1975 Kansas City Royals season

1975 Kansas City Royals
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1969)
West Division (since 1969)
Location
Royals Stadium (since 1973)
Kansas City, Missouri (since 1969)
Other information
Owner(s)	Ewing Kauffman
General manager(s)	Joe Burke
Manager(s)	Jack McKeon (50-46, .521) Whitey Herzog (41-25, .621)
Local television	KBMA (Buddy Blattner, Denny Matthews)
Local radio	WIBW (AM) (Buddy Blattner, Denny Matthews, Fred White)
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The 1975 Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. In the Royals' seventh season, they finished second in the American League West with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses. Manager Jack McKeon was fired on July 24, replaced by Whitey Herzog.^[1][2]

Offseason

• January 24, 1975: Harmon Killebrew was signed as a free agent by the Royals.^[3]

Regular season

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Oakland Athletics	98	64	0.605	—	54–27	44–37
Kansas City Royals	91	71	0.562	7	51–30	40–41
Texas Rangers	79	83	0.488	19	39–41	40–42
Minnesota Twins	76	83	0.478	20½	39–43	37–40
Chicago White Sox	75	86	0.466	22½	42–39	33–47
California Angels	72	89	0.447	25½	35–46	37–43

Record vs. opponents

1975 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	TEX
Baltimore	—	9–9	6–6	7–4	10–8	12–4	7–5	14–4	6–6	8–10	4–8	7–5
Boston	9–9	—	6–6	8–4	7–11	13–5	7–5	10–8	10–2	11–5	6–6	8–4
California	6–6	6–6	—	9–9	3–9	6–5	4–14	7–5	8–10	7–5	7–11	9–9
Chicago	4–7	4–8	9–9	—	7–5	5–7	9–9	8–4	9–9	6–6	9–9	5–13
Cleveland	8–10	11–7	9–3	5–7	—	12–6	6–6	9–9	3–6	9–9	2–10	5–7
Detroit	4–12	5–13	5–6	7–5	6–12	—	6–6	7–11	4–8	6–12	6–6	1–11
Kansas City	5–7	5–7	14–4	9–9	6–6	6–6	—	7–5	11–7	7–5	11–7	14–4
Milwaukee	4–14	8–10	5–7	4–8	9–9	11–7	5–7	—	2–10	9–9	5–7	6–6
Minnesota	6–6	2–10	10–8	9–9	6–3	8–4	7–11	10–2	—	4–8	6–12	8–10
New York	10–8	5–11	5–7	6–6	9–9	12–6	5–7	9–9	8–4	—	6–6	8–4
Oakland	8–4	6–6	11–7	9–9	10–2	6–6	11–7	7–5	12–6	6–6	—	12–6
Texas	5–7	4–8	9–9	13–5	7–5	11–1	4–14	6–6	10–8	4–8	6–12	—

Notable transactions

• April 10, 1975: Doug Corbett was released by the Royals.^[4]
• June 3, 1975: 1975 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Clint Hurdle was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (9th pick).^[5]
  • Ron Hassey was drafted by the Royals in the 22nd round, but did not sign.^[6]
• July 24, 1975: Manager Jack McKeon was fired, replaced by California Angels' coach Whitey Herzog.^[1][2]
• September 15, 1975: Mark Williams was traded by the Royals to the Oakland Athletics for Rick Ingalls (minors).^[7]

Roster

1975 Kansas City Royals
Roster
Pitchers 29 Doug Bird 19 Nelson Briles 40 Steve Busby 43 Bruce Dal Canton 39 Al Fitzmorris 22 Dennis Leonard 17 Mark Littell 10 Bob McClure 41 Lindy McDaniel 23 Steve Mingori 33 Marty Pattin 43 Ray Sadecki 34 Paul Splittorff 35 George Throop		Catchers 16 Fran Healy 21 Buck Martinez 15 Bob Stinson Infielders  5 George Brett  3 Harmon Killebrew  7 John Mayberry  2 Freddie Patek  1 Cookie Rojas 25,44 Rodney Scott  8 Tony Solaita 20 Frank White		Outfielders 18 Al Cowens 12 Gary Martz 11 Hal McRae 26 Amos Otis 28 Vada Pinson  9 Jamie Quirk  6 Jim Wohlford		Manager 24 Whitey Herzog 31 Jack McKeon Coaches 14 Steve Boros 36 Galen Cisco  4 Harry Dunlop 27 Charley Lau

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
1B	Mayberry, JohnJohn Mayberry	156	554	161	.291	34	106
3B	Brett, GeorgeGeorge Brett	159	634	195	.308	11	89
DH	Killebrew, HarmonHarmon Killebrew	106	312	62	.199	14	44

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
White, FrankFrank White	111	304	76	.250	7	36
Healy, FranFran Healy	56	188	48	.255	2	18
Stinson, BobBob Stinson	63	147	39	.265	1	9
Scott, RodneyRodney Scott	48	15	1	.067	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Busby, SteveSteve Busby	34	260.1	18	12	3.08	160
Fitzmorris, AlAl Fitzmorris	35	242	16	12	3.57	78

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Briles, NelsonNelson Briles	24	112	6	6	4.26	73
Dal Canton, BruceBruce Dal Canton	4	8.2	0	2	15.58	5

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Bird, DougDoug Bird	51	9	6	11	3.25	81
Throop, GeorgeGeorge Throop	7	0	0	2	4.00	8

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Omaha Royals	American Association	Billy Gardner
AA	Jacksonville Suns	Southern League	Bill Scripture
A	Waterloo Royals	Midwest League	John Sullivan
Rookie	GCL Royals	Gulf Coast League	Gary Blaylock

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterloo

Notes

1. "Royals fire McKeon, hire Herzog". Spartanburg Herald (South Carolina). Associated Press. July 25, 1975. p. D1.
2. "Royals fire McKeon, hire Angles' Herzog". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. July 25, 1975. p. 1, part 2.
3. Harmon Killebrew page at Baseball Reference
4. Doug Corbett page at Baseball Reference
5. Clint Hurdle page at Baseball Reference
6. Ron Hassey page at Baseball Reference
7. Mark Williams page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.

External links

• 1975 Kansas City Royals team page at Baseball Reference
• 1975 Kansas City Royals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com