Gil Meche was the
Kansas City Royals ' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The
Kansas City Royals are a
Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in
Kansas City, Missouri . They currently play in the
American League Central .
The first game of a new baseball season for a team is known as Opening Day. The Opening Day
starting pitcher is often given to the pitcher who is expected to lead the team's pitching staff for that season,
[1] though there are strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.
[2] The Kansas City Royals have used 25 different
Opening Day starting pitchers in their 52 seasons. The 23 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 14
wins , 22
losses and 16
no decisions .
[3] No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.
The
Kansas City Royals began play in 1969.
Wally Bunker was the Royals’ first Opening Day starting pitcher on April 8, 1969, against the
Minnesota Twins .
[4] The Royals have played in two home
ball parks . They played in
Municipal Stadium from 1969 through 1972. They played three Opening Day games at Municipal Stadium, winning twice and losing once. The Royals’ starting pitchers received no decisions in both of the wins, leaving their record in Opening Day starts at Municipal Stadium no wins, one loss, and two no decisions. In 1973, the team moved to
Royals Stadium (later renamed to Kauffman Stadium in 1993).
[5] They have played 24 Opening Day games in the stadium, with starting pitchers having ten wins, ten losses, and four no decisions. On the other hand, the Royals have played 25 Opening Day games on the road. Starting pitchers have a combined record of four wins, thirteen losses, and eight no decisions for road games.
[3]
[6]
Kevin Appier has most Opening Day starts for the Royals, with seven, including six consecutive start from 1992 to 1997.
[3] He has a record of 1–4 with two no decisions in those starts. The other Royal pitchers who have made at least three Opening Day starts are
Dennis Leonard with four, and
Paul Splittorff ,
Bud Black ,
Bret Saberhagen ,
Jeff Suppan ,
Gil Meche , and
Danny Duffy with three apiece.
[3] Bunker,
Dick Drago ,
Steve Busby ,
Larry Gura and
James Shields have each made two Opening Day starts for the Royals.
[3]
Black, who has two wins as an Opening Day starting pitcher, is the only Royals pitcher who has won more than one Opening Day start. Black had a record in Opening Day starts of 2–1.
[3] Only two Royals pitchers had more than one loss in Opening Day starts, Kevin Appier with four losses and Dennis Leonard with three.
[3]
The Royals played in the
World Series in
1980 ,
1985 ,
2014 and
2015 , winning in 1985 and 2015.
[7] Leonard, Black, Shields and Ventura were the Opening Day starting pitchers in 1980, 1985, 2014 and 2015 respectively. They combined to have an Opening Day record of 2–1 with one no decision.
[3]
Key
Kauffman Stadium , originally named Royals Stadium, has been the Royals' home
ball park since 1973.
Season
Each year is linked to an article about that particular Royals season.
W
Win
L
Loss
ND (W)
No decision by starting pitcher; Royals won game
ND (L)
No decision by starting pitcher; Royals lost game
Final Score
Game score with Royals runs listed first
Location
Stadium in italics for home game
Pitcher (#)
Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Royals
*
Advanced to the
post-season
**
AL Champions
†
World Series Champions
Pitchers
Zack Greinke was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2010, 2022 and 2023.
José Lima (shown here with the
Los Angeles Dodgers ) was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2005.
Bud Black (shown here with the
San Diego Padres ) was the Royals' Opening Day starting pitcher three times during the 1980s.
References
^ Bastian, Jordan (March 22, 2010).
"Marcum tapped for Jays' Opening Day" . MLB.com . Retrieved September 26, 2010 .
^ Dilbeck, Steve (February 24, 2014).
"Dodgers may not start Clayton Kershaw in Sydney" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 25, 2014 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day History" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1969" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Royals Ballparks" .
MLB.com . Retrieved 2008-11-11 .
^
a
b
"Detroit 8, Kansas City 4" .
Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved 2010-04-06 .
^
"Kansas City Royals History & Encyclopedia" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1969" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2017-08-09 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1970" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1971" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1972" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1973" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1974" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1975" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1976" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1977" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1978" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1979" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1980" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1981" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1982" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1983" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1984" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1985" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1986" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1987" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1988" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1989" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1990" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1991" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1992" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1993" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1994" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1995" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1996" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1997" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1998" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 1999" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2000" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2001" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^ Olney, Buster (2001-04-03).
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The New York Times . Archived from
the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
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Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Twins 8, Royals 6" .
ESPN . Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2003" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Royals win first opener in five seasons" .
ESPN . Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2004" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Beltran's two-run homer caps thrilling comeback" .
ESPN . Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2005" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Young just third with 3 HRs in opener" .
ESPN . Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2006" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2008-10-17 .
^
"Tigers pick up victory in Leyland's return to majors" .
ESPN . Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2007" .
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^
"Schilling loses third straight start to Royals" .
ESPN . Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2008" .
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^
"Cabrera homers in Tiger's debut; Royals prevail in 11" .
ESPN . Retrieved 2008-10-31 .
^
"Chi White Sox 4, Kansas City 2" .
Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved 2009-04-07 .
^
"LA Angels 4, Kansas City 2" .
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^
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Baseball Reference . Retrieved 2012-10-25 .
^
"Chicago (AL) 1, Kansas City 0" .
MLB.com . Retrieved 2014-01-16 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2014" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2014-10-30 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2015" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2016-02-02 .
^
"Royals hold off Mets 4-3 in opening rematch of World Series" .
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^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2017" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2017-08-09 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2018" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 30, 2018 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2019" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 30, 2019 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2020" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved October 30, 2020 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day Starters" . Baseball Reference . Retrieved April 2, 2021 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2022" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved April 7, 2022 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2023" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 30, 2023 .
^
"Kansas City Royals Opening Day 2024" .
Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024 .
Franchise Ballparks Culture Lore Team Hall of Fame
Minor league affiliates Key personnel World Series championships (2) American League pennants (4) Division titles
Seasons (56)
1960s
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1969
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