The Kansas City Royals have traditionally built their teams around speed and defense rather than power. This choice isn’t surprising since they’ve played in spacious Kauffman Stadium since 1973. The team’s single season home run record stands at a major-league low 36 home runs set by first baseman Steve Balboni in 1985. The next lowest team mark is the New York Mets at 41.
KC Royals fans have wondered for years when Balboni’s record would fall. Even with the deep power alleys of Kauffman Stadium, someone has to be able to hit more than 36 dingers sometime, right?