Royals Additions

1988 Mark Gubicza SP R/2R 2.70 ERA/1.18 WHIP Solid Royals Starter for 13 seasons
1984 Bud Black SP L/2L 3.12/1.12 Good LH card, not in set
2010 Joakim Soria RP R1/1R 1.78/1.05

2003 Carlos Beltran S/1L CF-1(-1)6 307/389/522 Needs a better card
2002 Mike Sweeney R/E 1b-4e15 340/417/563 A Royals staple for years, needs to be in set
1986 Frank White R/2R 2b-1e11/3b-4e27/SS-4e38 272/322/465 Gives a more balance White for KCR

Danny Tartabull 1991. .316/.397/.593/.990 Led league in slugging. one card

Best year in 14 year career. Known for wearing a new suit every single day. Proud of it.

Danny Tartabull 1991. .316/.397/.593/.990 Led league in slugging. one card

Best year in 14 year career. Known for wearing a new suit every single day. Proud of it.

I'll second the Tartabull nomination and add 1974 Steve Busby 22-14 3.39 All-star, MVP-30

In addition to Black, Gubicza and Soria, Royals pitcher possibilities:

1982 Mike Armstrong 5-5, 6 saves 3.20/1.163 (R3, 2R)
1969 Wally Bunker 12-11, 2 saves 3.23/1.168 (nice 4.2 WAR year, 3R, hopefully S/R)
2002 Paul Byrd 17-11 3.90/1.147 (5.6 WAR, 127 ERA+, probably 2R)
1990 Steve Farr 13-7, 1 save 1.98/1.157 (R2 or R3, E)
1976 Steve Mingori 5-5, 10 saves 2.32/1.148 (better card than the '77, 6L)
1989 Jeff Montgomery 7-3, 18 saves 1.37/0.989
1993 Jeff Montgomery 7-5, 45 saves 2.27/1.008 (the card we have doesn't do him justice, '93 is a 4R, '89 is 4.6 WAR)
1985 Bret Saberhagen 20-6 2.87/1.058 (Cy Young winner, E)
2008 Joakim Soria 2-3, 42 saves 1.60/0.861 (R1, 1R, no BP singles)
1978 Paul Splitorff 19-13 3.40/1.160 (can't K anyone to save his life, but a better card than we have)

I always liked Splittorff. How about 1971 instead of 1978? He was 5th in Rookie of the Year, and only 144 innings, but metrics wise, his best year, which might yield a nice card at 80MM leagues. 2.68 era (his best), 1.136 whip (his best), 2.51 FIP (his best, and third all time for the Royals franchise)

Good card vetting. As a group please give me your 5 with 2 alternates by Thursday @ 5pm PT so we can get the voting underway.

My top choice for the Royals would be 1991 Danny Tartabull

My top choice for the Royals would be 1991 Danny Tartabull

I second that!

I always liked Splittorff. How about 1971 instead of 1978? He was 5th in Rookie of the Year, and only 144 innings, but metrics wise, his best year, which might yield a nice card at 80MM leagues. 2.68 era (his best), 1.136 whip (his best), 2.51 FIP (his best, and third all time for the Royals franchise)

Sounds good to me. I had nominated '78 because it was his "best" full year, and I thought that a pitcher like Splittorff deserved his "best" card, as important as he was to the Royals. But that rookie card sounds intriguing. Just a quick naive question, does FIP translate well to SOM?

My five choices would be:

1984 Bud Black
1988 Mark Gubicza
2002 Mike Sweeney
1991 Danny Tartabull
2003 Carlos Beltran

My alternates:

Splittorff (either '71 or '78)
Soria (either '08 or '10)