The 1989 Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. 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.
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.
Regular season
May 15, 1989: Royals pitcher Floyd Bannister threw exactly three pitches and recorded three outs. 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.
The last time the Royals won 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 of the 1989 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 1989.
Roster
Player stats
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
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
262⅓
23
6
2.16
193
Mark Gubicza
36
255
15
11
3.04
173
Charlie Leibrandt
33
161
5
11
5.14
73
Floyd Bannister
14
75⅓
4
1
4.66
35
Stan Clarke
2
7
0
2
15.43
2
Other pitchers
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
