List of Kansas City Royals seasons explained

This is a list of seasons completed by the Kansas City Royals, a professional baseball franchise based in Kansas City, Missouri. They formerly played in the American League West until the 1994 realignment, where they now compete in the American League Central Division.

The team was formed by pharmaceutical executive Ewing Kauffman as a result of the move of the Athletics to Oakland,[1] and began play in 1969. They quickly became competitive, achieving a winning record in their third season with an 85–76 win–loss record. By 1976, the young team was becoming the dominant force in the American League West, winning 90 or more games in four consecutive seasons from 1975 to 1978.

Despite two lapses to below 80 wins in the 1980s, the Royals continued to be a strong force, reaching the 1980 World Series (before being defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies),[2] and winning in 1985 against cross-state rivals the St. Louis Cardinals. During that postseason, they became the first team to ever rally from a three games to one deficit twice to win the World Series. The 2016 Chicago Cubs accomplished the same feat, by defeating the Cleveland Indians in a seven-game series.

The team remained competitive throughout the mid-1990s before entering a long period of failure. From 1995 through 2013, the team had only two winning seasons in 2003 and 2013. For 28 consecutive seasons, between the 1985 World Series championship and 2014, the Royals did not qualify to play in the Major League Baseball postseason, one of the longest postseason droughts during baseball's expanded wild-card era. The worst years during this era were from 2002 to 2006, when the Royals had four 100-loss seasons out of five.

The team broke its postseason drought by securing the franchise's first ever wild card berth in 2014. They advanced to the 2014 World Series, where they were defeated by the San Francisco Giants in seven games.[3] The next season, the team would go 95–67, the best record in the American League, securing the franchise's first divisional title since 1985, and the first Central division title ever. The team would eventually advance to the 2015 World Series, where they defeated the New York Mets in five games.[4]

Table Key

American League Wild Card
American League Division Series
American League Championship Series
Most Valuable Player Award
Cy Young Award
Rookie of the Year Award
Manager of the Year Award
World Series Most Valuable Player Award

Regular season results

World Series champions †AL champions *Division champions ^Wild card berth (1995–present) ¤
SeasonLevelLeagueDivisionFinishWinsLossesWin%GBPostseasonAwards
1969MLBALWest4th6993.42628Lou Piniella (ROY)
1970MLBALWestT–4th6597.40133
1971MLBALWest2nd8576.52816
1972MLBALWest4th7678.49416½
1973MLBALWest2nd8874.5436
1974MLBALWest5th7785.47513
1975MLBALWest2nd9171.5627
1976MLBALWest ^1st9072.556–Lost ALCS (Yankees) 3–2
1977MLBALWest ^1st10260.630–Lost ALCS (Yankees) 3–2
1978MLBALWest ^1st9270.568–Lost ALCS (Yankees) 3–1
1979MLBALWest2nd8577.5253
1980MLBAL *West ^1st9765.599–Won ALCS (Yankees) 3–0
Lost World Series (Phillies) 4–2 *		George Brett (MVP)
1981MLBALWest5th2030.40012Lost ALDS (Athletics) 3–0
1st ^3023.566–
1982MLBALWest2nd9072.5563
1983MLBALWest2nd7983.48820
1984MLBALWest ^1st8478.519–Lost ALCS (Tigers) 3–0
1985MLB †AL *West ^1st9171.562–Won ALCS (Blue Jays) 4–3
Won World Series (Cardinals) 4–3 †		Bret Saberhagen (CYA, WS MVP)
1986MLBALWestT–3rd7686.46916
1987MLBALWest2nd8379.5122
1988MLBALWest3rd8477.52219½
1989MLBALWest2nd9270.5687Bret Saberhagen (CYA)
1990MLBALWest6th7586.46627½
1991MLBALWest6th8280.50613
1992MLBALWestT–5th 7290.44424
1993MLBALWest3rd8478.51910
1994MLBALCentral3rd6451.5574Playoffs canceledBob Hamelin (ROY)
David Cone (CYA)
1995MLBALCentral2nd7074.48630
1996MLBALCentral5th7586.46624
1997MLBALCentral5th6794.41619½
1998MLBALCentral3rd7289.44716½
1999MLBALCentral4th6497.39832½Carlos Beltrán (ROY)
2000MLBALCentral4th7785.47518
2001MLBALCentral5th6597.40126
2002MLBALCentral4th62100.38332½
2003MLBALCentral3rd8379.5127Ángel Berroa (ROY)
Tony Peña (MOY)
2004MLBALCentral5th58104.35834
2005MLBALCentral5th56106.34643
2006MLBALCentral5th62100.38334
2007MLBALCentral5th6993.42627
2008MLBALCentral4th7587.46313½
2009MLBALCentralT–4th6597.40121½Zack Greinke (CYA)
2010MLBALCentral5th6795.41427
2011MLBALCentral4th7191.43824
2012MLBALCentral3rd7290.44416
2013MLBALCentral3rd8676.5317
2014MLBAL *Central2nd ¤8973.5491Won ALWC (Athletics)
Won ALDS (Angels) 3–0
Won ALCS (Orioles) 4–0
Lost World Series (Giants) 4–3 *
2015MLB †AL *Central ^1st9567.586—Won ALDS (Astros) 3–2
Won ALCS (Blue Jays) 4–2
Won World Series (Mets) 4–1 †		Salvador Pérez (WS MVP)
2016MLBALCentral3rd8181.50013½
2017MLBALCentral3rd8082.49422
2018MLBALCentral5th58104.35833
2019MLBALCentral4th59103.36442
2020MLBALCentral4th2634.43310
2021MLBALCentral4th7488.45719
2022MLBALCentral5th6597.40127
2023MLBALCentral5th56106.34631
TotalsWinsLossesWin%
4,1224,547All-time regular season record (1969–2023)
4034All-time postseason record
4,1624,581All-time regular and postseason record

Record by decade

The following table describes the Royals' MLB win–loss record by decade.

Decade Wins Losses Pct
1960s 69 93 .426
1970s 851 760 .528
1980s 826 734 .529
1990s 725 825 .468
2000s 672 948 .415
2010s 758 862 .468
2020s 221 325 .405
All-time 41224547
These statistics are from Baseball-Reference.com's Kansas City Royals History & Encyclopedia.[5]

Postseason appearances

YearWild Card Game/SeriesLDSLCSWorld Series
1976New York Yankees
1977New York Yankees
1978New York Yankees
1980New York YankeesPhiladelphia Phillies
1981Oakland Athletics
1984Detroit Tigers
1985Toronto Blue JaysSt. Louis Cardinals
2014Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim		Baltimore OriolesSan Francisco Giants
2015Houston AstrosToronto Blue JaysNew York Mets

Postseason record by year

The Royals have made the postseason nine times, with the first one being in the 1976 season and the most recent being in 2015.

YearFinishRoundOpponentResult
AL West ChampionsALCSNew York YankeesLost23
AL West ChampionsALCSNew York YankeesLost23
AL West ChampionsALCSNew York YankeesLost13
American League ChampionsALCSNew York YankeesWon30
World SeriesPhiladelphia PhilliesLost24
AL West Champions (second half)ALDSOakland AthleticsLost03
AL West Champions ALCSDetroit TigersLost03
World Series ChampionsALCSToronto Blue JaysWon43
World SeriesSt. Louis CardinalsWon43
American League ChampionsWild Card GameOakland AthleticsWon10
ALDSAnaheim AngelsWon30
ALCSBaltimore OriolesWon40
World SeriesSan Francisco GiantsLost34
World Series ChampionsALDSHouston AstrosWon32
ALCSToronto Blue JaysWon42
World SeriesNew York MetsWon41
9Totals9–74034

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kansas City Royals (1969-Present). Gershon. Aaron. sportsecyclopedia.com. October 27, 2020.
  2. Web site: 1980 Kansas City Royals Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com. October 28, 2020.
  3. Web site: 2014 Kansas City Royals Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com. October 28, 2020.
  4. Web site: 2015 Kansas City Royals Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com. October 28, 2020.
  5. Web site: Kansas City Royals History & Encyclopedia. Baseball-Reference.com. October 18, 2016.

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