Royals tie franchise record for most single-season losses

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Zack Greinke walks to the dugout during a pitching change in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

by: PJ Green

Posted: Sep 30, 2023 / 09:31 PM CDT

Updated: Oct 1, 2023 / 05:44 PM CDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 2023 Kansas City Royals are going down in history in an unfortunate fashion.

With a loss to the New York Yankees on Saturday night, the Royals secured their 106th loss of the season.

With 106 losses, this Royals team has tied a franchise record for losses in a single season. They are tied with the 2005 Royals, who were led by Royals Hall of Famer Mike Sweeney.

The 2023 Royals have been seen as more talented by many experts and have the claims to back it up. Rising star Bobby Witt Jr. became the first Royals to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season.

Pitcher Cole Ragans has also been a lone bright spot in the starting rotation. He has been 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA since being traded to the Royals in late June. Starting pitcher Zack Greinke has been a starter for both teams and went 2-15 this season with a 5.06 ERA.

There are some murmurs that question if Greinke will retire after this season after he returned to the Royals last season.

This season saw the Royals come in with young pieces like Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez and Vinnie Pasquantino to give fans a little more hope than the previous 65-win 2022 season.

Witt has taken his step forward, but Melendez hasn’t taken the leap forward some thought he would, and Pasquantino’s season-ending torn labrum injury in June was a big blow to a team that was already struggling with just 18 wins to their name.

As a result, the team traded key pieces like relief pitchers Scott Barlow, Aroldis Chapman and Jose Cuas, and cut utility player Hunter Dozier, who struggled to gain a .183/.253/.305 batting line, two home runs and nine RBIs in 29 games.

If the Royals’ conversation wasn’t about Witt, Greinke or the overall downtrodden play, it was about the new stadium that owner John Sherman is planning to build in either downtown or North Kansas City. Fans have stated that they would rather see a competent baseball team over a new stadium.

As the 2023 season comes to a close, the franchise will look to take whatever piece of this historically bad season that they can and look towards what they hope will be a brighter future next season.