Eight important members of the KC Royals work mostly in obscurity, far from the daily attention cast on the players and manager Mike Matheny. Paid not to play or make the ultimate in-game decisions, these men are the players’ teachers and mentors and Matheny’s advisors and confidantes.
Since the Royals replaced the Athletics as Kansas City’s major league franchise over a half-century ago, the club’s coaches include little-known professionals who never saw a day in the majors until becoming big league coaches, middle-of-the-road and star players, and Hall of Fame members. Franchise icon and first-ballot Hall of Famer George Brett served briefly as hitting coach in 2013; Bob Lemon, another Hall of Famer, Cleveland pitching great and manager of the Royals, White Sox and Yankees, was a Royals coach.