Special Assistant to Baseball Operations/Player & Staff Engagement
Willie Aikens is entering his fourth season in the Royals front office as the Special Assistant to Baseball Operations/Player & Staff Engagement. Aikens previously coached in the Royals system for nine years, including with Surprise from 2011-13 and 2015-19, and at Idaho Falls in 2014.
Aikens played for the Royals from 1980-83, as part of an eight-year career in the big leagues. He also played for two seasons with the California Angels in 1977 and 1979 and with the Toronto Blue Jays from 1984-85. In four seasons with the Royals, he hit .282 with 77 home runs and 297 RBI in 511 games, including a 1983 season in which he hit a career-best 23 homers while batting .302 with a .912 OPS. In the 1980 postseason, Aikens hit .387 (12-for-31) with four home runs and 10 RBI, including multi-homer games in Game 1 and Game 4 of the World Series.
In 2022, Samuel Goldwyn Films released a movie called “The Royal,” a biography of Aikens’ life story. From World Series hero to prison and his transition back to society, the film explores his road to redemption with his family, a new career, and eventually – with the help of George Brett – a job with the Royals.
Aikens and his wife, Sara, reside in Kansas City, Mo. They have three daughters.