List of Kansas City Royals Opening Day starting pitchers

Last updated

Gil Meche was the Kansas City Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Gil Meche.jpg
Gil Meche was the Kansas City Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They currently play in the American League Central.

Contents

The first game of a new baseball season for a team is known as Opening Day. The Opening Day starting pitcher is often given to the pitcher who is expected to lead the team's pitching staff for that season, [1] though there are strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. [2] The Kansas City Royals have used 25 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 52 seasons. The 23 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 14  wins, 22  losses and 16  no decisions. [3] No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.

The Kansas City Royals began play in 1969. Wally Bunker was the Royals’ first Opening Day starting pitcher on April 8, 1969, against the Minnesota Twins. [4] The Royals have played in two home ball parks. They played in Municipal Stadium from 1969 through 1972. They played three Opening Day games at Municipal Stadium, winning twice and losing once. The Royals’ starting pitchers received no decisions in both of the wins, leaving their record in Opening Day starts at Municipal Stadium no wins, one loss, and two no decisions. In 1973, the team moved to Royals Stadium (later renamed to Kauffman Stadium in 1993). [5] They have played 24 Opening Day games in the stadium, with starting pitchers having ten wins, ten losses, and four no decisions. On the other hand, the Royals have played 25 Opening Day games on the road. Starting pitchers have a combined record of four wins, thirteen losses, and eight no decisions for road games. [3] [6]

Kevin Appier has most Opening Day starts for the Royals, with seven, including six consecutive start from 1992 to 1997. [3] He has a record of 14 with two no decisions in those starts. The other Royal pitchers who have made at least three Opening Day starts are Dennis Leonard with four, and Paul Splittorff, Bud Black, Bret Saberhagen, Jeff Suppan, Gil Meche, and Danny Duffy with three apiece. [3] Bunker, Dick Drago, Steve Busby, Larry Gura and James Shields have each made two Opening Day starts for the Royals. [3]

Black, who has two wins as an Opening Day starting pitcher, is the only Royals pitcher who has won more than one Opening Day start. Black had a record in Opening Day starts of 21. [3] Only two Royals pitchers had more than one loss in Opening Day starts, Kevin Appier with four losses and Dennis Leonard with three. [3]

The Royals played in the World Series in 1980, 1985, 2014 and 2015, winning in 1985 and 2015. [7] Leonard, Black, Shields and Ventura were the Opening Day starting pitchers in 1980, 1985, 2014 and 2015 respectively. They combined to have an Opening Day record of 21 with one no decision. [3]

Key

Kauffman Stadium, originally named Royals Stadium, has been the Royals' home ball park since 1973. Kansas City Kaufmann Stadium.jpg
Kauffman Stadium, originally named Royals Stadium, has been the Royals' home ball park since 1973.
SeasonEach year is linked to an article about that particular Royals season.
WWin
LLoss
ND (W) No decision by starting pitcher; Royals won game
ND (L)No decision by starting pitcher; Royals lost game
Final
Score
Game score with Royals runs listed first
LocationStadium in italics for home game
Pitcher (#)Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Royals
*Advanced to the post-season
** AL Champions
World Series Champions

Pitchers

Dennis Leonard was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher three times from 1978 to 1980 Dennis Leonard (cropped).jpg
Dennis Leonard was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher three times from 1978 to 1980
Bud Black (shown here with the San Diego Padres) was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher three times from 1984 to 1986 Bud Black in the dugout.jpg
Bud Black (shown here with the San Diego Padres) was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher three times from 1984 to 1986
Zack Greinke was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2010, 2022 and 2023. Zack Greinke on July 29, 2009.jpg
Zack Greinke was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2010, 2022 and 2023.
SeasonPitcherDecisionFinal
score
OpponentLocationRef(s)
1969 Wally Bunker ND (W)43 Minnesota Twins Municipal Stadium [8]
1970 Wally Bunker (2)L46 Oakland Athletics Municipal Stadium [9]
1971 Dick Drago W41 California Angels Anaheim Stadium [10]
1972 Dick Drago (2)ND (W)21 Chicago White Sox Municipal Stadium [11]
1973 Steve Busby L23 California Angels Anaheim Stadium [12]
1974 Paul Splittorff ND (L)46 Minnesota Twins Royals Stadium [13]
1975 Steve Busby (2)ND (L)23 California Angels Anaheim Stadium [14]
1976* Paul Splittorff (2)L04 Chicago White Sox Comiskey Park [15]
1977* Paul Splittorff (3)W74 Detroit Tigers Tiger Stadium [16]
1978* Dennis Leonard L58 Cleveland Indians Cleveland Stadium [17]
1979 Dennis Leonard (2)W112 Toronto Blue Jays Royals Stadium [18]
1980** Dennis Leonard (3)L15 Detroit Tigers Royals Stadium [19]
1981* Larry Gura L35 Baltimore Orioles Memorial Stadium [20]
1982 Dennis Leonard (4)L513 Baltimore Orioles Memorial Stadium [21]
1983 Larry Gura (2)W72 Baltimore Orioles Memorial Stadium [22]
1984* Bud Black W42 New York Yankees Royals Stadium [23]
1985 Bud Black (2)W21 Toronto Blue Jays Royals Stadium [24]
1986 Bud Black (3)L24 New York Yankees Yankee Stadium [25]
1987 Danny Jackson L45 Chicago White Sox Royals Stadium [26]
1988 Bret Saberhagen L35 Toronto Blue Jays Royals Stadium [27]
1989 Mark Gubicza L34 Toronto Blue Jays Royals Stadium [28]
1990 Bret Saberhagen (2)ND (L)67 Baltimore Orioles Royals Stadium [29]
1991 Bret Saberhagen (3)W42 Cleveland Indians Royals Stadium [30]
1992 Kevin Appier ND (L)35 Oakland Athletics Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum [31]
1993 Kevin Appier (2)L13 Boston Red Sox Royals Stadium [32]
1994 Kevin Appier (3)L36 Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards [33]
1995 Kevin Appier (4)W51 Baltimore Orioles Kauffman Stadium [34]
1996 Kevin Appier (5)L25 Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards [35]
1997 Kevin Appier (6)ND (L)24 Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards [36]
1998 Tim Belcher W41 Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards [37]
1999 Kevin Appier (7)L35 Boston Red Sox Kauffman Stadium [38]
2000 Jeff Suppan ND (L)45 Toronto Blue Jays SkyDome [39]
2001 Jeff Suppan (2)L37 New York Yankees Yankee Stadium [40] [41]
2002 Jeff Suppan (3)ND (L)68 Minnesota Twins Kauffman Stadium [42] [43]
2003 Runelvys Hernández W30 Chicago White Sox Kauffman Stadium [44] [45]
2004 Brian Anderson ND (W)97 Chicago White Sox Kauffman Stadium [46] [47]
2005 José Lima L211 Detroit Tigers Comerica Park [48] [49]
2006 Scott Elarton L13 Detroit Tigers Kauffman Stadium [50] [51]
2007 Gil Meche W71 Boston Red Sox Kauffman Stadium [52] [53]
2008 Gil Meche (2)ND (W)54 Detroit Tigers Comerica Park [54] [55]
2009 Gil Meche (3)ND (L)24 Chicago White Sox U.S. Cellular Field [56]
2010 Zack Greinke ND (L)48 Detroit Tigers Kauffman Stadium [6]
2011 Luke Hochevar L24 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Kauffman Stadium [57]
2012 Bruce Chen L05 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Angel Stadium of Anaheim [58]
2013 James Shields L01 Chicago White Sox U.S. Cellular Field [59]
2014** James Shields (2)ND (L)34 Detroit Tigers Comerica Park [60]
2015 Yordano Ventura W101 Chicago White Sox Kauffman Stadium [61]
2016 Edinson Vólquez W43 New York Mets Kauffman Stadium [62]
2017 Danny Duffy ND (L)17 Minnesota Twins Target Field [63]
2018 Danny Duffy (2)L714 Chicago White Sox Kauffman Stadium [64]
2019 Brad Keller W53 Chicago White Sox Kauffman Stadium [65]
2020 Danny Duffy (3)L02 Cleveland Indians Progressive Field [66]
2021 Brad Keller (2)ND (W)1410 Texas Rangers Kauffman Stadium [67]
2022 Zack Greinke (2)ND (W)31 Cleveland Guardians Kauffman Stadium [68]
2023 Zack Greinke (3)L02 Minnesota Twins Kauffman Stadium [69]
2024 Cole Ragans L14 Minnesota Twins Kauffman Stadium [70]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zack Greinke</span> American baseball player (born 1983)

Donald Zackary Greinke is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Greinke primarily played with the Kansas City Royals in Major League Baseball (MLB) across two stints; from his 2004 debut to 2010, and from 2022 to 2023. He has also played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Houston Astros, with the last of which Greinke finished as a runner-up in the 2019 and 2021 World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Elarton</span> American baseball player (born 1976)

Vincent Scott Elarton is an American former right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (1998–2001), Colorado Rockies (2001–2004), Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals (2006–2007)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Hammel</span> American baseball player (born 1982)

Jason Aaron Hammel is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Kansas City Royals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Guthrie</span> American baseball player (born 1979)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinson Vólquez</span> Dominican baseball player (born 1983)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Odorizzi</span> American baseball player (born 1990)

Jacob Todd Odorizzi is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves. The Milwaukee Brewers selected Odorizzi in the first round, with the 32nd overall choice, of the 2008 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2012 with the Royals.

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