By Seth Herrold
Tuesday night started with such promise. David Ortiz said he was taking one at bat and then stepping out of the lineup to let hometown hero Billy Butler get some time in the All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium. Billy was looking to perform in front of his own fans and make a statement after being snubbed in the Home Run Derby. I thought for sure the streak was over.
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The streak I am refering to is not one to brag about for Royals fans. It’s the streak of years since a Kansas City Royal got a hit in an All-Star Game and, after Tuesday night’s 0-for-2 showing from Billy Butler, that streak now stands at 23 years.
The year was 1989. Bo Jackson was the American League’s top vote getter and he had himself a game. Jackson was the MVP of the game, played in Anaheim, CA. He hit a lead-off home run for the American League and finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Those two hits, however, were the last two a Royals’ player has had in an All-Star Game.
Since Jackson, the Royals have had six different position players play in 10 All-Star Games and none have recorded a hit. Kansas City players have combined to go 0-12 with five strikeouts since Jackson’s MVP game. Here is a look at the Royals position player history since Jackson.
– In 1991, just two years removed from Bo’s blast, Danny Tartabull represented the Royals as the starting designated hitter for the American League. “The ’Bull” went to bat twice, failing to record a hit and striking out once.
– The next Royals position player to get to the Mid-Summer Classic was Dean Palmer in 1998. Palmer pinch hit and recorded an out.
– In 2000, Kansas City had two all-stars. Jermaine Dye was voted into the starting lineup and remains, to this day, the last Royal to start an All-Star Game. Dye went to bat three times in the game going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Dye did walk once and scored a run. Dye is the last Royal to get on base and the last Royal to score a run in an All-Star Game. Mike Sweeney also made that All-Star Game and went to bat once, recording an out.
– Sweeney was back in the All-Star Game in 2001… and 2002… and 2003. Sweeney pinch hit in 2001 and made an out, pinch hit in 2002 and got out and in 2003 the American League had seen enough and Sweeney didn’t even get an at bat in the game.
– In 2004 it was Ken Harvey’s turn to try and break the streak and in one pinch-hit appearance, he struck out.
– Sweeney returned to the All-Star Game in 2005 and got a chance to hit again. He struck out, and as I recall, the at bat was so uneventful that the announcers were talking about something else and didn’t even mention Sweeney coming to the plate.
That brings us to Tuesday night when Billy Butler became the first Royal to go to the plate in an All-Star game in seven years. He went 0-for-2 and struck out once. Now Royals fans like myself are left with two questions: who will get the next hit in an All-Star Game for the Royals and when will it be?
One has to think Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer have All-Star Games in their future and they certainly would be the top two candidates for breaking the streak. Wil Myers is another likely candidate. The Royals’ prospect was 2-for-4 in Sunday’s Futures Game and drove in three runs. Obviously, a big-stage doesn’t bother him.
As for when it will be, who knows. Even great hitters can go 0-for in an All-Star Game. Who is to say the Royals will get another position player to the plate in the next couple of years and even if they do, how long will it be before a Royal gets two at bats in an All-Star Game like Butler did? This streak could go on a lot longer. What if the streak reaches 0-for-27? Even with Dye’s walk in 2000, that would still mean the Royals got no hit in a full All-Star Game.
It’s upsetting to see the years stack up since Jackson’s memorable game, but in the end it is important to remember it is an All-Star Game and the end result doesn’t affect more than the two teams that wind up in the World Series in the fall. Take the All-Star Game for what it is, a chance to see the MLB’s best on the field together. The hit will come eventually for the Royals.