View source for 1969 Kansas City Royals season

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox baseball team season
| name = Kansas City Royals
| season = 1969
| misc =
| league = American League
| division = [[American League West|West]]
| ballpark = [[Municipal Stadium (Kansas City)|Municipal Stadium]]
| city = [[Kansas City, Missouri]]
| owners = [[Ewing Kauffman]]
| general_managers = [[Cedric Tallis]]
| managers = [[Joe Gordon]]
| television = [[KMBC-TV]]
| radio = [[KMBZ (AM)|KMBZ]]<br>([[Buddy Blattner]], [[Denny Matthews]])
|}}
The '''1969 [[Kansas City Royals]] season''' was the Royals' inaugural season. The team finished fourth in the newly established [[American League West]] with a record of 69 wins, 93 losses, and 1 tie.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1969-05-31 |title=New York Yankees vs Kansas City Royals Box Score: May 31, 1969 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA196905310.shtml |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Baseball-Reference |language=en}}</ref>

== Offseason ==

=== A franchise is born ===
The club's inception is connected to the [[Oakland Athletics|Athletics]] franchise. On October 18, 1967, A.L. owners at last gave Charles O. Finley permission to move the Athletics to Oakland for the [[1968 in baseball|1968 season]]. According to some reports, [[Joe Cronin]] promised Finley that he could move the team after the 1967 season as an incentive to sign the new lease with [[Municipal Stadium (Kansas City)|Municipal Stadium]]. The move came in spite of approval by voters in [[Jackson County, Missouri|Jackson County]] of a bond issue for a brand new baseball stadium (the eventual [[Kauffman Stadium]]) to be completed in 1973. When U.S. Senator [[Stuart Symington]] threatened to have baseball's antitrust exemption revoked, the owners responded with a hasty round of expansion. Kansas City was awarded an American League expansion team, the [[Kansas City Royals|Royals]]. They were initially slated to begin play in 1971. However, Symington was not willing to have Kansas City wait three years for another team, and renewed his threat to have baseball's antitrust exemption revoked unless the teams began play in 1969. The owners complied, but it forced the [[1969 Seattle Pilots season|Seattle Pilots]] to enter the league earlier than expected without a suitable stadium, leading to financial difficulty, and a rapid relocation to [[Milwaukee Brewers|Milwaukee]] in April [[1970 Milwaukee Brewers season|1970]].

The Kansas City franchise was formally awarded to [[Ewing Kauffman]] on January 11, 1968.<ref name="1967exp">Holtzman, Jerome, "A.L. Vote to Expand Marks 1967 History," ''The Sporting News Official 1968 Baseball Guide and Record Book.'' St. Louis, Missouri: [[The Sporting News]], 1968, pp. 175–181</ref> The owner selected [[Los Angeles Angels]] vice president [[Cedric Tallis]] as the Royals' first [[general manager (baseball)|general manager]], and Tallis began to assemble a front office staff.

=== Expansion draft ===
{{main|1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft}}
The [[1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft]] for the Royals and the [[Milwaukee Brewers|Seattle Pilots]] was held on October 15.

{|class="wikitable"
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="3%" | Player
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="5%" | Former Team
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="2%" | Pick
|-
|[[Roger Nelson (baseball)|Roger Nelson]]<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/n/nelsoro02.shtml Roger Nelson page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
|Baltimore Orioles
|1st
|-
|[[Joe Foy]]
|Boston Red Sox
|4th
|-
|[[Jim Rooker]]
|New York Yankees 
|6th
|-
|[[Joe Keough]] 
|Oakland A's
|8th
|-
|[[Steve Jones (baseball)|Steve Jones]]
|Washington Senators
|10th
|-
|[[Jon Warden]]
|Detroit Tigers
|12th
|-
|[[Ellie Rodríguez]]
|New York Yankees 
|13th
|-
|[[Dave Morehead]]
|Boston Red Sox
|15th
|-
|[[Mike Fiore (baseball, born 1944)|Mike Fiore]]
|Baltimore Orioles 
|17th
|-
|[[Bob Oliver]]
|Minnesota Twins
|19th
|-
|[[Bill Butler (pitcher)|Bill Butler]]
|Detroit Tigers
|22nd
|-
|[[Steve Whitaker (baseball)|Steve Whitaker]]
|New York Yankees
|23rd
|-
|[[Wally Bunker]]<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bunkewa01.shtml Wally Bunker page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
|Baltimore Orioles
|25th
|-
|[[Paul Schaal]]<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/schaapa01.shtml Paul Schaal page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
|California Angels
|27th
|-
|[[Dan Haynes (baseball)|Dan Haynes]]
|Chicago White Sox
|29th
|-
|[[Dick Drago]]<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dragodi01.shtml Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
|Detroit Tigers
|31st
|-
|[[Pat Kelly (outfielder)|Pat Kelly]]
|Minnesota Twins
|34th
|-
|[[Billy Harris (baseball)|Billy Harris]]
|Cleveland Indians
|36th
|-
|[[Don O'Riley]]
|Oakland A's
|38th
|-
|[[Al Fitzmorris]]
|Chicago White Sox
|40th
|-
|[[Moe Drabowsky]]
|Baltimore Orioles
|42nd
|-
|[[Jackie Hernández]]
|Minnesota Twins
|43rd
|-
|[[Mike Hedlund]]
|Cleveland Indians
|45th
|-
|[[Tom Burgmeier]]
|California Angels
|47th
|-
|[[Hoyt Wilhelm]]<ref name=wilhelm>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/w/wilheho01.shtml Hoyt Wilhelm page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
|Chicago White Sox 
|49th
|-
|[[Jerry Adair]]
|Boston Red Sox 
|51st
|-
|[[Jerry Cram]]
|Minnesota Twins
|54th
|-
|[[Fran Healy (baseball)|Fran Healy]]
|Cleveland Indians
|56th
|-
|[[Scott Northey]] 
|Chicago White Sox
|58th
|-
|[[Ike Brookens]] 
|Washington Senators 
|60th
|}

=== Other offseason transactions ===
* June 7, 1968: [[Dane Iorg]] was drafted by the Royals in the 16th round of the [[1968 Major League Baseball Draft]], but did not sign.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/i/iorgda01.shtml Dane Iorg page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
* August 14, 1968: [[Galen Cisco]] was purchased by the Royals from the [[Boston Red Sox]].<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/ciscoga01.shtml Galen Cisco page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
* December 12, 1968: [[Hoyt Wilhelm]] was traded by the Royals to the [[California Angels]] for [[Ed Kirkpatrick]] and [[Dennis Paepke]].<ref name=wilhelm/>
* December 15, 1968: [[Dennis Ribant]] was purchased by the Royals from the [[Detroit Tigers]].<ref name=ribant>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ribande01.shtml Dennis Ribant page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
* March 29, 1969: Dennis Ribant was purchased from the Royals by the [[St. Louis Cardinals]].<ref name=ribant/>

=== 1968 MLB June amateur draft and minor league affiliates ===
The Royals and [[Seattle Pilots]], along with the two [[National League (baseball)|National League]] expansion teams set to debut in 1969, the [[Montreal Expos]] and [[San Diego Padres]], were allowed to participate in the [[1968 Major League Baseball Draft|June 1968 MLB first-year player draft]], although the new teams were barred from the lottery's first three rounds. Despite this impediment, the Royals drafted fifty players in the 1968 June draft, including Iorg and other future major leaguers [[Lance Clemons]] (seventh round), [[Monty Montgomery (baseball)|Monty Montgomery]] (ninth) and [[Paul Splittorff]] (25th).<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?team_ID=KCR&year_ID=1968&draft_type=junreg&query_type=franch_year&from_type_jc=0&from_type_hs=0&from_type_4y=0&from_type_unk=0 Information] at [[Baseball Reference]]</ref> Splittorff would win 166 games for the MLB Royals, including seasons of 20 ({{mlby|1973}}) and 19 ({{mlby|1978}}) victories, in a 15-year big-league career, then become a longtime analyst on the team's television crew. 
The Royals affiliated with three minor league clubs during 1968 to develop drafted players; the rosters were filled out by professional and amateur free agents that had been signed and players loaned from other organizations.

====1968 farm system====
{{MLB Farm System|
|level16=[[Single-A (baseball)|A]]  |team16=[[High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms]]|league16=[[Carolina League]]|manager16=[[Jack McKeon]]
|level17=[[Single-A (baseball)|A]]  |team17=[[Dubuque Royals]]|league17=[[Midwest League]]|manager17=[[Max Lanier]] and [[Paul Pettit]]
|level18=[[Class A-Short Season|A-Short Season]]|team18=[[Corning Royals]]|league18=[[New York–Penn League]]|manager18=[[Bobo Osborne]]
}}
<small>LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: High Point-Thomasville</small>

== Regular season ==
* May 4, 1969: [[Bob Oliver]] became the first Royal to collect six hits in a nine-inning game.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://baseballbiography.com/bob-oliver-1943 |title=The Ballplayers - Bob Oliver &#124; baseballbiography.com |access-date=2008-07-09 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

=== Season standings ===
{{1969 AL West standings}}

=== Record vs. opponents ===
{{1969 AL Record vs. opponents|team=KC}}

=== Notable transactions ===
* April 1, 1969: [[Steve Whitaker (baseball)|Steve Whitaker]] and [[John Gelnar]] were traded by the Royals to the [[Milwaukee Brewers|Seattle Pilots]] for [[Lou Piniella]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Royals, Pilots Swap Players|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cfsNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6088,829836&dq |publisher=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |date=April 1, 1969 |access-date=August 28, 2009}}</ref>
* June 5, 1969: [[1969 Major League Baseball Draft]]
**[[Keith Marshall (baseball)|Keith Marshall]] was drafted by the Royals in the 5th round.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshke01.shtml Keith Marshall page at Baseball Reference]</ref>
**[[Frank Ortenzio]] was drafted by the Royals in the 47th round.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/o/ortenfr01.shtml Frank Ortenzio page at Baseball Reference]</ref>

=== The first game ===

==== Starting lineup ====
{|
|-
|&nbsp; 9 || [[Lou Piniella]] || CF
|-
|14 || [[Jerry Adair]] || 2B
|-
|&nbsp; 8 || [[Ed Kirkpatrick]] &nbsp; &nbsp; || LF
|-
|&nbsp; 1 || [[Joe Foy]] || 3B
|-
|&nbsp; 7 || [[Chuck Harrison (baseball)|Chuck Harrison]] || 1B
|-
|33 || [[Bob Oliver]] || RF
|-
|11 || [[Ellie Rodríguez]] || C
|-
|24 || [[Jackie Hernández]] &nbsp;&nbsp; || SS
|-
|27 || [[Wally Bunker]] &nbsp; &nbsp; || P
|-
|}

==== Scorecard ====
'''April 8, Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri'''
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|10
!width=6%|11
!width=6%|12
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Minnesota
|0||1||0
|0||0||2
|0||0||0
|0||0||0
|'''3'''||'''12'''||'''1'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Kansas City'''
|1||0||0
|0||0||2
|0||0||0
|0||0||1
|'''4'''||'''14'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=16|<small>'''W''': Drabowsky (1–0)&nbsp;&nbsp;'''L''': Grzenda (0–1)&nbsp;&nbsp;</small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=16|<small>'''HRs''': Nettles (1)</small>
|}

=== Roster ===
{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! colspan="10" style="background-color: #27408B; color: #74B4FA; text-align: center;" | 1969 Kansas City Royals
|-
| colspan="10" style="background-color: #74B4FA; color: #27408B; text-align: center;" | '''Roster'''
|-
| valign="top" | '''Pitchers'''
{{MLBplayer|27|[[Wally Bunker]]}}
{{MLBplayer|34|[[Tom Burgmeier]]}}
{{MLBplayer|29|[[Bill Butler (pitcher)|Bill Butler]]}}
{{MLBplayer|26|[[Galen Cisco]]}}
{{MLBplayer|38|[[Jerry Cram]]}}
{{MLBplayer|25|[[Moe Drabowsky]]}}
{{MLBplayer|41|[[Dick Drago]]}}
{{MLBplayer|42|[[Al Fitzmorris]]}}
{{MLBplayer|32|[[Mike Hedlund]]}}
{{MLBplayer|37|[[Steve Jones (baseball)|Steve Jones]]}}
{{MLBplayer|17|[[Dave Morehead]]}}
{{MLBplayer|35|[[Roger Nelson (baseball)|Roger Nelson]]}}
{{MLBplayer|23|[[Don O'Riley]]}}
{{MLBplayer|13,22|[[Jim Rooker]]}}
{{MLBplayer|40|[[Dave Wickersham]]}}
{{MLBplayer|40|[[Chris Zachary]]}}
| width="25px" | 
| valign="top" | '''Catchers'''
{{MLBplayer|20|[[Jim Campanis]]}}
{{MLBplayer|16|[[Fran Healy (baseball)|Fran Healy]]}}
{{MLBplayer|21|[[Buck Martinez]]}}
{{MLBplayer|28|[[Dennis Paepke]]}}
{{MLBplayer|11|[[Ellie Rodríguez]]}}
'''Infielders'''
{{MLBplayer|14|[[Jerry Adair]]}}
{{MLBplayer|39|[[Luis Alcaraz]]}}
{{MLBplayer|19|[[Mike Fiore (baseball, born 1944)|Mike Fiore]]}}
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;1|[[Joe Foy]]}}
{{MLBplayer|15|[[Billy Harris (baseball)|Billy Harris]]}}
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;7|[[Chuck Harrison (baseball)|Chuck Harrison]]}}
{{MLBplayer|24|[[Jackie Hernández]]}}
{{MLBplayer|12|[[Juan Ríos (baseball)|Juan Ríos]]}}
{{MLBplayer|10|[[Paul Schaal]]}}
| width="25px" | 
| valign="top" | '''Outfielders'''
{{MLBplayer|18|[[Pat Kelly (outfielder)|Pat Kelly]]}}
{{MLBplayer|16|[[Joe Keough]]}}
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;8|[[Ed Kirkpatrick]]}}
{{MLBplayer|44|[[Scott Northey]]}}
{{MLBplayer|33|[[Bob Oliver]]}}
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;9|[[Lou Piniella]]}}
{{MLBplayer|46|[[Fred Rico]]}}
{{MLBplayer|30|[[George Spriggs (baseball)|George Spriggs]]}}
{{MLBplayer|31|[[Hawk Taylor]]}}
| width="25px" | 
| valign="top" | '''Manager'''
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;6|[[Joe Gordon]]}}
'''Coaches'''
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;4|[[Harry Dunlop]]}} <small>(3rd base)</small>
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;5|[[Owen Friend]]}} <small>(assistant)</small>
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;3|[[Mel Harder]]}} <small>(pitching)</small>
{{MLBplayer|36|[[Charlie Metro]]}} <small>(1st base)</small>
{{MLBplayer|&nbsp;2|[[Jo-Jo White]]}} <small>(hitting)</small>
|-
|}

== 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''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="5%" | Pos
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="16%" | Player
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | G
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | AB
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | H
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | Avg.
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | HR
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | RBI
|- align="center"
| C || {{sortname|Ellie|Rodríguez}} || 95 || 267 || 63 || .236 || 2 || 20
|- align="center"
| 1B || {{sortname|Mike|Fiore|Mike Fiore (baseball, born 1944)}} || 107 || 339 || 93 || .274 || 12 || 35
|- align="center"
| 2B || {{sortname|Jerry|Adair}} || 126 || 432 || 108 || .250 || 5 || 48
|- align="center"
| 3B || {{sortname|Joe|Foy}} || 145 || 519 || 136 || .262 || 11 || 71
|- align="center"
| SS || {{sortname|Jackie|Hernández}} || 145 || 504 || 112 || .222 || 4 || 40
|- align="center"
| LF || {{sortname|Lou|Piniella}} || 135 || 493 || 139 || .282 || 11 || 68
|- align="center"
| CF || {{sortname|Bob|Oliver}} || 118 || 394 || 100 || .254 || 13 || 43
|- align="center"
| RF || {{sortname|Pat|Kelly|Pat Kelly (outfielder)}} || 112 || 417 || 110 || .264 || 8 || 32
|}

==== Other batters ====
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="16%" | Player
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | G
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | AB
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | H
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | Avg.
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | HR
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | RBI
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Ed|Kirkpatrick}} || 120 || 315 || 81 || .257 || 14 || 49
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Chuck|Harrison|Chuck Harrison (baseball)}} || 75 || 213 || 47 || .221 || 3 || 18
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Buck|Martinez}} || 72 || 205 || 47 || .229 || 4 || 23
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Paul|Schaal}} || 61 || 205 || 54 || .263 || 1 || 13
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Juan|Ríos|Juan Ríos (baseball)}} || 87 || 196 || 44 || .224 || 1 || 5
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Joe|Keough}} || 70 || 166 || 31 || .187 || 0 || 7
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Hawk|Taylor}} || 64 || 89 || 24 || .270 || 3 || 21
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Jim|Campanis}} || 30 || 83 || 13 || .157 || 0 || 5
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Luis|Alcaraz}} || 22 || 79 || 20 || .253 || 1 || 7
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Scott|Northey}} || 20 || 61 || 16 || .262 || 1 || 7
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|George|Spriggs|George Spriggs (baseball)}} || 23 || 29 || 4 || .138 || 0 || 0
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Dennis|Paepke}} || 12 || 27 || 3 || .111 || 0 || 0
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Fred|Rico}} || 12 || 26 || 6 || .231 || 0 || 2
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Fran|Healy|Fran Healy (baseball)}} || 6 || 10 || 4 || .400 || 0 || 0
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Billy|Harris|Billy Harris (baseball)}} || 5 || 7 || 2 || .286 || 0 || 0
|}

=== Pitching ===

==== Starting pitchers ====
''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="16%" | Player
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | G
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | IP
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | W
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | L
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | ERA
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | SO
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Wally|Bunker}} || 35 || 222.2 || 12 || 11 || 3.23 || 130
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Bill|Butler|Bill Butler (pitcher)}} || 34 || 193.2 || 9 || 10 || 3.90 || 156
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Roger|Nelson|Roger Nelson (baseball)}} || 29 || 193.1 || 7 || 13 || 3.31 || 82
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Jim|Rooker}} || 28 || 158.1 || 4 || 16 || 3.75 || 108
|}

==== Other pitchers ====
''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="16%" | Player
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | G
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | IP
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | W
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | L
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | ERA
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | SO
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Dick|Drago}} || 41 || 200.2 || 11 || 13 || 3.77 || 108
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Mike|Hedlund}} || 34 || 125.0 || 3 || 6 || 3.24 || 74
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Steve|Jones|Steve Jones (baseball)}} || 20 || 44.2 || 2 || 3 || 4.23 || 31
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Chris|Zachary}} || 8 || 18.1 || 0 || 1 || 7.85 || 6
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Jerry|Cram}} || 5 || 16.2 || 0 || 1 || 3.24 || 10
|}

==== Relief pitchers ====
''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="16%" | Player
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | G
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | W
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | L
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | SV
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | ERA
! style="background:#27408B;color:#74B4FA;" width="9%" | SO
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Moe|Drabowsky}} || 52 || 11 || 9 || 11 || 2.94 || 76
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Dave|Wickersham}} || 34 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 3.96 || 27
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Tom|Burgmeier}} || 31 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 4.17 || 23
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Dave|Morehead}} || 21 || 2 || 3 || 0 || 5.73 || 32
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Don|O'Riley}} || 18 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 6.94 || 10
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Galen|Cisco}} || 15 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 3.63 || 18
|- align="center"
| {{sortname|Al|Fitzmorris}} || 7 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 4.22 || 3
|}

== Farm system ==
{{See also|Minor League Baseball}}

{{MLB Farm System|level14=[[Triple-A (baseball)|AAA]]|team14=[[Omaha Royals]]|league14=[[American Association (20th century)|American Association]]|manager14=[[Jack McKeon]]
|level15=[[Double-A (baseball)|AA]] |team15=[[Elmira Pioneers]]|league15=[[Eastern League (1938–2020)|Eastern League]]|manager15=[[Harry Bright]]
|level16=[[Single-A (baseball)|A]]  |team16=[[High Point-Thomasville Royals]]|league16=[[Carolina League]]|manager16=[[Harry Malmberg]]
|level17=[[Single-A (baseball)|A]]  |team17=[[Waterloo Hawks (baseball)|Waterloo Hawks]]|league17=[[Midwest League]]|manager17=[[Rollie Hemsley]]
|level18=[[Class A-Short Season|A-Short Season]]|team18=[[Corning Royals]]|league18=[[New York–Penn League]]|manager18=[[Buddy Peterson]]
|level19=[[Class A-Short Season|A-Short Season]]|team19=[[Winnipeg Goldeyes]]|league19=[[Northern League (baseball, 1902–71)|Northern League]]|manager19=[[Spider Jorgensen]]
|level20=[[Rookie League|Rookie]]|team20=[[Kingsport Royals]]|league20=[[Appalachian League]]|manager20=[https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=norwoo001ade Red Norwood]
}}
<small>LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Omaha</small>

<small>Elmira affiliation shared with [[San Diego Padres]]</small>

== Awards and honors ==
'''[[1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game]]'''
* [[Ellie Rodríguez]] (reserve, did not play)
'''1969 [[AL Rookie of the Year]] '''
* [[Lou Piniella]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== References ==
* <ref>{{Cite web |date=1969-05-31 |title=New York Yankees vs Kansas City Royals Box Score: May 31, 1969 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KCA/KCA196905310.shtml |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Baseball-Reference |language=en}}</ref>
*<ref>{{Cite web |title=1969 Kansas City Royals Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/1969.shtml |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>
*<ref>{{Cite web |title=1969 Kansas City Royals Roster {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1969&t=KCA |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}</ref>
*<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reichler |first=Joseph L. |title=The Baseball Encyclopedia: The Complete and Official Record of Major League Baseball |date=1985-01-01 |publisher=Macmillan Publishers |isbn=9780026019309 |edition=Sixth |language=en}}</ref>

{{1969 MLB season by team}}
{{Kansas City Royals}}

[[Category:Kansas City Royals seasons]]
[[Category:1969 Major League Baseball season|Kansas City Royals season]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball inaugural teams seasons]]
[[Category:1969 in sports in Missouri|Kansas City]]