The Royals made losing a performance art in April of 1992. With the glory days still fresh in the aisles of Royals Stadium, expectations were still that this team could make noise when the season opened. Following the controversial trade of Bret Saberhagen to the Mets in December of 1991, the Royals featured a revamped lineup with newcomers Gregg Jefferies, Kevin McReynolds and Keith Miller. Wally Joyner joined the team from the Angels as a free agent.
And the offense was dreadful to start the season.
The Royals scored a total of 39 runs in their first 17 games. That's 2.3 runs per game. For comparison's sake, this year's Royals team scored 68 runs through their first 17 games.
From Baseball Musing's Day by Day Database, here are how the Royals batters fared over the first 16 games:
Joyner was the only Royal worth a damn offensively. Jefferies and McReynolds were brutal. George Brett was among team leaders in homers, RBI and runs, but with this collective of offensive offense, what really stands out is his .164/.270/.309 line.
It was kind of the same story for the pitchers. Again from the Database, the ugly numbers:
Only Kevin Appier was a damn among the starting pitchers.
On April 24, 1992, the Royals lost 6-4 to the Toronto Blue Jays. It was their ninth consecutive loss and their 16th in 17 games.
They won the following night, and the night after that (a winning streak) but closed out April with another loss and a 3-17 record.