Today's blog post has a special 1970 card celebrating the Kansas City Royals making their franchise Major League debut in 1969 with their first game on April 8th of 1969 against the Minnesota Twins:
After
the Kansas City Athletics packed their bags and headed West to Oakland,
the city found themselves without a Big League team for the first time
since 1954, leading to a perfect location for MLB expansion in 1969
(along with San Diego, Montreal and Seattle).
Opening up
at home at Municipal Stadium, the Royals came out victorious with a
12-inning win, with Moe Drabowsky picking up the "W".
The
franchise's first starter was Wally Bunker, who pitched five innings and
allowed five runs, while their hitting star that day was eventual A.L.
Rookie of the Year Lou Piniella, who went 4-for-5 at the plate with a
double, run scored and RBI.
Of course as we all know, the
franchise would end up being one of the more successful "new" teams in
league history, finding somewhat immediate success later in the mid-70s
as a West powerhouse led by players such as George Brett, Hal McRae and
Amos Otis.
As for the initial 1969 season, the Royals would finish
fourth in the West with a record of 69-93-1, with Bunker leading the
team with his 12 wins, while Piniella led the way at the plate with a
.282 average, with 68 RBIs and 11 homers.
