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Their walk-off victory on Thursday evening gave the Royals win number 57 on the year, ensuring they will not tie for the franchise record for losses in a season. That record was set in 2005 with a 56-106 club that will haunt your memories. Jose Lima set a record for highest ERA in MLB history for someone that made 30 starts in a season with 6.99. Zack Greinke was absolutely hammered in the second half to balloon his ERA to 5.80. Their second basemen combined to hit .235/.293/.334, worst in the league. They went 5-21 in August, dropping 19 in a row, including the infamous Chip Ambres dropped-ball game.
But some records stand the test of time, and Mark Teahen wants you to remember the legacy of the 2005 Royals. Teahen, always known for his good sense of humor, went to Twitter to congratulate this year’s team for a good attempt at his team’s record.
Thanks to last night’s win I’d like to express a huge debt of gratitude to the 2018 @Royals for protecting the legacy of the 2005 @Royals. May our #106 live on in Kansas City folklore for eternity.
— Mark Teahen (@MarkTeahen) September 28, 2018
106 losses is a lot. Fortunately, the team got a lot better the next year.
The 2006 Royals gave 13 pitchers more than two starts, and the lowest ERA was 5.12. Andy Sisco got 65 games with a 7.10 ERA. Runelvys Hernandez, who was once told by his manager "you're not good enough to be this much of an asshole," had a 6.48 ERA with 21 starts. Long live 2006.
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) September 28, 2018
Or not.
It seemed for awhile that the 2018 Royals would easily out-suck the 2005 squad. But relying on younger players like Adalberto Mondesi and Ryan O’Hearn has given the team a spark, and they have won 19 of their last 31. In fact, if the Royals take 2 of their last 3 games, they won’t even be the second-worst team in franchise history, that would be the 2004 Royals who went 58-104 (Mark Teahen wasn’t on that team).
So those 2005 Royals will live on in our hearts - Emil “Nationwide” Brown, Mike “Mac the Ninth” MacDougal, Jose “Lima Time” Lima, Andy “Eatin’ Tacos in the Bullpen” Sisco. And overall good guy and pretty-good-player-trapped-on-terrible teams Mark Teahen. We salute you for having to endure such a dreadful season and we will never forget those years.