The Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

season was a season in American baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

. It involved the Royals finishing 4th in the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 West with a record of 50 wins and 53 losses. The season was suspended for 50 days due to the infamous 1981 players strike and the league chose as its playoff teams, the division winners from the first and second halves of the season, respectively.

Offseason

• January 6, 1981: Derek Botelho was signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals.

Regular season

• August 10, 1981: Cal Ripken, Jr.
  Cal Ripken, Jr.
  Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
  
   made his major league debut for the Baltimore Orioles
  Baltimore Orioles
  The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
  
   in a game against the Royals.

Notable transactions

• April 3, 1981: Bombo Rivera
  Bombo Rivera
  Jesus Manuel "Bombo" Rivera Torres is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. At the age of seven, his youth baseball manager started calling him “Bombo”, which meant “fly ball,” and the nickname stuck. Aside from baseball, Rivera also excelled in track and field. He ran the 100 meters and...
  
   was signed as a free agent by the Royals.
• June 8, 1981: 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
  1981 Major League Baseball Draft
  -First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.- Other notable players :*John Elway was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft...
  
  
  • Dave Leeper
    Dave Leeper
    David Dale Leeper is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played parts of two seasons in the majors for the Kansas City Royals, managing just three hits in 40 at bats.-Sources:...
    
     was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (23rd pick). Player signed June 10, 1981.
  • David Cone
    David Cone
    David Brian Cone is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1986-2003 for six different teams. Cone pitched the sixteenth perfect game in baseball history. He also set the MLB record for most years between 20-win seasons. He was a member of five...
    
     was drafted by the Royals in the 3rd round. Player signed June 10, 1981.

Roster

1981 Kansas City Royals roster
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders Other batters		Manager Coaches

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
SS	U L Washington U L Washington U L Washington is a former Major League Baseball player from 1977 to 1987 for the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He also was the manager of Pittsburgh's minor team the Welland Pirates in 1989...	98	339	77	.227	2	29

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
César Gerónimo César Gerónimo César Francisco Gerónimo Zorrilla , known as César Gerónimo, is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball, who was a member of the famed Big Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds during the 1970s. He batted and threw left-handed....	59	118	29	.246	2	13
Jamie Quirk Jamie Quirk James Patrick Quirk is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current bench coach for the Chicago Cubs. Quirk attended Whittier College.-Playing career:Quirk was also a Parade Magazine All-America quarterback at St...	46	100	25	.250	0	10
Tim Ireland Tim Ireland Timothy Neal Christopher Ireland is a former professional baseball player. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals, appearing in 11 games in 1981 and 1982. He has also managed 12 seasons at various levels of the minor leagues.Ireland was originally...	4	0	0	.---	0	0
Onix Concepción Onix Concepcion Onix Cardona Concepción Cardona in Dorado, Puerto Rico, is a retired Major League Baseball shortstop. He is the cousin of former MLB player José Lind....	2	0	0	.---	0	0

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Mike Jones	12	75.2	6	3	3.21	29

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Bill Paschall Bill Paschall William Herbert Paschall is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Paschall pitched in 11 games over three seasons for the Kansas City Royals.-Sources:...	2	0	0	0	4.50	1

ALDS

Oakland wins series, 3-0.

Game	Score	Date
1	Oakland 4, Kansas City 0	October 6
2	Oakland 2, Kansas City 1	October 7
3	Oakland 4, Kansas City 1	October 9

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: GCL Royals Gold

External links

• 1981 Kansas City Royals team page at Baseball Reference
• 1981 Kansas City Royals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com