Catcher

Salvador Perez

Infield

1B - John Mayberry

2B - Frank White

3B - George Brett

SS - Kurt Stillwell

Outfield

LF - Willie Wilson

CF - Carlos Beltran

RF - Bo Jackson

Designated Hitter

Mike Sweeney

Pitchers

Paul Splittorff

Jeff Montgomery

My reasoning

We have entered a world where there can not be anyone other than Salvador Perez catching for the Royals. He is NOT to be traded. He is NOT to be given days off. I would not be surprised that, if some point in the future, the Royals figure out how to rewrite their history, in Orwellian fashion, to show there has never been a catcher other than Salvador Perez ever to play within the organization.

It requires zero thought to choose Frank White and George Brett. I don't think their presence on my list really needs explanation. First base and shortstop were more difficult choices. Originally, I had Freddie Patek penciled in at short, but that was before I realized that his OPS while with the Royals was actually lower than Alcides Escobar. For his career, Patek had and OPS+ of 79. During his four years with the Royals, Stillwell managed an OPS+ of 93. He'd be a defensive downgrade, but I think the upgraded offense will offset that. I spent a long time arguing with myself whether Mayberry or Sweeney should play first before I decided to take the easy way out and have Sweeney be my DH.

I picked Bo Jackson for this team wholly for entertainment value. Statistically, he might not have been one of the best Royals of all time, but when he was on the field, there was always the possibility of something spectacular happening. Willie Wilson had a combination of speed, defense and contact that plays extremely well in our stadium and deserves to be on the team.