Every era of Kansas City Royals baseball, one lineup. These are the highest-rated Kansas City Royals legends across the 1960s to today — a full nine-man batting order plus an ace, chosen by iKnoBall's era-adjusted engine — and the record they'd post over a 162-game season.
Hitting is weighted 62%, the ace 38% — exactly how iKnoBall scores an MLB lineup. Think you'd start a different nine? Prove it.
Bret Saberhagen headlines the group at a 90 overall — the kind of number only genuine all-time greats reach on iKnoBall's scale. Around Saberhagen, the model fills out a complete lineup that balances the ace, the middle of the order, up-the-middle defense, and outfield power across Kansas City Royals history, then simulates all 162 games. The result — 101–61 — reflects both the raw talent and how the pieces fit at the plate and on the mound.
Every Kansas City Royals legend in the iKnoBall pool, ranked by era-adjusted overall. The top group forms the starting lineup above; the rest are the depth chart and the debate.
| Player | Position | Era | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bret Saberhagen | Starting Pitcher | 1980s | 90 |
| Salvador Perez | Catcher | 2010s | 89 |
| Eric Hosmer | First Baseman | 2010s | 87 |
| Frank White | Second Baseman | 1970s | 85 |
| George Brett | Third Baseman | 1980s | 95 |
| Alcides Escobar | Shortstop | 2010s | 83 |
| Bo Jackson | Outfielder | 1980s | 88 |
| Lorenzo Cain | Outfielder | 2010s | 88 |
| Amos Otis | Outfielder | 1970s | 87 |
| Alex Gordon | Outfielder | 2010s | 87 |
| Wade Davis | Starting Pitcher | 2010s | 87 |
| Hal McRae | Designated Hitter | 1970s | 87 |
| Willie Wilson | Outfielder | 1980s | 87 |
| Dan Quisenberry | Starting Pitcher | 1980s | 87 |
| Dennis Leonard | Starting Pitcher | 1970s | 86 |
| John Mayberry | First Baseman | 1970s | 86 |
| Mike Moustakas | Third Baseman | 2010s | 86 |
| Greg Holland | Starting Pitcher | 2010s | 86 |
| Paul Splittorff | Starting Pitcher | 1970s | 83 |
| Kevin Seitzer | Third Baseman | 1980s | 83 |
| Freddie Patek | Shortstop | 1970s | 82 |
Draft your own all-time Kansas City Royals — or any franchise across five sports — build your lineup, and sim a full season chasing a perfect 162–0. Free to play.
Build Your All-Time LineupGet the AppBy iKnoBall's era-adjusted ratings the all-time Kansas City Royals lineup is Bret Saberhagen (SP, 1980s), Salvador Perez (C, 2010s), Eric Hosmer (1B, 2010s), Frank White (2B, 1970s), George Brett (3B, 1980s), Alcides Escobar (SS, 2010s), Bo Jackson (OF, 1980s), Lorenzo Cain (OF, 2010s), Amos Otis (OF, 1970s), Alex Gordon (DH, 2010s). Together they project to a 101–61 regular season.
iKnoBall's simulation projects this 10-man lineup at 101–61 over a 162-game season, with an average starter rating of 88. The model runs each game as a probability from the lineup's combined hitting and pitching strength, so an all-time team contends for a historic year but nothing is guaranteed.
Each player's overall is era-adjusted so a 1960s legend and a modern superstar sit on the same 70–99 scale. Hitting (the nine-man batting order) is weighted 62% and the ace pitcher 38%, and only true all-time greats reach the mid-to-high 90s.
Yes — iKnoBall is a free game where you draft one legend per era, build your all-time lineup, and simulate a full season chasing a perfect 162–0. Play it free at play.iknoball.com.
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Ratings are era-adjusted and computed by iKnoBall's simulation engine. Records are model projections for entertainment, not predictions. Player names belong to their respective owners; iKnoBall is an independent fan-made game.