Watson: 1969 Royals started their franchise history with a solid season
From SABR member Darin Watson at U.L.’s Toothpick on October 7, 2019:
The Royals were birthed as a replacement for the Oakland A’s, who abandoned Kansas City after a decade-plus of futility, but were finally on the verge of becoming a good team. Their first year in Oakland would be the franchise’s first winning season since 1952, when they were still in Philadelphia. Ewing Kauffman, despite not being much of a baseball fan, stepped forward to buy the replacement franchise the American League awarded Kansas City after baseball’s antitrust exemption was threatened by Stuart Symington, a United States Senator from Missouri.
As the franchise built towards Opening Day of the 1969 season, it became apparent the team would no longer be the circus Kansas City baseball had been under Charlie Finley. No animal mascots, no constant threats to move the team, no fights with the league office about the distance of the right field fence from home plate; the Royals would be professional and business-like.
Read the full article here: https://ulstoothpick.com/2019/10/07/season-in-review-the-1969-royals-start-franchise-history-with-solid-season/
Originally published: October 8, 2019. Last Updated: October 8, 2019.