A Galaxy of Royal Stars
Not that this is a serious topic or anything, but with Alex Gordon announcing his retirement there was discussion among friends of where he ranks among the Royals’ all-time greats, or perhaps they are merely goods. I made up a system for ranking the Royals, consistent with the principles of the many ranking systems I have created over the years, and since there was some interest in this, I thought I should explain how this was done.
First, we start with each player’s Win Shares in each season as a Royal. For Alex Gordon, this is as follows:
First
|
Last
|
Year
|
Age
|
Team
|
Win Shares
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2007
|
23
|
KCA
|
12
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2008
|
24
|
KCA
|
15
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2009
|
25
|
KCA
|
2
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2010
|
26
|
KCA
|
3
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2011
|
27
|
KCA
|
24
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2012
|
28
|
KCA
|
20
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2013
|
29
|
KCA
|
21
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2014
|
30
|
KCA
|
26
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2015
|
31
|
KCA
|
16
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2016
|
32
|
KCA
|
9
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2017
|
33
|
KCA
|
6
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2018
|
34
|
KCA
|
11
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2019
|
35
|
KC
|
13
|
Alex was quite a good player in the 2011 to 2014 era, totaling 178 Win Shares in his career. And let us contrast with Frank White, who wound up ranked just ahead of Gordon, and Dan Quisenberry, who wound up ranked just behind him:
First
|
Last
|
Year
|
Age
|
Team
|
Win Shares
|
Frank
|
White
|
1973
|
22
|
KCA
|
2
|
Frank
|
White
|
1974
|
23
|
KCA
|
3
|
Frank
|
White
|
1975
|
24
|
KCA
|
9
|
Frank
|
White
|
1976
|
25
|
KCA
|
9
|
Frank
|
White
|
1977
|
26
|
KCA
|
13
|
Frank
|
White
|
1978
|
27
|
KCA
|
16
|
Frank
|
White
|
1979
|
28
|
KCA
|
11
|
Frank
|
White
|
1980
|
29
|
KCA
|
13
|
Frank
|
White
|
1981
|
30
|
KCA
|
7
|
Frank
|
White
|
1982
|
31
|
KCA
|
18
|
Frank
|
White
|
1983
|
32
|
KCA
|
15
|
Frank
|
White
|
1984
|
33
|
KCA
|
18
|
Frank
|
White
|
1985
|
34
|
KCA
|
16
|
Frank
|
White
|
1986
|
35
|
KCA
|
20
|
Frank
|
White
|
1987
|
36
|
KCA
|
14
|
Frank
|
White
|
1988
|
37
|
KCA
|
9
|
Frank
|
White
|
1989
|
38
|
KCA
|
14
|
Frank
|
White
|
1990
|
39
|
KCA
|
4
|
White, at least as seen by this method, did not have seasons of equal impact to Gordon’s good years from 2011 to 2014. However, White had five more seasons in a Royal uniform, and his total Win Shares over his career are higher, adding up to 211.
Dan Quisenberry, on the other hand, had fewer seasons but bigger impact seasons:
First
|
Last
|
Year
|
Age
|
Team
|
Win Shares
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1979
|
26
|
KCA
|
4
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1980
|
27
|
KCA
|
19
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1981
|
28
|
KCA
|
10
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1982
|
29
|
KCA
|
22
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1983
|
30
|
KCA
|
28
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1984
|
31
|
KCA
|
24
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1985
|
32
|
KCA
|
23
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1986
|
33
|
KCA
|
10
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
1987
|
34
|
KCA
|
7
|
Quisenberry’s seasons total up to 147 Win Shares. White, Gordon and Quisenberry thus rank in descending order by Total Win Shares, but in ascending order by high-impact seasons. (Quisenberry was also with the Royals in 1988, but had a 6.16 ERA, so that’s a zero-value season.)
It seems relatively obvious that two 10-Win Seasons should not be treated as equal to one 20-Win Season. High-impact seasons win pennants; 10-Win Seasons are kind of replaceable. How to adjust for this.
What I did is, I raised the value of each season to the power 1.5 (rounded down.) Dan Quisenberry’s 28-Win Share season in 1983, when he perhaps should have won the Cy Young Award, thus is given a value of 148 points, since 28 to the power 1.5, rounded down, is 148. Quiz’s 24-Win Share season the following year has an "impact value" of 117. Alex Gordon’s best season, 26 Win Shares in 2014, has an impact value of 132, and Frank White’s best season, 20 Win Shares in 1986, has an Impact Value of 89.
Basically, 30 Win Shares is a serious MVP candidate. People have won MVP Awards with less than that, but not often; generally, you become a serious candidate for the MVP Award at about 30 Win Shares. The highest-valued seasons in Royals history are George Brett in 1980 (37 Win Shares), George Brett in 1985 (36 Win Shares) and then three seasons of 33 Win Shares—George Brett in 1976, George Brett in 1979, and John Mayberry in 1975. Mayberry, you might remember, was second in the MVP voting in 1975.
Why 1.5? Why do we raise this to the power 1.5?
Because 1.0 isn’t enough, and 2.0 is too much. Just my judgment, you know. If you don’t raise it to any power at all, then three seasons as an average player is worth as much as an MVP, which is not right. If you Square the Win Shares—raise it to the power 2—then an MVP is worth as much as 9 average players, which doesn’t seem right, either. I tried 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5. . .all the way up to 2.0, and 1.5 seemed right. At 1.5, a 30-Win Share season is worth 41% more than two 15-Win Share seasons. That seems reasonable. Brett’s 37-Win Share season in 1980, by the way, has a value of 225 Impact Points.
OK, so I added up the Impact Points, but there is another wrinkle. Post season play. Gordon, Quisenberry, White and Brett all were regulars and serious contributors to World Championship teams. That counts for something.
Here is what it counts for, in my system. You have to have at least 10 Win Shares to qualify for credit for making the post-season. In 2015, when the Royals won the World Serious, eleven Royals qualified as Serious contributors to that team: Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Kendrys Morales, Mike Moustakas, Wade Davis, Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, Alcides Escobar, Edinson Volquez, Chris Young and Yordano Ventura. Eleven is a little light; the number is usually 12 or 13.
Anyway, you have to credit that, because winning the World Series is a big deal. Here’s how I credited it. If you make post-season play in any form, each qualifying player gets a 10-point bonus. If you make the World Series but lose, each qualifying player gets a 25-point bonus. If you win the World Series, each qualifying contributor gets a 50-point bonus.
Then you add up the points for each season, and you find the career total. For Frank White, this is as follows:
First
|
Last
|
Year
|
Win Shares
|
Impact
|
Post Season Bonus
|
Running Total
|
Frank
|
White
|
1973
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
Frank
|
White
|
1974
|
3
|
5
|
0
|
7
|
Frank
|
White
|
1975
|
9
|
27
|
0
|
34
|
Frank
|
White
|
1976
|
9
|
27
|
0
|
61
|
Frank
|
White
|
1977
|
13
|
46
|
10
|
117
|
Frank
|
White
|
1978
|
16
|
64
|
10
|
191
|
Frank
|
White
|
1979
|
11
|
36
|
0
|
227
|
Frank
|
White
|
1980
|
13
|
46
|
25
|
298
|
Frank
|
White
|
1981
|
7
|
18
|
0
|
316
|
Frank
|
White
|
1982
|
18
|
76
|
0
|
392
|
Frank
|
White
|
1983
|
15
|
58
|
0
|
450
|
Frank
|
White
|
1984
|
18
|
76
|
10
|
536
|
Frank
|
White
|
1985
|
16
|
64
|
50
|
650
|
Frank
|
White
|
1986
|
20
|
89
|
0
|
739
|
Frank
|
White
|
1987
|
14
|
52
|
0
|
791
|
Frank
|
White
|
1988
|
9
|
27
|
0
|
818
|
Frank
|
White
|
1989
|
14
|
52
|
0
|
870
|
Frank
|
White
|
1990
|
4
|
8
|
0
|
878
|
Frank White has 878 Impact Points in our silly little competition, 5th-most in Royals history. Alex Gordon has 802:
First
|
Last
|
Year
|
Win Shares
|
Impact
|
Post Season Bonus
|
Running Total
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2007
|
12
|
41
|
0
|
41
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2008
|
15
|
58
|
0
|
99
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2009
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
101
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2010
|
3
|
5
|
0
|
106
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2011
|
24
|
117
|
0
|
223
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2012
|
20
|
89
|
0
|
312
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2013
|
21
|
96
|
0
|
408
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2014
|
26
|
132
|
25
|
565
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2015
|
16
|
64
|
50
|
679
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2016
|
9
|
27
|
0
|
706
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2017
|
6
|
14
|
0
|
720
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2018
|
11
|
36
|
0
|
756
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
2019
|
13
|
46
|
0
|
802
|
If Gordon had had one more season of the quality of any of his years 2011 to 2014, then he would rank ahead of White. Dan Quisenberry comes in 6th, with 743 points. And here; I’ll give you the top 200
Rank
|
FirstName
|
LastName
|
Career
|
1
|
George
|
Brett
|
2269
|
2
|
Amos
|
Otis
|
1391
|
3
|
Willie
|
Wilson
|
1044
|
4
|
Hal
|
McRae
|
959
|
5
|
Frank
|
White
|
878
|
6
|
Alex
|
Gordon
|
802
|
7
|
Dan
|
Quisenberry
|
743
|
8
|
John
|
Mayberry
|
683
|
9
|
Bret
|
Saberhagen
|
628
|
10
|
Eric
|
Hosmer
|
617
|
11
|
Kevin
|
Appier
|
613
|
12
|
Dennis
|
Leonard
|
586
|
13
|
Mark
|
Gubicza
|
580
|
14
|
Mike
|
Sweeney
|
579
|
15
|
Salvador
|
Perez
|
566
|
16
|
Paul
|
Splittorff
|
520
|
17
|
Lorenzo
|
Cain
|
519
|
18
|
Carlos
|
Beltran
|
512
|
19
|
Freddie
|
Patek
|
502
|
20
|
Billy
|
Butler
|
501
|
21
|
Jeff
|
Montgomery
|
488
|
22
|
Danny
|
Tartabull
|
445
|
23
|
Darrell
|
Porter
|
444
|
24
|
Larry
|
Gura
|
438
|
25
|
Kevin
|
Seitzer
|
434
|
26
|
Alcides
|
Escobar
|
433
|
27
|
Charlie
|
Leibrandt
|
407
|
28
|
David
|
DeJesus
|
404
|
29
|
Al
|
Cowens
|
360
|
30
|
Johnny
|
Damon
|
355
|
31
|
Mike
|
Moustakas
|
334
|
32
|
Joe
|
Randa
|
327
|
33
|
Whit
|
Merrifield
|
317
|
34
|
Mike
|
Macfarlane
|
292
|
35
|
Zack
|
Greinke
|
286
|
36
|
Buddy
|
Black
|
284
|
36
|
Steve
|
Busby
|
284
|
38
|
Lou
|
Piniella
|
268
|
39
|
Willie
|
Aikens
|
267
|
40
|
Jose
|
Offerman
|
259
|
41
|
Joakim
|
Soria
|
258
|
42
|
Cookie
|
Rojas
|
255
|
42
|
Paul
|
Schaal
|
255
|
44
|
Wade
|
Davis
|
253
|
45
|
U. L.
|
Washington
|
249
|
46
|
Al
|
Fitzmorris
|
248
|
47
|
Greg
|
Holland
|
240
|
48
|
Tom
|
Gordon
|
237
|
49
|
Wally
|
Joyner
|
234
|
50
|
Mark
|
Teahen
|
224
|
51
|
Danny
|
Jackson
|
217
|
52
|
Steve
|
Balboni
|
215
|
52
|
Dick
|
Drago
|
215
|
54
|
Ed
|
Kirkpatrick
|
214
|
55
|
Doug
|
Bird
|
213
|
55
|
Danny
|
Duffy
|
213
|
57
|
Bo
|
Jackson
|
210
|
58
|
Kendrys
|
Morales
|
204
|
59
|
Brian
|
McRae
|
195
|
60
|
Kurt
|
Stillwell
|
194
|
61
|
David
|
Cone
|
185
|
62
|
Kelvin
|
Herrera
|
184
|
62
|
Yordano
|
Ventura
|
184
|
64
|
Jermaine
|
Dye
|
182
|
65
|
John
|
Wathan
|
181
|
66
|
Tim
|
Belcher
|
179
|
67
|
Jim
|
Eisenreich
|
174
|
68
|
Marty
|
Pattin
|
163
|
69
|
Steve
|
Farr
|
160
|
70
|
Clint
|
Hurdle
|
159
|
70
|
James
|
Shields
|
159
|
72
|
Jeff
|
Suppan
|
155
|
73
|
Angel
|
Berroa
|
150
|
74
|
Lonnie
|
Smith
|
148
|
75
|
Emil
|
Brown
|
144
|
76
|
Greg
|
Gagne
|
143
|
77
|
Jose
|
Rosado
|
141
|
78
|
Gary
|
Gaetti
|
128
|
79
|
Raul
|
Ibanez
|
126
|
79
|
Jarrod
|
Dyson
|
126
|
81
|
Rich
|
Gale
|
123
|
82
|
Alberto
|
Callaspo
|
120
|
83
|
Mark
|
Grudzielanek
|
118
|
84
|
Jim
|
Sundberg
|
117
|
85
|
John
|
Buck
|
115
|
86
|
Tom
|
Poquette
|
114
|
87
|
Jeff
|
King
|
112
|
88
|
Brent
|
Mayne
|
109
|
88
|
Pat
|
Sheridan
|
109
|
88
|
Gil
|
Meche
|
109
|
91
|
Hipolito
|
Pichardo
|
108
|
92
|
Edinson
|
Volquez
|
107
|
93
|
Roger
|
Nelson
|
106
|
94
|
Tony
|
Graffanino
|
105
|
94
|
Mark
|
Littell
|
105
|
96
|
Mike
|
Aviles
|
103
|
96
|
Jason
|
Vargas
|
103
|
98
|
Pat
|
Kelly
|
100
|
98
|
Bruce
|
Chen
|
100
|
100
|
Bob
|
Oliver
|
99
|
100
|
Rey
|
Sanchez
|
99
|
102
|
Jay
|
Bell
|
96
|
102
|
Ian
|
Kennedy
|
96
|
104
|
Darrell
|
May
|
95
|
104
|
Bill
|
Pecota
|
95
|
104
|
Nori
|
Aoki
|
95
|
107
|
Johnny
|
Cueto
|
91
|
108
|
Bob
|
Boone
|
90
|
108
|
Melky
|
Cabrera
|
90
|
108
|
Jorge
|
Soler
|
90
|
111
|
Matt
|
Stairs
|
88
|
112
|
Fran
|
Healy
|
86
|
112
|
Mike
|
Hedlund
|
86
|
112
|
Steve
|
Mingori
|
86
|
112
|
Chris
|
Young
|
86
|
116
|
Jose
|
Guillen
|
85
|
116
|
Michael
|
Tucker
|
85
|
118
|
Jeff
|
Francoeur
|
84
|
119
|
Paul
|
Byrd
|
82
|
120
|
Bruce
|
Dal Canton
|
81
|
121
|
Pete
|
LaCock
|
78
|
121
|
Jorge
|
Orta
|
78
|
123
|
Carlos
|
Febles
|
77
|
123
|
Wilson
|
Betemit
|
77
|
125
|
Ted
|
Abernathy
|
76
|
125
|
Richie
|
Scheinblum
|
76
|
127
|
Luis
|
Aquino
|
75
|
128
|
Luke
|
Hochevar
|
75
|
129
|
Jim
|
Colborn
|
74
|
130
|
Tom
|
Burgmeier
|
73
|
130
|
Kevin
|
McReynolds
|
73
|
132
|
Mitch
|
Maier
|
70
|
133
|
Wally
|
Bunker
|
69
|
133
|
Tom
|
Goodwin
|
69
|
133
|
Al
|
Hrabosky
|
69
|
133
|
Esteban
|
German
|
69
|
137
|
Jeremy
|
Guthrie
|
68
|
137
|
Brad
|
Keller
|
68
|
139
|
Keith
|
Lockhart
|
67
|
139
|
Don
|
Slaught
|
67
|
141
|
Darryl
|
Motley
|
66
|
141
|
Adalberto
|
Mondesi
|
66
|
143
|
Mark
|
Quinn
|
65
|
144
|
Yuniesky
|
Betancourt
|
65
|
144
|
Hunter
|
Dozier
|
65
|
146
|
Mike
|
Fiore
|
64
|
146
|
Joe
|
Foy
|
64
|
147
|
Paulo
|
Orlando
|
64
|
149
|
Chris
|
Haney
|
61
|
149
|
Jim
|
Wohlford
|
61
|
149
|
Jeremy
|
Affeldt
|
61
|
152
|
Bob
|
Hamelin
|
60
|
153
|
Rusty
|
Meacham
|
59
|
153
|
Keith
|
Miller
|
59
|
155
|
Chili
|
Davis
|
58
|
155
|
Felix
|
Jose
|
58
|
155
|
Scott
|
Podsednik
|
58
|
158
|
David
|
Howard
|
56
|
159
|
Jerry
|
Martin
|
54
|
159
|
Jim
|
Rooker
|
54
|
161
|
Brian
|
Bannister
|
53
|
161
|
Gregg
|
Jefferies
|
52
|
161
|
Bob
|
Johnson
|
52
|
161
|
Dean
|
Palmer
|
52
|
161
|
Ervin
|
Santana
|
52
|
166
|
Jason
|
Grimsley
|
51
|
166
|
Jamie
|
Quirk
|
51
|
168
|
Tony
|
Solaita
|
50
|
168
|
Mike
|
MacDougal
|
50
|
168
|
Jakob
|
Junis
|
50
|
171
|
Moe
|
Drabowsky
|
46
|
171
|
Gene
|
Garber
|
46
|
171
|
Aaron
|
Guiel
|
46
|
174
|
Mike
|
Armstrong
|
45
|
174
|
Roberto
|
Hernandez
|
45
|
174
|
Miguel
|
Olivo
|
45
|
177
|
Vince
|
Coleman
|
44
|
177
|
Aaron
|
Crow
|
44
|
179
|
Brian
|
Anderson
|
43
|
179
|
Onix
|
Concepcion
|
43
|
179
|
Buck
|
Martinez
|
43
|
179
|
Chris
|
Getz
|
43
|
183
|
Desi
|
Relaford
|
42
|
183
|
Pat
|
Tabler
|
42
|
183
|
Tony
|
Pena
|
42
|
186
|
Kirk
|
Gibson
|
41
|
186
|
Gail
|
Hopkins
|
41
|
186
|
Scott
|
Service
|
41
|
186
|
Mac
|
Suzuki
|
41
|
186
|
Ken
|
Harvey
|
41
|
191
|
Bill
|
Butler
|
40
|
191
|
Dan
|
Reichert
|
40
|
191
|
Jorge
|
Bonifacio
|
40
|
194
|
Jon
|
Nunnally
|
39
|
194
|
Cheslor
|
Cuthbert
|
39
|
196
|
Runelvys
|
Hernandez
|
38
|
197
|
Kyle
|
Davies
|
37
|
198
|
Vida
|
Blue
|
36
|
198
|
Bip
|
Roberts
|
36
|
198
|
Bob
|
Stinson
|
36
|
198
|
Blake
|
Stein
|
36
|
198
|
Jimmy
|
Gobble
|
36
|
198
|
Jon
|
Jay
|
36
|
198
|
Jonathan
|
Broxton
|
36
|
198
|
Mike
|
Minor
|
36
|
Not including 2020 performance. Thank you for reading.