regain the magic that he had in his rookie season (1970) with Cincy. Thanks to an injury that predated Dr. Jobe's Tommy John Surgery Simpson was never able to regain his velocity and rookie year success. KC gave him a shot at the rotation and in 10 starts he was 3-4, 5.73. He bounced around between the majors and AAA over the next 5 seasons, but could never put together and sustained success. He followed up a 12-7, 2.17 seasons in 1975 with Toledo with a 13-6, 4.24 season in SLC, which got him a shot with the Angels that showed everyone he was never going to be right again. After a failed '78 season in Albuquerque it was all over for him.
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