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1972-73 Kansas City Royals 1972-73 Kansas City Royals

A rapidly improved team the Kansas City Royals excited fans during 1973

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In looking over one of our manager's old notebooks we note some interesting facts and figures for the Kansas City Royals.

The '73 Royals matured rapidly, improving from a 76-78 record in '72, to 88-74 in one season. The '72-'73 teams went from finishing in 4th place in the AL West, 16 1/2 games behind, to a 2nd place finish, only 6 games out of 1st place.

Stats by Baseball Historian

Ted Abernathy, Relief Pitcher, RH, 6-4, 210 lbs., Born: Stanley, North Carolina 3/6/1933 .... crafty, submarine pitcher ... veteran enters 14th major league season .... was NL Fireman of the Year in '65 and '67 ... carries a fine 3.46 career ERA ... has pitched in 681 lifetime games ... "Abernathy has been the ace-in-the-hole for the Royals the last 3-years, '70-'72. He's got great tenacity and a "hate-to-lose" attitude.

Paul Splittorff, Pitcher LH, 6-3, 205 lbs., Born: Evansville, Indiana 10/8/1946 ... was the first player originally signed by Royals to make it on their roster (10/24/69) .... posted a 8-9 record, 2.69 ERA in his first full season (1971) ... went 12-12, 3.12 ERA in '72, fanning 140 batters in 216 innings and issued only 67 walks ... throws a dead fastball (one that sinks as it crosses home plate) ... future looks bright ... should be a 20-game winner in the near future.

Richie Scheinblum, Outfielder, Switch-hitter, T RH, Born: New York City 11/5/1942 ... in '71 with Denver, led the American Assn. in batting, .388 and RBIs with 88 ... has previous major league experience, about 250 at bats .... acquired by Royals and produced a .300 BA in 450 at bats, along with 67 RBIs ... rates 3+-Stars ... has good speed and power.

James Douglas Bird, Pitcher RH, 6-3, 175 lbs, Born: Corona, CA .... pitched for San Jose, Mid-West League in '71, went 15-9 and led league with 2.43 ERA ... scouts rate 4-Stars fastball, pin-point control ... looks like future is now ... In '73, (rookie year) was main man of bullpen, 54 games, 82 Ks in 102 innings, only 30 walks, 3.00 ERA ... only 24-years-old ... very overpowering fastball ... wears neat, long sideburns.

Bobby Floyd, 2B-SS RH, Born: Hawthorne, CA ... outstanding defensive utility infielder ... has been in the majors since '68, the last four years with the Royals ... hot and cold hitter ... In '73 hit .321 in 78 at bats, but carries only a .219 lifetime batting mark ... rates tops in fielding, has excellent speed on base-paths ... his hobby is hypnotism .... and he's good at it, too.

Amos Otis, Outfielder RH, 5-11, 185 lbs., Born: Mobile, Alabama 4/26/1947 ... with the Royals since '70. ... led the AL in stolen bases in '71 with 52 ... rates as one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball ... strong, accurate throwing arm ... batted .284, .301, .293 and .300 the last 4-years. Led the AL with 36 Ds in '70 ... in '73, hit 26 home runs, 93 RBIs

Alan Fitzmorris, Pitcher RH, Switch-hitter, Born: Buffalo, N.Y. 3/21/1946 ... joined Royals in '69 ... was 2-5, 3.74 in 38 games in 1972 ... posted a nice 8-3, 2.83 record in 15 games in '73 ... knows the strike zone ... tab for big future ... seems to be establishing himself in the Royals rotation.

Fran Healy, Catcher, 6-5, 210 lbs., Born: Holyoke, Mass. 9/6/1946 ... in '73 batted .274 in 277 at bats, lined 15 Ds, hit 6 Hrs, 34 RBIs ... rates 3+-Stars for defense ... big and strong- has punch in his bat ... tab for future

Edgar Kirkpatrick, Outfielder Bats LH, T RH, Born: Spokane, Wash. 10/8/1944 ... veteran outfielder ... played in his 12th major league season in '73 ... lined 24 Ds, batted .263, 45 RBIs in 429 at bats ... has good speed ... excellent defensive range ... intelligent base-runner ... in 1970, hit career best 18 home runs.

Bruce Dal Canton, Pitcher RH, Born: California, PA, 6/15/1942 ... 3rd year with Royals (1973) .... slipped to 4-3, 5.10 ERA in 32 appearances. In '72, fanned 75 in 132 innings, 6-6 record, 3.41 ERA .... has been plagued by arm problems the last two years ..... should bounce back nicely.

Octavio 'Cookie' Rojas, 2nd Baseman, Born: Havana, Cuba 3/6/1939 ... veteran team player ... traded to Royals in '70. In '73 hit .276, with 26 Ds in 551 at bats ... made the '71 and '72 AL All-Stars squads .... debuted in the majors in '62 .... in '71 hit an even .300, with 22 Ds - aggressive fielder and base-runner .... provides steady team leadership - well-liked.

Kurt Bevacqua, Outfielder-DH RH, 6-1, 185 lbs., Born: Miami Beach, Florida 1/23/1947 .... joined team in start of 1973, batted .257, 8 Ds, 3 Ts, 2 Hrs in 276 at bats..... scouts rank - 4-Star fielder .... has loads of power ... in '69 at Asheville, smashed 26 Ds, 16 Hrs and batted .316 .... tab for future.

John Mayberry, 1st baseman LH, 6-4, 225 lbs., Born: Detroit, Michigan 2/18/1950 ... at 23-years-of-age set Royals' franchise record with 100 RBIs in '72 .... continued to drove in runs in '73 .... was 3rd in the AL with 100 again. In '73, the big slugger hit .278, collected 48 extra base hits including 26 home runs ... scouts rank - power, but slow afoot, only 2-Stars for fielding prowess. While attending high school, "Big John" blasted a 480-ft homer in tournament game.

Lou Piniella, Outfielder RH, 6-2, 195 lbs., Born: Tampa 8/28/1943 .... debuted with Royals in '69 and was voted Rookie of the Year, hitting .282 .... in '72, batted .312, sliced 33 Ds, 4 Ts, 11 Hrs, 72 RBIs .... rates good fielder, intelligent hitter, shows team leadership ... and is one of the best chess players around .... in over 2,500 at bats, Lou carries a nice .285 career batting mark, averages around 25 Ds per/year, and 75 RBIs per/year ... did collect 88 RBIs in '70 when he hit .301.

Steve Mingori, Pitcher LH, Born: Kansas City, MO .... Attended Kansas State Univ., started in the big leagues in 1970 ... traded to Royals before '73 season began ... highly impressive left-handed pitcher .... went 3-3, 3.05 ERA in 19 games ... relief work has been curtailed the last two years due to arm injuries ... has an outstanding 2.99 ERA in 140 career games .... hopefully can regain previous form.

Freddie Patek, Shortstop RH, 5-4, 162 lbs, Born: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 10/9/1944 .... great hustler ... rates as one of the best shortstop in the AL ... hit .236 in 501 at bats in '73 ... led AL in double plays (113) in '72 .... in '71, led the league with 11 triples .... works for a furniture and appliance company during the off-season months.

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