The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They have competed in the American League (AL) since the team began play in 1969, and in the AL Central division since 1994. The team's list of records includes batting and pitching records set in single games, single seasons and careers, by both the team and individual players.
Single season records
Single season batting Batting Average: George Brett, .390 (1980) On-base percentage: George Brett, .454 (1980) Slugging Percentage: George Brett, .664 (1980) OPS: George Brett, 1.118 (1980) At Bats: Willie Wilson, 705 (1980) Runs: Johnny Damon, 136 (2000) Hits: Willie Wilson, 230 (1980) Total Bases: George Brett, 363 (1979) Doubles: Hal McRae, 54 (1977) Triples: Willie Wilson, 21 (1985) Home Runs: Jorge Soler, 48 (2019), Salvador Perez, 48 (2021) RBI: Mike Sweeney, 144 (2000) Walks: John Mayberry, 122 (1973) Strikeouts: Jorge Soler, 178 (2019) Stolen Bases: Willie Wilson, 83 (1979) Singles: Willie Wilson, 184 (1980) Runs Created: George Brett, 142 (1985) Extra-Base Hits: Bobby Witt Jr., 88 (2024) Times on Base: Mike Sweeney, 292 (2000) Sacrifice Hits: Tom Goodwin, 21 (1996) Intentional Walks: George Brett, 31 (1985) Grounded into Double Plays: Billy Butler, 32 (2010) At Bats per Strikeout: George Brett, 23.5 (1977) At Bats per Home Run: Bob Hamelin, 13.0 (1994) Outs: Carlos Beltrán, 504 (1999) Most times Hit By Pitch: David DeJesus, 23 (2007)
Single season pitching ERA: Roger Nelson, 2.08 (1972) Wins: Bret Saberhagen, 23 (1989) Losses: Paul Splittorff and Darrell May, 19 (1974, 2004) Won-Loss %: Larry Gura, .800 (1978) Saves: Greg Holland 47 2013 WHIP: Roger Nelson, .871 (1972) Hits Allowed/9IP: Roger Nelson, 6.23 (1972) Walks/9IP: Doug Bird, 1.41 (1976) Strikeouts/9IP: Kevin Appier, 8.82 (1996) Games: Dan Quisenberry, 84 (1985) Innings: Dennis Leonard, (1978) Strikeouts: Dennis Leonard, 244 (1977) Games Started: Dennis Leonard, 40 (1978) Complete Games: Dennis Leonard, 21 (1977) Shutouts: Roger Nelson, 6 (1972) Home Runs Allowed: Jordan Lyles, 39 (2023) Walks Allowed: Mark Gubicza, 120 (1987) Hits Allowed: Steve Busby, 284 (1974) Strikeout to Walk: Bret Saberhagen, 4.49 (1989) Earned Runs Allowed: José Lima, 131 (2005) Wild Pitches: Dan Reichert, 18 (2000) Batters Faced: Steve Busby, 1,220 (1974) Games Finished: Dan Quisenberry, 76 (1985)
Career records
Career batting Batting Average: George Brett, .305 On-base percentage: Kevin Seitzer, .380 Slugging Percentage: Danny Tartabull, .518 OPS: Danny Tartabull, .894 Games: George Brett, 2,707 At Bats: George Brett, 10,349 Runs: George Brett, 1,583 Hits: George Brett, 3,154 Total Bases: George Brett, 5,044 Doubles: George Brett, 665 Triples: George Brett, 137 Home Runs: Salvador Perez, 318 RBI: George Brett, 1,595 Walks: George Brett, 1,096 Strikeouts: Frank White, 1,035 Stolen Bases: Willie Wilson, 612 Singles: George Brett, 2,035 Runs Created: George Brett, 1,892 Extra-Base Hits: George Brett, 1,119 Times on Base: George Brett, 4,283 Hit By Pitch: Mike Macfarlane, 78 Sacrifice Hits: Frank White, 101 Sacrifice Flies: George Brett, 120 Intentional Walks: George Brett, 229 Grounded into Double Plays: George Brett, 235 At Bats per Strikeout: Cookie Rojas, 13.0 At Bats per Home Run: Steve Balboni, 16.8 Outs: George Brett, 7,673
Career pitching ERA: Dan Quisenberry, 2.55 Wins: Paul Splittorff, 166 Won-Loss%: Al Fitzmorris, .593 WHIP: Bret Saberhagen, 1.134 Hits Allowed/9IP: Jeff Montgomery, 8.05 Walks/9IP: Dan Quisenberry, 1.36 Strikeouts/9IP: Tom Gordon, 7.82 Games: Jeff Montgomery, 686 Saves: Jeff Montgomery, 304 Innings: Paul Splittorff, Strikeouts: Kevin Appier, 1,458 Games Started: Paul Splittorff, 392 Complete Games: Dennis Leonard, 103 Shutouts: Dennis Leonard, 23 Home Runs Allowed: Dennis Leonard, 202 Walks Allowed: Mark Gubicza, 783 Hits Allowed: Paul Splittorff, 2,644 Strikeout to Walk: Bret Saberhagen, 3.30 Losses: Paul Splittorff, 143 Earned Runs Allowed: Paul Splittorff, 1,082 Wild Pitches: Mark Gubicza, 107 Hit Batsmen: Mark Gubicza, 58 Batters Faced: Paul Splittorff, 10,824 Games Finished: Jeff Montgomery, 543
Team records
Team batting Highest team batting average: .288 in 2000 Lowest team batting average: .240 in 1969 Highest team slugging average: .436 in 1977 Highest team on-base percentage: .348 in 1999 Total Hits: 1,644 in 2000 Extra-base hits: 522 in 1977 Hits in a game: 27 vs. Toronto on September 19, 2025 Longest individual hitting streak: 31, Whit Merrifield 2018-19 Most .300 hitters in a single season: 4 in 2000 Home runs: 168 in 1987 Home runs in a month: 12, John Mayberry, July 1975 and Chili Davis, August 1997 and Salvador Perez, August 2021 Most strikeouts: 1,091 in 2009
Team pitching Lowest team ERA: 3.21 in 1976 Highest team ERA: 5.65 in 2006 Most complete games: 54 in 1974 Fewest complete games: 2 in 2007, 2008, and 2011 Most strikeouts: 1,153 in 2009 Fewest strikeouts: 593 in 1983 Most walks: 693 in 2000 Fewest walks: 433 in 1984 Games no walks: 17 in 1992 and 1996 Most hits: 1,648 in 2006 Fewest hits: 1,301 in 1971 Most runs: 971 in 2006 Fewest runs: 566 in 1971 Most saves: 50 in 1984 Fewest saves: 17 in 1974
Single game records
Single game batting
Single game batting: team Most Hits: 27 on September 19, 2025 Runs Scored: 26 on September 9, 2004 Most Home Runs: 7 on May 4, 2025 Most Total Bases: 43 on September 19, 2025 Walks Recorded: 15 on September 4, 1975 Most Strikeouts: 18 on August 25, 1998 Most Stolen Bases: 8 on August 1, 1998
Single game batting: individual Most Hits: 6 by Bob Oliver (1969), Kevin Seitzer (1987), and Joe Randa (2004) Most Runs Scored: 6 by Joe Randa on September 9, 2004 Most Home Runs: 3 (8 times) Most RBI: 9 by Mike Moustakas on September 12, 2015 Most Walks: 5 by Alex Gordon on July 30, 2008 Most Strikeouts: 5 by Bo Jackson (1987), Greg Gagne (1993), and Bob Hamelin (1995) Most Stolen Bases: 5 by Amos Otis on September 7, 1971 Most Total Bases: 15 by Kendrys Morales on September 20, 2015
Single game pitching
Single game pitching: team Most Pitchers Used: 8 on September 7, 1975 Most Strikeouts: 17 on August 1, 2016 Most Walks: 14 (4 times) Most Home Runs Allowed: 6 (8 times) Most Hit Batsmen: 4 (5 times)
Single game pitching: individual Most Strikeouts: 16 by Danny Duffy on August 1, 2016 Most Walks: 9 (3 times) Most Home Runs Allowed: 5 by Sean O'Sullivan on May 28, 2011 Most Innings Pitched: 13 by Larry Gura on May 21, 1980
The Team by Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball, Workman Publishing, New York; 2006, Dennis Purdy Royals Season Records, MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Royals Single Game Records, MLB Advanced Media, L.P., http://mlb.mlb.com/kc/history/single_game_records.jsp
References