KANSAS CITY -- When discussing the best individual seasons by a Royal in terms of position players, longtime Kansas City fans likely will go straight to 1980.
And with good reason: That’s the season Hall of Famer and legend George Brett nearly hit .400.
So, let’s take a look at the top five Royals individual seasons by a position player.
1) George Brett, 1980
Brett’s famous chase for .400 was not only the greatest offensive season in Royals history, it was one of the greatest in MLB history. Brett, trying to become the first to hit .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, had his average at .400 as late as Sept. 19 that season. Brett finished at .390, which led the Majors, as did his .454 on-base percentage, .664 slugging percentage and 1.118 OPS. Brett also had a 30-game hitting streak that season, a Royals record that stood until 2019 when Whit Merrifield set the new mark with 31 games. Brett also had 33 doubles, 24 home runs and 118 RBIs in '80, winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award. Quite the season.
2) Bobby Witt Jr., 2024
Witt’s 2024 season was one of the best by a shortstop ever in the history of the game. His 10.5 fWAR was the fifth-best single-season mark by a shortstop. Witt hit .332 with a .389 on-base percentage and .588 slugging percentage to go along with 109 RBIs.
After recording 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases in 2023, Witt had 32 homers and 31 steals in ’24, becoming the first shortstop in Major League history with multiple 30-30 seasons. He was also the first player in Major League history -- regardless of position -- with multiple 30-30 campaigns within his first three big league seasons. In 2024, Witt let the Majors with 211 hits and a .332 batting average, becoming just the third Royal to lead the Major Leagues in average following Brett in ’80 and Willie Wilson in ’82 (.332). Witt was also just the second shortstop in MLB history to record a season with at least 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 100 runs and 100 RBIs, joining Alex Rodriguez during his 42-homer, 46-steal season with Seattle in 1998.
Witt was the American League MVP runner-up to Aaron Judge, but there was certainly a case to be made for Witt, an all-around dynamic player. Witt was an All-Star, won an AL Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger and was named to the All-MLB First Team in 2024.
3) Willie Wilson, 1980
Talk about being overshadowed by Brett in 1980: The speedster Wilson put together one of the great Royals seasons of all time as he led the Majors in hits (230), triples (15) and runs scored (133). He hit .326 with a .357 on-base percentage, stole 79 bases and won a Gold Glove Award.
4) Brett, 1979
OK, so No. 5 probably could fill most of the spaces here. But don’t forget how good Brett was the year before he almost hit .400. In 1979, Brett led the Majors in hits (212) and triples (20). He also hit 42 doubles and 23 home runs and drove in 107 runs, hitting .329 with a .939 OPS. Oh, and he also stole 17 bases.
5) Salvador Perez , 2021
One of the best offensive seasons by a catcher played out in 2021, when Perez blasted a career-high 48 home runs to tie for the Major League lead and the Royals’ franchise single-season record. Perez set what was the new single-season mark for homers by a primary catcher (75% of games), surpassing Johnny Bench’s 1970 record of 45, until Cal Raleigh hit 60 homers in 2025. As the Royals’ most dangerous hitter playing the hardest position on the field, Perez finished seventh in American League MVP voting in 2021 and won his fourth Silver Slugger, his second consecutive All-MLB First Team honors and his second consecutive Les Milgram Player of the Year Award given out by the Royals.
Honorable mention
Mike Sweeney, 2000: 29 home runs, set the Royals’ record with 144 RBIs
Jorge Soler, 2019: Set a franchise record with 48 home runs, and hit 33 doubles and 117 RBIs
Danny Tartabull, 1991: 31 home runs, led the Majors in slugging percentage (.593)
Carlos Beltrán, 2003: 26 homers, drove in 100 runs, stole 41 bases and played elite defense