Editing Kansas City Royals (section)

===1969–1979: Taking Off===
[[File:Royals Stadium 1976.jpg|thumb|upright|A game versus the [[Chicago White Sox]] at [[Kauffman Stadium]] (then Royals Stadium), September 1976]]
The Royals began play in 1969 in [[Kansas City, Missouri]]. In their inaugural game, on April 8, 1969, the [[1969 Kansas City Royals season|Royals]] defeated the [[1969 Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins]] 4–3 in 12 innings. The Royals went 69–93 in their first season, highlighted by [[Lou Piniella]], who won the [[MLB Rookie of the Year|AL Rookie of the Year Award]].

The team was quickly built through a number of trades engineered by its first General Manager, [[Cedric Tallis]], who picked up center fielder [[Amos Otis]], who became the team's first star, first baseman [[John Mayberry]], who provided power, second baseman [[Cookie Rojas]], shortstop [[Fred Patek]], and designated hitter [[Hal McRae]]. The Royals also invested in a strong farm system and developed future star pitchers [[Paul Splittorff]], [[Dennis Leonard]], and [[Steve Busby]], infielders [[George Brett]] and [[Frank White (baseball)|Frank White]], and outfielder [[Al Cowens]]. Under these young players, the Royals built a core set up for future success.

In 1971, the [[1971 Kansas City Royals season|Royals]] had their first winning season, with manager [[Bob Lemon]] leading them to a second-place finish. In 1973, under manager [[Jack McKeon]], the Royals adopted their iconic "[[powder blue]]" road uniforms and moved from [[Municipal Stadium (Kansas City)|Municipal Stadium]] to the brand-new [[Royals Stadium]] (now known as Kauffman Stadium).

The [[1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1973 All-Star Game]] was hosted at Royals Stadium, with Otis and Mayberry in the AL starting lineup. The event was previously held at Municipal Stadium in [[1960 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (first game)|1960]], when the [[Kansas City Athletics|Athletics]] were based in Kansas City.

Manager [[Whitey Herzog]] replaced McKeon in [[1975 Kansas City Royals season|1975]], and the Royals quickly became the dominant franchise in the American League's Western Division. After a second-place, 91 win season, they won three straight division championships from 1976 to 1978, including the franchise's only 100-win season in [[1977 Kansas City Royals season|1977]]. However, the Royals lost to the [[New York Yankees]] in three straight [[American League Championship Series]] encounters.