Earlier this month, the Royals opened their fan voting portion for the Royals Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Safe to say, with nine eligible candidates, it was a loaded group for fans to vote for, as seen in the Royals tweet below.
Fans could only vote on five players, meaning that four from this group of nine would be left out. All nine could make their case for a vote in any other voting season, so this wasn’t an easy selection process for Royals fans, including myself.
Fans had from December 9th to the 23rd to select up to five former Royals on their respective ballot. I imagine the Royals will release the voting results soon, especially after the new year in January, when baseball news can be hard to come by. Thus, I thought it would be good to share my votes and the process I took when making my selections on this year’s ballot.
When it came to making my selections, I looked at three primary factors:
- Individual Performance
- Length of Tenure
- Imprint on Royals Fans
With any hall of fame, I think it’s essential to recognize the best performers of that time. That’s why it’s difficult not to see players like Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens NOT in the Baseball Hall of Fame. They were some of the best in their time, and not seeing them recognized for that is a black eye on the game, regardless of what they were like “off the field.”
With a team-centered hall of fame, I think tenure matters. Any Royals player eligible for enshrinement in the Kauffman Hall of Fame should have spent considerable time in Kansas City, with their best years coming with the Royals.
Lastly, Royals Hall of Fame candidates should have had a long-lasting impact on Royals fans. That’s easier to accomplish during successful periods since Kansas City sports fans are more engaged with the Royals when they are winning. That’s why many of the current Royals Hall of Fame members come from the late 70’s and early 80’s. It’s not surprising that we are seeing more from the 2103-2017 era start to be nominated since many have retired over the past few seasons.
In terms of point one, let’s look at how the fWAR broke down for eligible hitters from this class (I broke down the numbers from 1992-2024 on Fangraphs):
Now let’s look at the pitchers, using the same period on Fangraphs:
As said before, this wasn’t an easy selection process, and I went back and forth with several candidates on more than one occasion.
Nonetheless, let’s examine my selections on the Royals Class of 2025 Hall of Fame ballot.
Just Missed The Cut
Jarrod Dyson
Dyson was a tough pick mainly because he was an underrated fan favorite during those 2014 and 2015 playoff runs. He was known for his speed and swagger, especially in the AL Wild Card game against the Athletics, where he stole key bases to help the Royals win their first postseason game in nearly 30 years.
There’s no debate that Dyson has had a long-lasting impact on Royals fans from his time in Kansas City, especially among younger fans whose first significant experience with the Royals was the 2014 and 2015 teams.
However, the body of work barely misses the Hall of Fame cut.
His 627 games with the Royals are the 12th-most (with Angel Berroa) since 1992, and his 9.8 fWAR ranks 15th for Royals position players. His 184 stolen bases are the most of any Royals players since 1992 (10 more than Whit Merrifield, who is second). Conversely, he only had an 83 wRC+ and was never a regular starter in Kansas City.
Dyson was more than just a super-sub baserunner (unlike Terrance Gore), and the Royals may not have won the World Series title without him. That makes his omission challenging, as his imprint on those 2014 and 2015 AL Pennant teams is so evident.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to give a Royals player a Hall of Fame enshrinement who never played more than 120 games in a single season with the Royals.
Billy Butler
I’ve written about Butler and his legacy on this blog, and his candidacy is challenging from a fan perspective.
On one end, Butler was a one-time All-Star whose 117 wRC+ is the fourth-best mark for a Royals hitter since 1992. Even though he wasn’t a tremendous power hitter by any means (127 home runs in 1166 plate appearances), he hit .295 as a Royal and collected 628 RBI, fourth-most in Royals history since 1992. He also had some memorable moments, like this 2012 walk-off home run at the K against the Mariners.
Unfortunately, Butler was just too one-dimensional in his time in Kansas City.
Despite having the second-most games of the candidates this season, his 7.5 fWAR was the lowest. That was primarily due to his lackluster defensive ability, as he spent most of his Major League career at the designated hitter position.
In his time with the Royals, he was 121.1 runs BELOW the league average, based on Fangraphs’ Def. Those kinds of defensive metrics are difficult to stomach and a detriment to his overall tenure with the Royals. Hence, Butler misses my Royals Hall of Fame vote this year.
Johnny Damon
When looking at Damon’s time in Kansas City, I was surprised by his effectiveness in his six seasons with the Royals.
In 803 games, he accumulated an 11.9 fWAR, 65 home runs, and 156 stolen bases. His stolen-base mark is fifth most in Royals history since 1992, and his fWAR is 11th-highest, behind Mike Moustakas (12.5) but ahead of Alcides Escobar (11.3) and Eric Hosmer (10.0).
Furthermore, Damon was part of one of the best Royals television ads post-George Brett. Ironically, the 1996 advertisement also featured Brett, who had just retired a couple of seasons earlier.
Damon metrically has a case, but a significant issue with Damon’s candidacy is that his most memorable seasons came after his time in Kansas City. He seemed to be more well-known with the Red Sox, especially in 2004, when he helped the Red Sox win their first World Series title since 1918. He also had a memorable stretch with the Yankees, whom he jumped to after his time in Boston.
Also, Damon famously asked out of Kansas City, essentially turning down a contract extension and forcing a trade to Oakland, as I talked about in a profile on Damon back on this blog in 2020.
Royals fans have been much kinder to Damon the longer he’s retired. Damon seems to have buried the hatchet with the Royals organization, appearing in many get-togethers at Kauffman since retiring. Despite those efforts and impressive numbers, Damon doesn’t have the long-lasting positive imprint with Royals fans to earn a spot in the Royals Hall of Fame.
Kelvin Herrera
Regarding the “HDH” trio that dominated baseball from 2013-2015, Herrera always seemed to play third fiddle to Greg Holland and Wade Davis. However, he accumulated more innings in Kansas City (441.1 IP) than Davis (360.2 IP) and Holland (403.2 IP). He also had more saves (57) than Davis (49).
Furthermore, Herrera had one of the best postseason performances of any Royals reliever in the 2015 postseason. Even though Davis had the closing pitch and moment in their game five win over the Mets that clinched the Royals’ second World Series title, Herrera kept the Royals in the game with three shutout innings.
Herrera was an underrated Kansas City reliever whose value exceeded his save numbers. However, despite his longer tenure with the Royals than his HDH colleagues, his fWAR (7.1) was still lower than Davis (7.8) and Holland (10.8). He also struggled when he finally had his moment to be the Royals’ closer in 2017.
With Holland and Davis gone, Herrera collected 26 saves in 64 appearances that season. Conversely, his ERA was 4.25, his FIP was 4.30, and he only posted an fWAR of 0.2. Not only did Herrera fail to carry on the legacy of Holland and Davis in what proved to be the last year of the Royals’ competitive “window,” but he also made himself expendable. The Royals ended up trading Herrera to the Nationals midseason in 2018.
There’s no question that Herrera was key to the success in 2014 and 2015, mainly because he stayed healthy during those seasons. However, I am not sure there’s enough on the resume to merit a Royals Hall of Fame spot.
My Class of 2025 Royals Hall of Fame Votes
Carlos Beltran
At first glance, Royals fans may equate Beltran’s legacy with Damon’s. After all, Beltran had tremendous seasons with the Astros, Mets, Yankees, and even Cardinals after he left Kansas City.
Conversely, when I dug deeper into Beltran’s numbers, I saw that his tenure in Kansas City looked more impressive and made him worthy of a Royals Hall of Fame spot.
Since 1992, Beltran’s 24.9 fWAR is the second-best mark of Royals position players. He won Rookie of the Year in 1999 over big names such as Seattle’s Freddy Garcia, Boston’s Brian Daubach, Oakland’s Tim Hudson, and the White Sox’s Carlos Lee. He also had four straight 5+ fWAR seasons from 2001 to 2004, his final four seasons in Kansas City.
Lastly, he was a key part of the Royals’ 2003 season, in which they went 83-79, their first winning season in nearly a decade. That said, Beltran missed 21 games due to injury, and many Royals fans and media members felt that if Beltran was fully healthy that season, the Royals would’ve won the Central and made the postseason. The BBWAA felt the same: he finished 9th in MVP voting in 2003.
Even though Beltran didn’t experience a lot of winning in Kansas City, he contributed to many big moments, like this walk-off home run on April 5th, 2004, at Kauffman Stadium against the rival White Sox (in pre-renovation Kauffman nonetheless).
It’s too bad Beltran didn’t stay longer in Kansas City. Suppose the Royals perhaps had leveraged the successful 2003 better. In that case, it’s possible that Beltran could’ve committed to a long-term deal with the Royals, much like Bobby Witt, Jr. this past offseason (though previous owner David Glass was a lot stingier with money back then).
Even though the Royals missed Beltran’s later successful years, that shouldn’t take away his tremendous impact in Kansas City from 1999-2004. He was a positive figurehead of a brutal era for Royals fans, and he deserves recognition in the Royals Hall of Fame for holding the club together during those lean years.
Joakim Soria
Soria is another complicated case, as he ended up leaving Kansas City on mixed terms after a successful start to his MLB career.
In 427 games with the Royals, Soria saved 162 games, the second-most since 1992 (behind only Jeff Montgomery, who is in the Royals Hall of Fame). His career ERA with the Royals was 2.82, and his fWAR of 9.8 is the second-best mark of any Royals reliever over that timespan.
The Royals declined an option on Soria after the 2012 campaign after he had missed the previous season due to Tommy John surgery. Not surprisingly, Soria opted for free agency and found success with other clubs, including rival ones such as the Tigers and Rangers. That said, what got Soria back in good graces, and why I believe he deserves a spot in the Royals Hall of Fame, was his return to Kansas City after the 2015 season.
In an interview after his signing, Soria mentioned how he was still connected to Kansas City and the Royals and was happy to return after being let go back in 2012.
Soria could have gone anywhere, as he was a highly-valued reliever then. Instead, he returned to Kansas City, intent on helping the Royals continue their postseason success. Even though his second tenure with the Royals (1.9 fWAR over two seasons) wasn’t as successful as the first, he still was solid, especially in 2017 as a setup man to Herrera (1.7 fWAR that season).
Soria is an ideal Hall of Fame candidate because he embodies the Royals’ story.
He was a Rule 5 Draft pick who became a two-time All-Star (2008 and 2010). He was a Mexican-born pitcher who inspired many young Hispanic ballplayers in a growing Hispanic community in Kansas City at the time. Those are some of the traits of Soria’s seven-year legacy with the Royals that cements his status as a Hall of Famer.
In addition to his sterling relief pitching as a Royal, those personal aspects should help him gain respect from Royals fans and voters, even if he pitched during those challenging early years of the Dayton Moore era, where losses were much more common than wins.
Wade Davis
I initially had a hard time voting for Davis, primarily since he only pitched four years with the Royals, and one of those seasons was as a mediocre starter (5.32 ERA and 1.5 fWAR in 2013).
That said, what Davis did in such a short period is incredible to look back on, especially when looking at the metrics.
Davis posted a 7.8 fWAR in 256 outings and 360.1 IP with the Royals from 2013 to 2017. His run from 2014 to 2016 as a reliever was particularly impressive, as he posted ERA numbers of 1.00, 0.87, and 1.87 in those seasons, respectively. Over those three years, he accumulated 47 saves and an fWAR of 6.5 in 235.1 IP.
Holland and Herrera were phenomenal, and Royals fans shouldn’t take anything away from the pair. However, Davis was the “star” of the trio, especially in 2015 when the Royals won the World Series.
It’s too bad Davis didn’t have one more year with this group (he was traded after the 2016 season to the Cubs for Jorge Soler, who had a mixed tenure with the Royals). Nonetheless, he was the dominant reliever figurehead of those successful Royals teams from 2014 to 2016, and that should give him a spot in the Royals Hall of Fame.
Yordano Ventura
Ventura has been on the ballot before and earned enough of the vote to stay on this year’s ballot. The argument against Ventura has been that he didn’t earn enough innings in Kansas City to have a case for a spot in the Royals Hall of Fame.
I understand that argument to a point.
Ventura only pitched three full seasons with the Royals from 2014 to 2016 (he made three starts in 2013 when rosters expanded in September). Over his brief career, he made 94 appearances (93 starts), pitched 547.2 innings, posted a 3.89 ERA and 4.00 FIP, and accumulated a 6.9 fWAR.
His fWAR is the lowest of any pitcher on the ballot and ranks 21st of Royals pitchers since 1992. Thus, on a “quantity” of production end, I agree that Ventura doesn’t have the most impressive resume for a spot in the Hall of Fame.
That said, Ventura’s impact on the Royals and the city makes up for his lack of innings at the Major League level.
From 2014 to 2016, Ventura was one of the leading competitive sparks of this Royals club. He was Pedro Martinez of Kansas City during that era, willing not just to pitch in the most significant moments but to do whatever he could to show that they weren’t intimidated during those three years. That resulted in many tussles, with his most famous one with Manny Machado, who played for the Orioles then.
Despite Ventura’s fire and willingness to confront opponents, Royals teammates loved him. His passing had a significant impact on the players and organization, and I think the ripple effect of Ventura’s tragic death contributed to the Royals underperforming in 2017 (and also going through some rough rebuilding seasons in 2018 and 2019).
Here’s a video from an ESPN story published after his death that demonstrated the impact of Ventura.
The Royals Hall of Fame showcases which Royals players impacted the organization most during their respective tenure in Kansas City. Ventura’s presence loomed the largest on the Royals for three seasons while playing and one after his death.
Lastly, Bo Jackson was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame for his impact on the franchise and baseball in Kansas City. His fWAR with the Royals was 6.6, 0.3 fWAR less than Ventura’s.
If the Royals can induct Jackson, they can do the same for Ventura.
Alex Gordon
This should be the most straightforward selection on the ballot, and I still think Gordo doesn’t get enough credit for what he did with the Royals organization, especially during those 2014 and 2015 postseason runs.
Gordo accumulated a 31.7 fWAR in 1,753 career games with the Royals. He had four straight seasons with an fWAR over four (2011 to 2014), including a 6.6 fWAR season in 2011, when he also hit 21 home runs and posted a 140 wRC+ in 151 games. He was a three-time All-Star, won eight Gold Gloves, and his fWAR ranks 4th in Royals position player history, behind only Brett, Amos Otis, and Willie Wilson.
Plus, he had one of the most clutch moments in the magical 2015 playoffs and perhaps in the entirety of the Royals’ postseason history.
The only more significant Royals postseason moments may be George Brett’s HR in Yankee Stadium in the 1980 ALCS (which sent the Royals to their first World Series) and the Salvy 2014 game-winning hit in the AL Wild Card against the Athletics. After that, I think nothing else tops Gordo’s home run.
Gordo spent his entire career in Kansas City and was a Nebraska kid who represented all that is great about the Royals organization and baseball in the Midwest.
His enshrinement will be a memorable day for the Royals nation.
Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-USA Today Sports