It has been twenty years since Michael Lewis’ Moneyball came out, and over four decades since Bill James began writing that the most important thing for a hitter to do was not make outs. The recognition of on-base percentage as a more important metric than batting average has gone from the fringes to mainstream thinking in baseball. Yet the Royals, through both ignorance and lack of resources, have not fielded teams that have been able to get on base on a regular basis. In the last thirty years, the Royals have finished in the top half of the league in on-base percentage just three times (2003, 2011, 2015).
Royals rookies show a fundamental change in hitting approach in the organization
