25. Darrell Porter

Traded to KC prior to the 1977 season, Porter would quickly become a fan favorite due to his on-field intensity.  In the four seasons he was a Royal, the Catcher was named an All Star in three of them.  Finishing 10th in American League MVP voting in 1978, his 1979 season was considerably better (though he only moved up one spot to 9th in voting) where he had career highs in Hits (155), Home Runs (20) and every facet of the Slash Line (.291/.421/.484).  He would also finish first in Walks and became the sixth Catcher to score and drive in 100 Runs in a season.  Arguably the Royals would have been hard pressed to have made the playoffs as often as they did in the late 1970’s without Darrell Porter’s assistance.

Sadly, it is hard to mention Porter without mentioning that he was one of the first players to go public with his problems with substance abuse (well documented during his Royals tenure), which may have led to his premature death in 2002 as based on toxicology reports he may have fell off of the wagon (cocaine was found in his system).