1971 Kansas City Royals season
The 1971 Kansas City Royals season was their third in Major League Baseball. The Royals had the first winning season in franchise history, good enough for second place in the American League West and 16 games behind the Oakland Athletics. Kansas City earning a winning record in its third season was the fastest of any expansion club in Major League Baseball history to that point. The record would stand until the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks won the National League West title in their second season.Offseason
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
C | | 71 | 218 | 55 | .252 | 1 | 24 |
3B | | 161 | 548 | 150 | .274 | 11 | 63 |
LF | | 126 | 448 | 125 | .279 | 3 | 51 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| 49 | 143 | 31 | .217 | 2 | 21 |
| 20 | 39 | 7 | .179 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 | 29 | 5 | .172 | 0 | 1 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 35 | 241.1 | 17 | 11 | 2.98 | 109 |
| 32 | 205.2 | 15 | 8 | 2.71 | 76 |
| 25 | 141.1 | 8 | 6 | 3.44 | 58 |
| 7 | 32.1 | 2 | 3 | 5.01 | 15 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 36 | 127.1 | 7 | 5 | 4.17 | 53 |
| 13 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 5.29 | 29 |
| 10 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 4.12 | 20 |
| 3 | 21.1 | 3 | 0 | 2.11 | 12 |
| 4 | 9.2 | 0 | 0 | 9.31 | 2 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| 67 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 1.73 | 44 |
| 63 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 2.56 | 55 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elmira, GCL Royals