All-timers: Our roster of the best pro baseball players who grew up in Kansas City
There’s no Major League Baseball All-Star Game this year, so we’re selecting our own team of honor.
Not the best players from the American and National Leagues, but an all-time Kansas City All-Star Team.
The Star put together a roster of the most accomplished players to call Kansas City home, and collectively this august group has won it all: MVPs, Cy Youngs, Gold Gloves and Hall of Fame recognition.
In keeping with the spirit of the oddball 2020 season (thanks, COVID-19), this team is 28 players deep with a coaching staff. Its manager, Casey Stengel, also could have made it as a player.
Most names will be familiar to baseball fans, especially those in or from KC. Some less so. They wore the uniforms of the Royals, Monarchs, Athletics and many other teams.
There were some tough decisions to be made. but here it is: the best of Kansas City baseball, reflected in a starting lineup, pitching staff, bench and coaching staff.
The Lineup
1B ALBERT PUJOLS
Career highlights: Three-time MVP, six Silver Slugger awards, two Gold Glove awards, 660 career home runs, 669 career doubles, 3,230 career hits and 2,097 career RBIs.
KC connection: Helped Fort Osage High School win a Missouri 4A state championship. Went to Maple Woods Community College before being selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 draft.
2B FRANK WHITE
Career highlights: One of the greatest to wear a Royals uniform, White earned eight Gold Glove awards, was a Silver Slugger award winner, five-time All-Star and MVP of the 1980 ALCS. His No. 20 is retired by the Royals and a bronze statue in his likeness stands sentinel beyond the right-field seats at Kauffman Stadium.
KC connection: White grew up in Kansas City and attended Lincoln High. One of his first jobs was scraping mortar and sealing floors during construction of the Truman Sports Complex. He has served as a Jackson County legislator and is now the county executive.
3B KEVIN YOUNG
Career highlights: In 12 big-league seasons, Young had 1,007 hits with 144 home runs and 606 RBIs.
KC connection: A graduate of Washington High, Young later played at Kansas City Kansas Community College before transferring to Southern Mississippi.
SS STEVE JELTZ
Career highlights: Had 367 hits in eight seasons in the majors with the Phillies and Royals.
KC connection: Born in Paris, Jeltz’s family moved to Kansas and he played at Lawrence High and the University of Kansas.
LF BOB ALLISON
Career highlights: Rookie of the year for the 1959 Washington Senators, Allison made three All-Star teams. He had 1,281 hits and 256 home runs over 13 seasons, all with the Senators/Twins.
KC connection: Attended Raytown High School and later played at KU before leaving at age 20 to sign with the Senators.
CF BRIAN McRAE
Career highlights: Over 10 seasons in the majors, McRae collected 1,336 hits, 264 doubles and stole 20 bases or more six times. Played his first five seasons with the Royals.
KC connection: The son of Royals great and former manager Hal McRae, Brian attended Blue Springs High and was the Royals’ first-round pick in the 1985 draft.
RF BOB DERNIER
Career highlights: A Gold Glove winner for the Chicago Cubs in 1984, when he batted leadoff for the NL East champions. Dernier had 634 hits and 218 stolen bases in a 10-year big-league career.
KC connection: A graduate of Raytown South, Dernier played at Longview Community College, which is now Metropolitan Community College.
DH DAVID SEGUI
Career highlights: Spent 15 years in the majors with seven teams and hit 139 home runs with 684 RBIs and a career .291 average. In 2000, batted .334 with 103 RBIs for the Indians and Rangers
KC connection: Graduated from Bishop Ward and played at Kansas City Kansas Community College before being selected by the Orioles in the 18th round of the 1987 draft.
C WALKER COOPER
Career highlights: An eight-time All-Star who won a pair of World Series titles with the Cardinals in the 1940s, Cooper batted .285 in 18 seasons with the Cardinals, New York Giants, MIlwaukee Braves and three other teams.
KC connection: Born in Atherton, Missouri, an unincorporated part of Jackson County.
Bench
C JOHNNY KLING
Career highlights: Batted .272 in 1,095 games from 1900-13. Spent 11 seasons with the Chicago Orphans, who later became the Cubs. He was part of two World Series champions (1907-08) and appeared in two more Series.
KC connection: Born in Kansas City in 1875, he played baseball instead of attending secondary or post-secondary school.
1B/OF LEE STEVENS
Career highlights: MLB career spanned 10 seasons from 1990-2002. Played parts of three seasons with the Angels (1990-92), then joined the Rangers from 1996-99. Batted .300 in 137 games in 1997.
KC connection: A Lawrence High graduate, he was selected by the Angels in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1990 draft.
1B/OF JOHN MAYBERRY JR.
Career highlights: Hit 156 home runs with 83 doubles in 574 career games over seven seasons (2009-15), including six with the Phillies.
KC connection: The son of a legendary Royals first baseman with the same name, John Mayberry Jr. was a Rockhurst High graduate
OF BUBBA STARLING
Career highlights: Royals’ first-round draft pick in 2011 draft has appeared in 85 career games with the Royals in 2019-20 and has 50 hits and five home runs.
KC connection: A multi-sport star at Gardner Edgerton High who eschewed a quarterback role at the University of Nebraska to sign with the Royals.
IF/OF DAMIAN ROLLS
Career highlights: Played second and third base, and in the outfield, for Tampa Bay from 2000-04. Stole 27 bases and had 203 hits in 266 career games.
KC connection: Graduated from Schlagle High and was the Dodgers’ first-round choice in the 1996 draft.
Pitching staff: starters
DAVID CONE
Career highlights: Won the 1994 Cy Young Award with the Royals in 1994 and was a five-time All-Star. Won three World Series rings (two with Yankees, one with Blue Jays). Had a 194-126 record and 3.46 ERA in 450 career games.
KC connection: Born in Kansas City, Cone was a multi-sport star at Rockhurst High. But the school didn’t have a baseball program, so he gained fame in KC’s Ban Johnson League.
RICK SUTCLIFFE
Career highlights: The 1979 Rookie of the Year with the Dodgers and 1984 Cy Young Award winner with the Cubs, Sutcliffe also won the 1982 ERA title with Cleveland. Made three All-Star teams.
KC connection: Born in Independence, Sutcliffe was a multi-sport start at Van Horn High He was drafted in 1974 in the first round (21st overall) by the Dodgers.
BULLET JOE ROGAN
Career highlights: A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Rogan went 119-50 and completed 128 of his 153 starts for the Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. Also played the outfield and hit .338 with 99 stolen bases.
KC connection: Rogan was born in Oklahoma City but moved with his family to Kansas City, Kan., and attended Sumner High.
ANDY ASHBY
Career highlights: In 14 big-league seasons with five teams, Ashby had a 4.12 ERA and collected 1,173 strikeouts in 1,810 2/3 innings. Spent eight seasons with the Padres and made two All-Star Game appearances. Helped San Diego to the 1998 World Series.
KC connection: Born in KC, Ashby played at Park Hill, then attended Neosho College outside of Joplin.
MORT COOPER
Career highlights: The 1942 National League MVP and four-time All-Star went 128-75 with a 2.97 ERA over 11 seasons, eight with the Cardinals. He started six World Series games for St. Louis and won rings in 1942 and 1944.
KC connection: Born in Atherton, he attended William Chrisman High in Independence.
RAY SADECKI
Career highlights: His major-league career spanned 18 seasons and 563 games. Sakecki finished with a career 135-131 record and won a World Series ring as part of the Cardinals’ rotation in 1964.
KC connection: Sadecki attended Bishop Ward High in Kansas City, Kan., and SABR notes that he signed with the Cardinals at age 17.
LUTHER “DUMMY” TAYLOR
Career highlights: Spent all but four games of his nine-year career with the New York Giants (1900-08). Was part of their rotation, along with Christy Mathewson, on the club’s 1904 and 1905 NL pennant winning-teams. Taylor finished with a 116-106 career record and 2.75 ERA.
KC connection: Born in Oskaloosa, Kan., Taylor attended Kansas School for the Deaf in Olathe from age 10 through high school. At the time, Dummy was used as a non-insulting (so the thinking went, anyway) nickname for deaf athletes.
Pitching staff: bullpen
BRAD ZIEGLER
Career highlights: Pitched in 739 games, all in relief, in an 11-year career, and compiled 105 saves with a 2.75 ERA. Pitched in the postseason for Diamondbacks (2011) and Red Sox (2016).
KC connection: Graduated from Odessa High and pitched at Missouri State. Drafted by the Phillies in 2003.
STEVE RENKO
Career highlights: In his 15-year career, Renko went 134-146 with a 3.99 ERA. His first seven seasons were spent with the expansion Montreal Expos. He finished his career with the Royals in 1983.
KC connection: Renko played at Wyandotte High and was a three-sport athlete at Kansas. He played QB in a backfield that included Gale Sayers, and he averaged 10 points per game for the 1964 KU basketball team.
TREVOR ROSENTHAL
Career highlights: An All-Star in 2015, Rosenthal has 128 career saves, with 45 or more in 2014-15. He pitched four scoreless outings for the Redbirds in the 2013 World Series and played for KC this summer before being traded to San Diego.
KC connection: Graduated from Lee’s Summit West and attended Royals games at Kauffman Stadium as a kid.
JOHN O’DONOGHUE
Career highlights: An All-Star for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965, O’Donoghue spent time as a starter and reliever. The lefty also pitched for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers and the Montreal Expos. Appeared in 257 career games.
KC connection: Born in Kansas City and later attended the University of Missouri. He lived in Independence while pitching in the majors.
CHUCK DOBSON
Career highlights: Won double-digit games for the KC/Oakland A’s each year from 1967-71 and led the AL in games started (40) and shutouts (five) in 1970. An arm injury kept him out of the 1971 ALCS and surgery that offseason effectively ended his career, although he pitched sparingly for the A’s and Angels from 1973-75.
KC connection: Born in Kansas City, Dobson told SABR he grew up near Municipal Stadium and played at De La Salle High School (now the De La Salle Education Center). Played at the University of Kansas, too.
MURRY DICKSON
Career highlights: A workhorse who made 625 major-league appearances (338 starts), Dickson played half of his 18-year career with the Cardinals. He won one World Series ring in St. Louis in 1946 and another with the Yankees in 1958 before finishing his career with the Kansas City Athletics.
KC connection: Dickson was born in Tracy, Missouri, and graduated from Leavenworth High. He spent his retirement years in Leavenworth and died in Kansas City, Kan.
Coaching staff
MANAGER: Casey Stengel. Born in Kansas City and graduated from Central High School. Started playing baseball with the Kansas City Blues in 1910. As a skipper, he won seven World Series championships and 1,905 games in 25 big-league seasons. Hall of Famer.
COACH: Ralph Houk. Born in Liberty and graduated from Lawrence’s Liberty Memorial High. Managed the Yankees, Tigers and Red Sox and won two World Series.
COACH: Neil Allen. We cheated a bit and consider him a player/coach. Allen, who graduated from Bishop Ward, spent four seasons as the Minnesota Twins’ pitching coach. He also spent 11 seasons as a player in the majors, mostly as a starter, with the Mets, Cardinals and three other teams.
COACH: Jayce Tingler. The Smithville native manages the San Diego Padres, who are likely headed to the playoffs this year.
COACH: Tommy Hottovy. Pitched at Park Hill South High. Appeared in 17 games with the Red Sox and Royals and is now the Chicago Cubs’ pitching coach.
Former Kansas City Star sportswriters Randy Covitz and Howard Richman contributed to this story.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
