KANSAS CITY -- John Wathan has worn so many caps within the Royals organization that sometimes it’s hard to keep track: catcher, first baseman, outfielder, coach, manager, broadcaster, scout, roving instructor, special assistant of player development.
How about adding Royals Hall of Famer to that list?
Wathan was elected to the club’s Hall of Fame on Thursday and will be inducted in a ceremony this summer at a date to be determined. He earned election through the veterans committee voting process. The committee consists of 16 members selected by the board, including Royals Hall of Fame members, club executives and media members. Candidates must be named on at least 75% of all ballots cast to be elected.
This election was long overdue for a baseball lifer who spent 47 years with the Royals and 52 in baseball.
Wathan, who said he has “always bled Royal blue,” was surprised by his family and the Royals earlier this week with the news that he had been elected. Two of his sons, Derek and Dusty, played professional baseball, with Dusty briefly making it to the big leagues with the Royals for three games in 2002. He’s now the third-base coach with the Phillies. Wathan’s daughter, Dina, was a longtime Royals employee -- so baseball runs in the family.
“It was pretty tremendous,” Wathan said during a Zoom call with media members on Thursday. “I was so grateful and thankful and shocked. All the emotions were running through me. It was something I never really dreamed was possible. I had always hoped for it after 47 years with one club and the stuff I did through the years. But I never knew if it would be possible or not. So it was quite a day.”
Wathan was selected fourth overall by the Royals in the 1971 January Draft. Nicknamed “The Duke” for his incredibly accurate John Wayne impression, he played all 10 of his big league seasons with Kansas City, logging 572 games as a catcher, 196 as a first baseman and 64 as an outfielder. From 1976 to 1985, Wathan slashed .262/.318/.343 with 656 hits, 90 doubles, 25 triples and 21 home runs, along with 105 stolen bases. His first big league season culminated with the Royals’ first American League West championship, and the last ended with Kansas City’s first World Series title.
Wathan pinch-ran for Hal McRae in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 1985 World Series, when umpire Don Denkinger made his infamous safe call at first base. Onix Concepción scored on that play while Wathan went to second base. The Royals went on to win Game 7 and the championship.
“I’m running around second base, headed to third, hoping they’ll throw the ball to third,” Wathan said. “I kind of looked back and saw the play evolve. Excitement, pandemonium in the stands, a tremendous feeling. That’s so important, for the guys like me in ’80 that lost [the World Series]. You’re thinking, ‘Am I going to get another chance at this?’ And we did, and we won in ’85, which made it sweet.”
While the role of player was always Wathan’s favorite with the Royals, his career extended long past the day he hung up his cleats. He returned as a member of the Royals' Major League coaching staff in 1986 and was Triple-A Omaha's manager in ’87. After the Royals dismissed Billy Gardner in August 1987, Wathan took over managerial duties for the big league club.
As manager from 1987-91, Wathan led the Royals to a 287-270 record (.515 winning percentage), including a 92-70 mark in ’89.
Following the end of his managerial tenure, Wathan coached with the Angels and Red Sox before returning to the Royals in 1996 as a broadcaster. After two years in the booth, he spent the next two decades working as a scout and in player development.
“Fred White, the [former] Royals broadcaster -- we were sitting on a bench at Terry Park, the old Spring Training site in Fort Myers, Fla.,” Wathan said. “And he asked me a question: ‘What do you think about this big league stuff and how long do you want to play in the game?’ I said, ‘They’re going to have to rip the uniform off my back to get me out of the game.’ Which they did. But I was able to stay in the game doing a bunch of different stuff.”
Wathan served as a special assistant in player development until his retirement in 2022.
“Few people in this organization have impacted the Royals the way Duke has -- serving in so many roles and contributing at such a high level over so many years,” president of baseball operations and general manager J.J. Picollo said in a statement. “This honor is incredibly well deserved for Duke and his family, and we’re proud to recognize a professional life devoted to the Royals and to Kansas City.”
When he’s inducted this summer, Wathan will become the 32nd member of the Royals Hall of Fame.
1986: Pitcher Steve Busby and outfielder Amos Otis
1987: Manager Dick Howser, second baseman Cookie Rojas and pitcher Paul Splittorff
1989: Pitcher Dennis Leonard and designated hitter Hal McRae
1992: Club president Joe Burke, pitcher Larry Gura and shortstop Fred Patek
1993: Owner Ewing Kauffman
1994: Third baseman George Brett
1995: Second baseman Frank White
1996: Royals First Lady Muriel Kauffman and first baseman John Mayberry
1998: Relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry
2000: Manager Whitey Herzog and outfielder Willie Wilson
2003: Pitcher Jeff Montgomery
2004: Radio announcer Denny Matthews
2005: Pitcher Bret Saberhagen
2006: Pitcher Mark Gubicza
2008: Scout Art Stewart
2011: Pitcher Kevin Appier
2012: Groundskeeper George Toma
2015: First baseman/DH Mike Sweeney
2023: Manager Ned Yost
2024: General manager Cedric Tallis, general manager John Schuerholz and outfielder Bo Jackson
2025: Outfielder Alex Gordon