The Most Obscure Royals of All-Time

Just a break from the Greatest 100 Royals of All-Time list to take a look at guys that will never be mistaken for great Royals. They are the most obscure Royals of All-Time. Some went on to decent careers with other ballclubs, others spent but a brief afternoon in "The Show", but all made just brief cameos in a Royals uniform. I organized the list generally according to playing time.

Well, you know I... I never got to bat in the major leagues. I would have liked to have had that chance. Just once. To stare down a big league pitcher. To stare him down, and just as he goes into his windup, wink. Make him think you know something he doesn't. That's what I wish for. Chance to squint at a sky so blue that it hurts your eyes just to look at it. To feel the tingling in your arm as you connect with the ball. To run the bases - stretch a double into a triple, and flop face-first into third, wrap your arms around the bag. That's my wish, Ray Kinsella. That's my wish.
-Burt Lancaster as Archibald "Moonlight" Graham in the movie "Field of Dreams"

Honorable Mention: Russ McGinnis, Steve Foucalt, Jim Scranton, Mike Tonis, Billy Harris, Jay Baller, Jeff Schattinger, Ken Sanders, German Barranca

The Most Obscure Royals Ever

20. Dusty Wathan

The Royals kept it all in the family employing a bit of nepotism in playing Dusty Wathan, son of former Royals catcher and manager John Wathan, in the fall of 2002. Dusty had wandered the minor leagues as a backup catcher for years before the Royals threw him a bone and signed him in the middle of the summer, then called up him for five at bats in September. He did collect three hits, allowing him to retire with a lifetime average of .600, way better than George Brett. Who else can boast a lifetime OPS+ of 274? It is the 18th highest career OPS+ in MLB history for a player with a minimum of five plate appearances (John Paciorek went 3-3 in 1963 and never got a chance to make an out!). Brother Derek latched on with the Royals minor leagues last summer, but the Royals cruelly denied him a taste of the big leagues. For shame.

19. Archie Corbin

The Royals acquired Corbin from the Mets for Pat Tabler, so you'd think there would be a lot of pressure on him to perform. Corbin got promoted to the big leagues the next season, in 1991 and gave up just one run in 2 1/3 innings, for an ERA of 3.86. In 1992, the Royals sent Corbin with Sean Berry to Montreal for Bill Sampen and Chris Haney. Corbin wouldn't reach the big leagues again until 1996 with the Orioles. He then hibernated for another three seasons before resurfacing, like the locusts, in Florida in 1999.

18. Chris Booker

Chris Booker, who bears a striking resemblance to Bubba from "Forrest Gump", was a Rule 5 pick when the Royals picked him up off waivers in May of 2006. I can't really recall why anyone thought he was worth keeping, since he was not young (he was 29) and had bounced around from the Cubs organization to the Reds organization to the Nationals to the Tigers to the Phillies before the Royals picked him up off the scrap heap. The Royals put him in a game in Baltimore they were losing 5-1. He got out of the seventh, but gave up a trio of home runs and left down 11-1. The Royals thankfully saved their receipt and returned him to the Nationals the next day.

17. Luis Pujols
Luis Pujols had been a backup catcher for seven seasons in Houston when the Royals traded for him in September of 1984. Pujols had spent much of his career hovering around the Mendoza Line, so the Royals must have picked him up so he could be an extra bullpen catcher or so he could serve as a translator for Onix Concepcion. Anyway, the only let him hit five times. He later managed the Tigers and lost 100 games, proving he was just as good a manager as he was a player.

16. Gary Lance

Gary Lance was an undrafted pitcher and toiled away in the Royals farm system for six years before finally being promoted in 1977 at the age of 28. You have to appreciate that kind of perseverance. He got in one game, late in September, with the Royals on the verge of 100 wins. The A's and Royals were knotted at 5-5 and Lance got the Royals out of an eighth inning jam. He preserved the tie in the ninth, but John Mayberry was out at home after trying to score on a Cookie Rojas double. Lance gave up two hits in the bottom of the tenth and the A's won it, giving Lance a loss in his only Major League appearance.

15. Dave Owen

Dave is the older brother of shortstop Spike Owen. I think among baseball playing brothers, the younger one is generally the better one - George Brett, Roberto Alomar, Greg Maddux. I think its because older brothers play with younger brothers, usually sparing no mercy, and the younger brother plays with older kids. So he's used to tougher competition. I don't know, I pulled that out of my posterior. There are certainly some older brothers who were much better - Cal Ripken and Hank Aaron for example. And who could really tell the Iorg brothers apart?

Anyway, Dave Owen was an infielder like Spike, but he bounced around from the Cubs to the Giants to the Rangers, collecting a few at-bats in Chicago. The Royals traded someone named Rufus Ellis to get him, then let him get five at bats in 1988, where he went hitless. He is now the Royals bench coach.

14. Roland de la Maza

The Royals got de la Maza in a trade with the Indians for infielder Bip Roberts in 1997. The Royals were all too happy to get rid of the malcontented Bip, and they actually got a pretty decent left-handed pitcher for him. They put Roland in a game against the White Sox in September, and he went two innings, giving up just a Ray Durham home run. The next year, he struggled in Omaha, and he never really pitched after that, I presume injuries caught up to him. Imagine that, injuries befalling a Royals minor league pitcher? Shocking!

13. Craig Brazell

Like Youtube or Hannah Montana, Craig Brazell was a sensation in 2007. Unfortunately, he did all his work in the minor leagues, smacking thirty-nine home runs between Wichita and Omaha, leading all minor league players. Brazell was a once Mets prospect at first base who bounced around as a minor league free agent and falling into the Royals' lap in 2007. He slugged .601 in the minors, but amazingly drew just 31 walks. I guess minor league pitchers have balls. The Royals rewarded him by letting him collect wisdom on the bench next to manager Buddy Bell. He managed to get five pinch hit appearances, drawing a walk and a single. This winter he signed with the Seibu Lions in Japan.

12. Terry Bell

Terry Bell was a first round pick of the Seattle Mariners taken two spots before the Red Sox took a young right handed pitcher out of the University of Texas named Roger Clemens. He was a catcher and after just three seasons, the Mariners had already realized their blunder and dealt him to Kansas City for reliever Mark Huisman. Bell appeared in eight games for the Royals in 1986, but had just five plate appearances, failing to get a hit, but drawing two walks. The next year, he had one at bat in Atlanta, striking out. He's now an assistant baseball coach at the University of Dayton.

11. Rontrez Johnson

He has the distinction of being the only player named "Rontrez" in Major League history. After failing to stand out in the Red Sox organization, Rontrez signed as a minor league free agent with the Royals. In the December of 2002, the A's nabbed Rontrez in the Rule 5 pick and it looked like Billy Beane had once again pulled one over Allard Baird. But in March the A's decided Rontrez wasn't worth it and returned him the Royals. Rontrez appeared in a few games for the Royals that April, as part of their magical start to the season, but by May he was in the minors for good, having collected just three at bats in the Major Leagues, never to be heard from again.

10.Travis Dawkins

Travis "Gookie" Dawkins was at one time a hot prospect for the Cincinnati Reds, known for his glovework. By 2003 his star had faded and the Royals were able to pick him up for Scott Mullen so Dawkins could provide depth in Omaha. In July of 2003 the Royals called him up to replace the injured Joe Randa. He had just three plate appearances with the Royals, failing to put the ball in play. He struck out twice and walked, and was sent down the next week.

9. Dwight Taylor

Just as the Royals were trying to close out the Division Title in 1985, they also pulled off a trade, picking up Taylor from the Indians for pitcher Keith Creel. The next April, Taylor got in four games for the Royals, all off the bench. He batted twice, grounding out and fouling out. That was his Major League career.

8. Randy Bass

Randy Bass was kind of the Craig Brazell of his day. He was an Oklahoma kid drafted out of high school and he hit a ton of home runs in the minors for the Twins organization. The Twins had Rod Carew at first base, but surprisingly there was little interest for Bass, so they sold him to the Royals. The Royals had just traded away Big John Mayberry, leaving light hitting Pete LaCock as the starting first baseman. You would think they would give the twenty-four year old Bass a chance. Instead, they let LaCock play, relegating Bass to the minors where he hit 22 home runs and drew 100 walks for Omaha. The Royals gave him two pinch hitting appearances in September before selling him to Montreal.

Bass bounced around getting a few at bats with the Expos, Padres and Rangers. In 1982 Bass decided to play in Japan for the Hanshin Tigers. He just about single-handedly turned around that moribund franchise by winning four batting titles, becoming the first player in league history to hit .400, and nearly setting the single season home run record, coming short only because pitchers would intentionally walk him every time once he got close to the legendary record. Bass became a baseball legend in Japan, retiring in 1988. He is now a State Senator in Oklahoma.

7. Jose Mota

Jose Mota is the son of long-time outfielder Manny Mota. He was taken in the second round of the 1985 draft by the White Sox, just three slots ahead of Randy Johnson. The White Sox didn't much care for him, trading him just a few months after drafting him. He bounced from Texas to Oakland and to San Diego, where he finally got some big league action. He signed with the Royals for the 1992 season and became a fixture in Omaha, spending the next five seasons there as a light hitting infielder. The Royals rewarded his persistence by giving him two at bats in 1995.

6. Rich Thompson

In the Rule 5 Draft in the winter of 2003, teams purged the Pittsburgh Pirates, with five of the first six selections coming from that organization. One of the players was a speedy, light hitting outfielder named Rich Thompson, who the Royals selected second overall. Thompson had just come off a season hitting .293 with 48 steals between AA and AAA although he showed absolutely no power whatsoever. The Royals took him to be a defensive replacement and pinch runner, deluded in thinking they had the luxury of having that kind of roster spot. The Royals used him in six games, all as a pinch runner. In a 15-5 game, they even let him hit, and he promptly hit into a double play. He has been in AAA ever since, failing to add to his MLB resume.

5. Gary Martz

Martz, a Washington native, was drafted by his hometown Seattle Pilots. The next season, they moved to Milwaukee. He was an outfielder, and in 1975 he was sold to the Royals. He was brought up in July and appeared in one game, in July against his former team, now called the Brewers. He pinch hit for John Mayberry in an 8-1 game. He bounced into a force out, but the relay throw to first was wild, allowing George Brett to score. That would be the only plate appearance in Gary Martz's Major League career.

4. Kelly Heath

Heath is listed on Baseball-Reference as 5'7'' 155 pounds, which is about the size of me when I was a freshman in college (pre-pizza and beer). He was a second baseman and a seventh round pick by the Royals in 1977. Heath made the opening day roster in 1982, but with Frank White on the team, Heath's chances of playing much were slim. On April 20, with the Royals down 8-0, Dick Howser put Heath in to replace White in the sixth inning. He turned a double play, and lined out to center field. On April 29, he was demoted to Omaha, with just one MLB at bat and he never returned to the Majors.

3. Paul Zuvella

Paul Zuvella was a utility infielder for a number of teams in the 80s, appearing in 209 games, although never more than 81 in a season. He played for the Braves, Yankees and Indians mostly at shortstop and second base, and once was involved in a trade for Ken Griffey Sr. He was a bright player, having attended Stanford University and he went on to be a minor league manager for several years. He also had a brief cameo in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" as the baserunner at the Cubs game attended by Ferris and Cameron.

The Royals signed Zuvella in 1990 to play shortstop in Omaha. He did well, hitting .283, giving the Royals reason to bring him back the following season. In late April of 1991, third baseman Kevin Seitzer went down with injury and the Royals promoted Zuvella. He appeared in two games at third base, as a defensive replacement, never hitting in a Royals uniform.

There are only two players after Zuvella in an alphabetical listing of all the players in MLB history - George Zuverink and Dutch Zwilling

2. Greg Keatley

Keatley was a catcher selected in the fifth round of the 1976 draft by the Cubs. He was fairly unimpressive for the Cubs, so in February of 1981, they traded him for a Royals minor leaguer named Dennis Webb. Keatley hit .237 with five home runs and twenty-one RBI in seventy-eight games in Omaha. He was called up in September as rosters expanded. On September 27, he was brought in to catch the ninth inning of a 15-3 game. On October 5, he was brought in to catch the ninth inning of a 9-0 game. Both innings were three up, three down. Keatley never got to hit. The next season, Keatley was back in Omaha, hitting .198. Like Moonlight Graham, he never got that chance to wink at the pitcher.

1. Bob Hegman

At least Keatley got to play in two games. Bob Hegman, a former fifteenth round pick in 1980, appeared in just one game for the Royals - August 8, 1985, Game One of a doubleheader against the Tigers. Buddy Biancalana had gone on the disabled list with back spasms, and Hegman was summoned to provide depth in the infield. With the Royals up 10-1 in the ninth, Dick Howser put Hegman in at third base to replace future Hall of Famer George Brett.

Hegman did not get a single play, and he was soon demoted, never having gotten a chance to hit. Hegman returned to Omaha the next season, but would soon call it quits, having hit .240 in parts of seven minor league seasons. He was immediately hired by the team as an Administrative Assistant in the scouting department and by 1993, at the age of 35, he was Director of Minor League Operations. Hegman was in the Royals front office until 2003. He is now an advanced scout for the Twins.

We may snicker or even pity these guys for only getting a brief taste of big league action, but we should only be so lucky to achieve even a taste of our dreams as these men did.

Ray Kinsella: Fifty years ago, for five minutes you came within... you came this close. It would KILL some men to get so close to their dream and not touch it. God, they'd consider it a tragedy.
Moonlight Graham: Son, if I'd only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes... now that would have been a tragedy.