When Mike Sweeney, the Kansas City Royals team captain, won in 2005 he became only the third player in franchise history to be named the Kansas City Royals Player of the Year three times — George Brett (eight times) & Amos Otis (three times) were the other two. Billy Butler joined this elite set of players in 2012!
Why are there no pitchers listed in above? Because the Kansas City Royals have a Kansas City Pitcher of the Year honor which has also been awarded since 1971 and given by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Did you know that Mike Sweeney won in 2005, but was not pleased with his season, "I only played in one-hundred twenty something games. It hurts my heart that I wasn't able to play in more games than I did. For me to help the Kansas City Royals be the best team we can be, I need to be in the lineup one-hundred sixty two games. If it means me DH-ing more, then I'll do it. My heart's desire is that I would be able to play one-hundred sixty-two games at first base, but the last few years I've realized that I'm no longer twenty-four years old. When I get up in the morning, I don't feel like I did ten years ago. I'm trying to do everything possible to take the strain off my lower back. If that means playing at a little lighter weight, then I'll do that. If it means doing more back exercises or less, playing more first base or less, then I'll do that. My emphasis is to help the team by being in the lineup as often as possible."?
