November 4, 2026
November 4, 2026
1989 Kansas City Royals: Un-Bo-Lievable!
The late 1980s were a time in sports when one man was doing something that seemed unthinkable. One athlete was playing more than one sport at the highest professional level, and his name was Bo Jackson. The success Bo was having in both Major League Baseball and the National Football League at the same time was unprecedented, and his pursuit of the sports he loved captured the imaginations of many fans. His efforts even prompted Nike to launch a promotional campaign titled “Bo Knows.”
Bo Jackson was a key part of the 1989 Kansas City Royals, who went 90-72 and finished 7 games behind the Oakland Athletics in the American League West division. The Royals went 7-6 in head-to-head play against the eventual 1989 World Series Champions. The Royals were 55-26 at their home ballpark of Royals Stadium, but they struggled on the road, going 37-44. With the exception of July, the Royals played good baseball every month of the regular season, going 16-8 in April, 14-13 in May, 14-12 in June, 21-8 in August and 14-14 in September.
Outfielder Jim Eisenreich batted .293 with 9 home runs and 59 RBIs off 139 hits, 33 doubles, 7 triples and 27 stolen bases in 134 games. After moving from third base to first base, George Brett batted .282 with 12 home runs and 80 RBIs off 129 hits, 26 doubles and 14 stolen bases. Third baseman Kevin Seitzer batted .281 with 168 hits, 17 doubles and 17 stolen bases. Catcher Bob Boone, signed by the Royals in free agency on November 30, 1988, batted .274 with 111 hits and 13 doubles.
Left fielder Bo Jackson had 32 home runs and 105 RBIs off 132 hits, 15 doubles, 6 triples and 26 stolen bases. Right fielder Danny Tartabull had 18 home runs and 62 RBIs off 118 hits and 22 doubles. Center fielder Willie Wilson had 97 hits, 17 doubles, 7 triples and 24 stolen bases in 112 games. Shortstop Kurt Stillwell had 121 hits, 20 doubles, 7 triples and 9 stolen bases. Second baseman Frank White had 107 hits and 22 doubles. Designated hitter Pat Tabler had 101 hits and 11 doubles in 123 games.
Starting pitcher Bret Saberhagen was one of the best starters in the history of the Royals organization. Saberhagen went 23-6 with 193 strikeouts and a 2.16 ERA, recording 12 complete games and 4 shutouts. These statistics helped Saberhagen win the 1989 American League Cy Young Award, and he would be the last Royals starter to win 20 games in a season in the 20th century.
Tom Gordon went 17-9 with 153 strikeouts and a 3.64 ERA, recording 1 complete game, 1 shutout and 1 save. Mark Gubicza went 15-11 with 173 strikeouts and a 3.04 ERA, recording 8 complete games and 2 shutouts. Despite going 5-11, Charlie Leibrandt had 3 complete games and 1 shutout. Floyd Bannister went 4-1 as a starter, and he had the distinction of recording 3 outs on just 3 pitches in a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on May 15. Larry McWilliams went 2-2 with 1 complete game.
The Royals essentially had 2 closers in their bullpen. Jeff Montgomery went 7-3 with 18 saves, 94 strikeouts and a microscopic 1.37 ERA. Steve Farr also had 18 saves. Relief pitcher Steve Crawford went 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA. Rick Luecken went 2-1 with 1 save and a 3.42 ERA. Luis Aquino had 2 complete games and 1 shutout despite going 6-8.
Bo Jackson continued to wow baseball fans everywhere as he made the 1989 MLB All-Star Game as a starter for the American League, and he was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. A fine example of Jackson’s brilliance as a fielder came in a game on June 5 against the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome. Floyd Bannister pitched 7 innings and gave up 5 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 4 strikeouts. In the top of the 1st inning, Jim Eisenreich grounded into a double play that scored Kurt Stillwell. In the top of the 2nd, Bob Boone had a 2-run single. The Mariners came back in the bottom of the 8th as second baseman Harold Reynolds had an RBI single, and pinch-hitting catcher Scott Bradley followed with an RBI double. In the bottom of the 9th, right fielder Jay Buhner tied the game at 3-3 with a solo home run.
Jackson’s fielding brilliance showed in the bottom of the 10th when Bradley hit a sharp double to deep right field. Reynolds was on first base to start the play, and as he hustled around the bases and tried to score, his third base coach signaled for him to slide into home plate. The signal shocked Reynolds, who assumed he had scored easily. However, Jackson had cleanly fielded the ball and fired a perfect 300-foot laser to catcher Bob Boone, who promptly tagged Reynolds out. In the top of the 13th, the Royals took the lead on a pair of RBI singles by designated hitter Matt Winters and catcher Mike Macfarlane. The Royals won the game 5-3.
Bret Saberhagen’s brilliance as a starter showed on June 21 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Milwaukee County Stadium. Saberhagen pitched a complete game, giving up only 3 hits while recording 5 strikeouts. In the top of the 1st inning, Jackson had an RBI double, Eisenreich hit a sacrifice fly to score Kevin Seitzer, and Pat Tabler and Bob Boone both added RBI singles. In the top of the 5th, Eisenreich had an RBI single, and an error then allowed Jackson to score an additional run.
Although they officially finished the 1989 regular season with the third-best record in baseball, the Royals missed the postseason because MLB did not award Wild Cards at the time. The 1989 Kansas City Royals’ 90-win season would be the franchise’s last with that many wins until the Royals finally won another World Series Championship in 2015.
Note: I left the 90-72 record as written, but the article’s own home (55-26) and road (37-44) splits add up to 92-70. That matches the 7-game gap behind Oakland’s 99-63. You may want to check the record before publishing.
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