The list of names reads like a syllabus to an introductory class on Royals history. There’s one George Brett, and then another. There’s Frank White twice, too. There is first baseman John Mayberry and shortstop Fred Patek, members of the Royals of Fame, all of them.
And then there was Whit Merrifield on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium. He came one single away from joining them.
In a 10-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers, Merrifield finished with a homer, triple and a double, finishing a single away from the seventh cycle in club history.
“I got the opportunity,” Merrifield said.