Vote for the best center fielder in Royals history as part of an all-time team
This being the 50th season of Royals baseball (you knew that, right?), The Star is looking for help from Royals fans as we seek to determine the best players at each position in franchise history.
From now until September, we’ll ask you to vote for an all-time team. We’ve previously looked at the top catchers, first basemen, second basemen, shortstops, third basemen and left fielders.
Today’s choice might be the toughest:
Best center fielder.
Fans already have chosen Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer, Frank White, Freddie Patek, George Brett and Alex Gordon as the best among their positions.
Here are the center-field candidates:
Carlos Beltran
The 1999 AL Rookie of the Year, Beltran played his first seven seasons with the Royals. He batted .287 with 156 doubles, 45 triples, 123 home runs and 164 stolen bases in 795 games. Beltran finished ninth in AL MVP voting in 2003. During his Royals career, he had 61 outfield assists in 763 games.
Lorenzo Cain
Cain was the 2014 ALCS MVP and made the All-Star Game the following season when he finished third in the AL MVP vote. He batted .295 in the playoffs in 2014-15 and made a number of dazzling defensive plays in the postseason. In 713 career games, Cain hit .289 with 140 doubles and 56 home runs.
Johnny Damon
Although Damon started in all three outfield positions with the Royals, he made the majority of his appearances in center. In six seasons in Kansas City, Damon batted .292 and had 156 doubles, 47 triples, 65 home runs and 156 stolen bases in 803 games. Damon led the AL in runs scored (136) and stolen bases (46) in 2000. He finished 19th in AL MVP voting that year.
Amos Otis
A five-time All-Star, Otis won three Gold Glove awards and finished in the top eight of AL MVP voting four times. He twice lead the league in doubles and was the stolen-base champ in 1971. In 14 seasons, Otis batted .280 with .365 doubles, 65 triples, 193 home runs, 992 RBIs and 340 stolen bases. In 22 career playoff games, Otis hit .295, including a .478 average and three homers in the 1980 World Series.
Willie Wilson
Often used in left field, Wilson played most of his games in center. In 15 seasons, Wilson batted .289 with 241 doubles, 133 triples and 612 stolen bases. The 1982 batting champ (.332), Wilson also led the league in triples five times, and was the 1979 stolen-base leader (83). A two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner, Wilson finished fourth in MVP voting in 1980 when he led the league in at-bats (705), runs (133), hits (230) and triples (15). Wilson hit .367 in the 1985 World Series.