Tom “Flash” Gordon’s long baseball career began with the Kansas City Royals where in 1989 he would be the runner-up for the American League Rookie of the Year Award.  Arguably this would be the best year he would have as a Starting Pitcher where he went 17 and 9 with 153 Strikeouts but he would have three more seasons with Kansas City where he whiffed 140 or more batters.  Gordon would go 79 and 71 for Kansas City but would achieve greater success in his career as a Relief Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

Greg Holland was developed as a pure reliever from the moment the Royals drafted him in 2007. Armed with a high-90s four-seam fastball and a biting slider, he never started a single game for the organization. He spent two seasons as a high-leverage setup man before the 2012 trade of Jonathan Broxton to Cincinnati opened the door for him to become the full-time closer.

Holland reached a historic peak of efficiency during the 2013 and 2014 campaigns. In 2013, he recorded a franchise-record 47 saves and followed it with 46 the next year. He maintained an elite dominance during this stretch with back-to-back ERAs under 1.50 and WHIPs under 1.000, earning two All-Star selections and the inaugural Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award. He showed the organization he was a foundational winner by serving as the final hammer for the "H-D-H" bullpen that led Kansas City back to the World Series in 2014.

Everything culminated in a difficult 19-month stretch beginning in late 2015. While he battled through 32 saves that year, his effectiveness dipped as he pitched through a significant UCL tear. He missed the entire 2015 postseason and the subsequent World Series title to undergo Tommy John surgery. After a five-year journey through several NL clubs, he returned to the Royals in 2020 as a veteran mentor, proving he could still deliver in a setup capacity. He left for Texas in 2022, departing with 159 saves, ranking fourth in franchise history.

An original Kansas City Royal, Al Fitzmorris arrived to KC via the Expansion Draft and he would play eight seasons for the Royals.  In the first half of his run with Kansas City he would be in and out of the bullpen trying to find his groove but he would be promoted to a regular starter in 1973 and from 1974 to 1976 he would win 13 or more Games for the Royals and would win 70 overall against 48 Losses.

In 2004 David DeJesus finished 6th in American League Rookie of the Year voting and while that would be the closest he would come to winning an award in Major League Baseball he would have a productive run with Kansas City.  DeJesus would have three straight 155 Hits seasons (2007-09) and would lead the AL in being Hit by Pitches in 2006.  He would also have a .307 season (2008).

As a Royal, DeJesus batted .289 with 971 Hits.