Steve Busby joined the Kansas City organization as a second-round selection in 1971 out of USC, a right-hander whose arrival signaled the dawn of the Royals' competitive era. Debuting in late 1972, he immediately established himself as a historic outlier by tossing a no-hitter in just his tenth career start.
Busby reached a historic peak of efficiency and individual recognition between 1973 and 1975. After a 16-win rookie campaign, he surged to a career-high 22 wins in 1974, becoming the first Royal to reach the 20-victory plateau. He showed the organization he was a foundational superstar by throwing his second career no-hitter that summer, making him the first pitcher in MLB history to record a no-no in each of his first two full seasons. He earned back-to-back All-Star selections and finished in the top five of the 1974 Cy Young voting, providing the steady-state production that stabilized the rotation before the era of Frank White and George Brett truly took hold.
Everything culminated in a tragic transition during the 1976 season when Busby was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff. In a move that became a medical landmark, he became the first active Major League pitcher to undergo rotator cuff surgery, an injury that was almost universally considered career-ending at the time. To protect his arm during his attempted comeback, he was famously placed on a strict pitch count, a tactic rarely seen in the 1970s that is now the industry standard. While he courageously returned to win six games in 1979, the high-velocity stuff was never the same, and he left the active roster for good following the 1980 season.
Busby compiled a 70-54 record, 659 strikeouts, and two career no-hitters as a Royal.
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