Any fan who followed the Kansas City Royals between 1971 and 1993 feels something stir at the name of George Brett. He remains the only player in MLB's long and glorious history to win a batting title in three decades one after the other! This slugger remained a 'loyal Royal' throughout his career, never wearing another team's uniform for a single game. After his retirement in 1993, George Brett stated that he was retiring simply because he felt the game deserved a fired-up new player in his place; he himself had reached the stage where, while he could easily have played another season, he would have been motivated more by money than by love of baseball anymore. His love of baseball went that deep, and every fan knew it.
Entering the League
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Drafted onto the team in 1971, Brett was selected 29th, his promise at the time giving no indication of the amazing talent that would soon develop. Although he was a fairly competent third baseman, his first couple of seasons with the team demonstrated some gaps in his coverage at the plate. Seasoned pitchers were able to identify his weaknesses and get around him due to his stance. However, when the famous batting coach Charlie Lau pointed out the problem in 1974, he began to work with Lau to overcome this initial difficulty. Brett took Lau's words to heart in their entirety, and improved rapidly due to his unwillingness to let pride stand in the way of learning. The results were instantaneous; his average in the next season rose to over.300, and the next year to.333. This achievement earned him the batting title in 1976. Brett's consistent fantastic performance over the next few years helped his team in winning the division title for three consecutive years.
The increase in Brett's performance continued; his average after the 1980 season was.390, due to having batted an average of.400 for the entire season. A lull in his performance after a few more seasons was quickly taken to task, and Brett improved himself once again to get his average back up to where he felt it reflected his great ability. Hitting over a third of the balls pitched at him, he helped the Royals to another division win. The League Championship too saw him perform at this high level, and his average of.370 in the World Series helped the team to yet another win.
A career average of.305, with an amazing 300 home runs, 1500 runs batted in and 3000 hits, earned Brett his reputation as the gold standard of third basemen. He deserves the hero worship he still receives from fans of the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City Royals - George Brett and the Art of Hitting KANSAS CITY
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