Editing Kansas City Royals (section)

===1986–1994: Staying in the Picture===
The Royals maintained a reputation as one of the American League West's top teams throughout the late 1980s. The club posted a winning record in three of the four seasons following its 1985 [[1985 World Series|World Series championship]], while developing young stars such as [[Bo Jackson]], [[Tom Gordon]], and [[Kevin Seitzer]].<ref name="KCR History">{{cite web|title=Kansas City Royals Team History & Encyclopedia – Baseball-Reference.com|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/|access-date=April 16, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423050937/http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/|archive-date=April 23, 2012}}</ref> The Royals finished the [[1989 Kansas City Royals season|1989 season]] with a 92–70 record (third-best in the major leagues) but did not qualify for the playoffs, finishing second in their division behind the eventual World Series champion Oakland Athletics.<ref name="KCR History" />

[[File:George Brett 1990 CROP.jpg|thumb|upright|[[George Brett]] bats during a 1990 game at [[Kauffman Stadium]] (then Royals Stadium)]]

At the end of the 1989 season, the team boasted a powerhouse pitching rotation, including the AL [[Cy Young Award]]-winner Bret Saberhagen (who set franchise record 23 [[Win–loss record (pitching)|wins]] that year), two-time All-Star Mark Gubicza (a 15-game winner in 1989) and 1989 AL [[Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year]] runner-up Tom Gordon (who won 17 games that year).<ref name="Royals lineup">{{cite news | last = Horst | first = Craig | title = Royals' lineup for 1990 is virtually set | page = 15 | work = The Daily Union | date = March 25, 1990 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XahEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1247,6829820&dq=1990+royals&hl=en | access-date = April 18, 2012 | archive-date = November 18, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211118114559/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XahEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1247%2C6829820&dq=1990+royals&hl=en | url-status = live }}</ref> But the organization felt it was still missing a few necessary pieces to give its divisional rival Oakland Athletics a run for their money.<ref name="Cautionary">{{cite web |url=http://kingsofkauffman.com/2011/12/17/the-cautionary-tale-of-the-1990-royals/ |title=The Cautionary Tale of the 1990 Royals |author=Engel, Michael |publisher=FanSided |date=December 17, 2011 |work=Kings of Kauffman |access-date=April 17, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113112011/http://kingsofkauffman.com/2011/12/17/the-cautionary-tale-of-the-1990-royals/ |archive-date=January 13, 2012 }}</ref>  So prior to the 1990 season, the Royals acquired [[Mark Davis (pitcher)|Mark Davis]], the 1989 [[National League (baseball)|National League]] Cy Young Award-winner and league leader in [[Save (baseball)|saves]], signing him to a 4-year, $13 million contract (the largest annual salary in baseball history at the time).<ref name="Royals Sign Davis">{{cite news | last = Nightengale | first = Bob | title = Royals Sign Mark Davis to $13-Million Contract | page = C1 | work = Los Angeles Times | date = December 12, 1989 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-12-sp-154-story.html | access-date = April 16, 2012 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130412112247/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-12-12/sports/sp-154_1_mark-davis-home | archive-date = April 12, 2013 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> The Royals also signed starting pitcher [[Storm Davis]], who was coming off a career-high 19-game win season (third-best in the AL), to a three-year $6 million contract.<ref name="Royals Sign Davis"/> Despite the promising off-season moves, the team suffered critical bullpen injuries while both newly signed Davises experienced lackluster seasons in 1990.<ref name="Cautionary" />  The Royals concluded the season with a 75–86 record, in second-to-last place in the AL West (and with the worst franchise record since 1970). Bo Jackson—the team's potential future franchise player—suffered a devastating hip injury while playing football in the off-season, so the Royals waived him during spring training in 1991.<ref>{{cite news | last = Horst | first = Craig | title = Bo no go, waive star | page = 2B | work = Kentucky New Era | agency = Associated Press | date = March 19, 1991 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1t0rAAAAIBAJ&pg=3785,1631264&dq=kansas+city+royals+1991+preview&hl=en | access-date = October 3, 2012 | archive-date = December 4, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211204224543/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1t0rAAAAIBAJ&pg=3785%2C1631264&dq=kansas+city+royals+1991+preview&hl=en | url-status = live }}</ref>

Though the team dropped out of contention from 1990 to 1992, the Royals still could generally be counted on to post winning records through the [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike|strike-shortened]] [[1994 Kansas City Royals season|1994 season]]. With no playoff appearances despite the winning records during this era, many of the team's highlights instead centered around the end of George Brett's career, such as his third and final batting title in 1990—which made him the first player to win batting titles in three different decades—and his [[3,000 hit club|3,000th hit]].

In 1994, the Royals moved from the AL West to the newly created [[AL Central]] along with the [[Chicago White Sox]] and [[Minnesota Twins]], joined by the [[Cleveland Indians]] and [[Milwaukee Brewers]] from the [[AL East]]. The Brewers left for the [[NL Central]] in 1998, replaced by the [[Detroit Tigers]] that moved from the AL East.