# 1994 Kansas City Royals season

The 1994 Kansas City Royals season was the 26th season for the franchise, and their 22nd at Kauffman Stadium. It involved the Royals finishing third in the American League Central with a record of 64 wins and 51 losses. The season was cut short by the 1994 player's strike. The season marked the Royals' alignment into the new American League Central division.

## Offseason

* December 16, 1993: Gary Gaetti signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.
* January 5, 1994: Kevin McReynolds was traded by the Kansas City Royals to the New York Mets for Vince Coleman and cash.
* January 27, 1994: Steve Balboni was signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.
* January 27, 1994: Dave Henderson was signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.

## Regular season

Thanks to the pitching prowess of Kevin Appier, Tom Gordon and 1994 AL Cy Young Award winner David Cone, and the hitting power of AL Rookie of the Year Bob Hamelin, the Royals had compiled a 64-51 record through 115 games. They had scored 574 runs (4.99 per game) and allowed 532 runs (4.63 per game). The Royals were in the thick of the 1994 AL Wildcard race, trailing the Baltimore Orioles by 1⁄2 a game and the Cleveland Indians by 3 games.
Royals' pitchers struggled with control during the regular season, as they combined for 60 wild pitches (the most in the Majors) through the Royals' 115 games. Royals hitters were very active on the basepaths, as they led the Majors in stolen bases, with 140, and times caught stealing, with 62.

### Opening Day starters

* Vince Coleman
* Brian McRae
* Wally Joyner
* Mike Macfarlane
* Gary Gaetti
* Bob Hamelin
* Dave Henderson
* Greg Gagne
* Jose Lind

### Season standings

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago White Sox | 67 | 46 | .593 | — | 34‍–‍19 | 33‍–‍27 |
| Cleveland Indians | 66 | 47 | .584 | 1 | 35‍–‍16 | 31‍–‍31 |
| Kansas City Royals | 64 | 51 | .557 | 4 | 35‍–‍24 | 29‍–‍27 |
| Minnesota Twins | 53 | 60 | .469 | 14 | 32‍–‍27 | 21‍–‍33 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 15 | 24‍–‍32 | 29‍–‍30 |
vteDivision leaders :
| Team | W | L | Pct. |
| New York Yankees | 70 | 43 | .619 |
| Chicago White Sox | 67 | 46 | .593 |
| Texas Rangers | 52 | 62 | .456 |
vteWild Card team (Top team qualifies for postseason) :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| Cleveland Indians | 66 | 47 | .584 | — |
| Baltimore Orioles | 63 | 49 | .562 | 2½ |
| Kansas City Royals | 64 | 51 | .557 | 3 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 55 | 60 | .478 | 12 |
| Boston Red Sox | 54 | 61 | .470 | 13 |
| Minnesota Twins | 53 | 60 | .469 | 13 |
| Detroit Tigers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 14 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 14 |
| Oakland Athletics | 51 | 63 | .447 | 15½ |
| Seattle Mariners | 49 | 63 | .438 | 16½ |
| California Angels | 47 | 68 | .409 | 20 |

### Record vs. opponents

1994 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–2 | 8–4 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 3–4 | 4–1 | 7–3 | 4–5 | 4–6 | 7–5 | 4–6 | 3–3 | 7–2 |
| Boston | 2–4 | — | 7–5 | 2–4 | 3–7 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–5 | 1–8 | 3–7 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 1–5 | 7–3 |
| California | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 5–5 | 0–5 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 6–4 | 3–4 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–5 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 3–7 | 9–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 6–3 | 9–1 | 4–5 | 2–3 |
| Cleveland | 6–4 | 7–3 | 5–0 | 5–7 | — | 8–2 | 1–4 | 5–2 | 9–3 | 0–9 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 5–7 | 6–4 |
| Detroit | 4–3 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 4–8 | 2–8 | — | 4–8 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 5–7 | 5–4 |
| Kansas City | 1–4 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 7–3 | 4–1 | 8–4 | — | 5–7 | 6–4 | 4–2 | 7–3 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 6–6 |
| Milwaukee | 3–7 | 5–5 | 3–3 | 3–9 | 2–5 | 4–6 | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 2–7 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 7–3 |
| Minnesota | 5–4 | 8–1 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–9 | 3–3 | 4–6 | 6–6 | — | 4–5 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 4–8 |
| New York | 6–4 | 7–3 | 8–4 | 2–4 | 9–0 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 7–2 | 5–4 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 3–2 | 3–4 |
| Oakland | 5–7 | 3–9 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 0–6 | 4–5 | 3–7 | 1–4 | 5–2 | 5–7 | — | 4–3 | 7–3 | 5–1 |
| Seattle | 4–6 | 6–6 | 7–2 | 1–9 | 2–3 | 3–6 | 4–6 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 3–4 | — | 9–1 | 1–5 |
| Texas | 3–3 | 5–1 | 4–6 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 2–3 | 3–7 | 1–9 | — | 4–8 |
| Toronto | 2–7 | 3–7 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 3–7 | 8–4 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 8–4 | — |

### Transactions

* June 2, 1994: Matt Treanor was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 4th round of the 1994 amateur draft. Player signed June 4, 1994.
* July 18, 1994: Mike Jeffcoat was signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.
* August 5, 1994: Mike Jeffcoat was released by the Kansas City Royals.

### Roster
## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | SB |
| C | Mike Macfarlane | 92 | 314 | 53 | 80 | 14 | 47 | .255 | 1 |
| 1B | Wally Joyner | 97 | 363 | 52 | 113 | 8 | 57 | .311 | 3 |
| 2B | José Lind | 85 | 290 | 34 | 78 | 1 | 31 | .269 | 9 |
| 3B | Gary Gaetti | 90 | 327 | 53 | 94 | 12 | 57 | .287 | 0 |
| SS | Greg Gagne | 107 | 375 | 39 | 97 | 7 | 51 | .259 | 10 |
| LF | Vince Coleman | 104 | 438 | 61 | 105 | 2 | 33 | .240 | 50 |
| CF | Brian McRae | 114 | 436 | 71 | 119 | 4 | 40 | .273 | 28 |
| RF | Félix José | 99 | 366 | 56 | 111 | 11 | 55 | .303 | 10 |
| DH | Bob Hamelin | 101 | 312 | 64 | 88 | 24 | 65 | .282 | 4 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | SB |
| Dave Henderson | 56 | 198 | 27 | 49 | 5 | 31 | .247 | 2 |
| Terry Shumpert | 64 | 183 | 28 | 44 | 8 | 24 | .240 | 18 |
| Brent Mayne | 46 | 144 | 19 | 37 | 2 | 20 | .257 | 1 |
| David Howard | 46 | 83 | 9 | 19 | 1 | 13 | .229 | 3 |
| Hubie Brooks | 34 | 61 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 14 | .230 | 1 |
| Keith Miller | 5 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .133 | 0 |
| Kevin Koslofski | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 | 0 |
| Tom Goodwin | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
| David Cone | 23 | 171.2 | 16 | 5 | 2.94 | 132 |
| Tom Gordon | 24 | 155.1 | 11 | 7 | 4.35 | 126 |
| Kevin Appier | 23 | 155.0 | 7 | 6 | 3.83 | 145 |
| Mark Gubicza | 22 | 130.0 | 7 | 9 | 4.50 | 59 |
| Bob Milacki | 10 | 55.2 | 0 | 5 | 6.14 | 17 |
| Chris Haney | 6 | 28.1 | 2 | 2 | 7.31 | 18 |
| José DeJesús | 5 | 26.2 | 3 | 1 | 4.73 | 12 |
| Jeff Granger | 2 | 9.1 | 0 | 1 | 6.75 | 3 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Jeff Montgomery | 42 | 44.2 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 4.03 | 50 |
| Billy Brewer | 50 | 38.2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2.56 | 25 |
| Hipolito Pichardo | 45 | 67.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4.92 | 36 |
| Stan Belinda | 37 | 49.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5.14 | 37 |
| Rusty Meacham | 36 | 50.2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3.73 | 36 |
| Mike Magnante | 36 | 47.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4.60 | 21 |
| David Howard | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Cy Young Award
** David Cone, Kansas City Royals (AL)
* Rookie of the Year
** Bob Hamelin, Kansas City Royals (AL)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Omaha Royals | American Association | Jeff Cox |
| AA | Memphis Chicks | Southern League | Ron Johnson |
| A | Wilmington Blue Rocks | Carolina League | Mike Jirschele |
| A | Rockford Royals | Midwest League | John Mizerock |
| A-Short Season | Eugene Emeralds | Northwest League | Brian Poldberg |
| Rookie | GCL Royals | Gulf Coast League | Bob Herold |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wilmington