Wow, this is a big one. Steve Balboni turns 55 today.
Balboni was one of the notable figures on the 1985 World Championship team and because of the context of the mid-1980s, his fame was bigger than perhaps now makes sense. Video games and his straight-from-central-casting appearance also helped.
In five seasons with the Royals, Balboni hit .230/.294/.459. From 1984-86 Balboni was at his best, hitting .231/.304/.474, which was good for an OPS 109. Balboni hit .320/.433/.320 in the 1985 World Series. His 36 homers in 1985 are still the franchise season record. Balboni is 9th in team history with 119 home runs, a position he should hold for a few more years. Billy Butler or Alex Gordon will likely pass Balboni sometime in 2014.
We don't really do retrospective sabermetrics for non-Hall of Fame players, but Balboni was probably one of the more overrated players of the 1980s, for all the reasons you can imagine. But today, we honor him.
0 recs | 16 comments
You forget that Hosmer only needs 101 more homers for the record,
so he should pass him mid-June.
A Study in Blue - January 16, 2012
Somehow, that OBP surprises me, as I picture him reaching base more than that...
I suppose I’m letting his performance in the ’85 Series overshadow his career line.
In those seven games, he had zero XBHs, but got to 1b at a .433 clip. That was kind of crazy.
kcemigre - January 16, 2012
My favorite player growing up
I even had a pin with his picture on it. At least he rocked the stache pretty well. Very sad to see that 36 is still a Royals record. Chance to get broken this year?
clintox100 - January 16, 2012
little before my time
How was his fielding?
Hanging Brainister - January 16, 2012
If you aren't being a smart ass, not that great. I don't know if any of the advanced fielding metrics go back to the 80s.
Just from looking at his page on B-R, it looks like he was ok regarding range factor, but below league ave in fldg %. Of course, those measures are probably far from descriptive. What I recall from my early 20 eyeballs was that he had a helluva time making throws to 2b. On a fancy double play, or a pick off play, the ball would magically turn into a helium balloon the moment it left Balboni’s hand, and float over Frank or UL directly into short left field, whence Lonnie Smith would often extend the comedy by falling down, slipping, over running the ball, or other well timed physical comedy. Jesus, it’s a miracle they won the WS. Regardless, I loved him to death. Balboni looked like a guy who should be cutting up steaks down at the local butcher shop, or shaving the heads off mugs of beer down at ye olde tyme saloon, not playing 1b for the Royals. He basically was a stinker tho. Lifetime OBP under .300. Whiffed a lot. Never walked. Salvation via the random power swat. Prob more susceptible to the down and away 3rd strike than most of you jokers who puffed your chests and predicted your MLB equivalents a few weeks back.
Nighthawk at the Diner - January 16, 2012
i think his full-on Magnum PI mustache had a lot to do with him being overhyped
DickHowser4ever - January 16, 2012
His career .229/.293/.451 line...
… equates to a 101 OPS+. Just goes to show how offensively starved the 80s really were.
Discolando - January 16, 2012
We don't really do retrospective sabermetrics for non-Hall of Fame players
Oh, but we do.
http://www.royalsreview.com/2008/6/19/554777/the-100-greatest-royals-of
RoyalsRetro - January 16, 2012
He meant
We haven’t done any in quite a long time, hint, hint.
I also note that the post fails to mention which Royals Radio Affiliate Steve Balboni follows the team on.
Maybe I’m too old now.
cmkeller - January 16, 2012
All I remember was that he hit a ton of singles in the 85 WS
…. now off to see if my memory has faded.
Jeff Zimmerman - January 16, 2012
I still have some brain cells
8 for 25, all singles, 5 walks also.
His triple slash line:
0.320/0.433/0.320
Such a non Balboni looking stat.
Jeff Zimmerman - January 16, 2012
I assume you missed my comment above, but yeah.
Balboni’s line in that Series was crazy: On base 13 out of 30 trips to the plate without one XBH.
Also, we was , quietly, the key to the game-7 blowout.
He walked in front of Motley’s second-inning homer that made it 2-0.
Then after Tudor walked in the third run of the game, Balboni greeted reliever Bill Campbell with a bases-loaded-2-RBI single to break it open.
Really, that Balboni-single was the end of the ’85 Series.
Also of note: after his first AB, the Cards brought in a new reliever whenever they saw him in the on-deck circle.
In the 5th inning, he welcomed Lahti to the blowout by lacing a grounder into LF (and eventually scoring run number 7). Then, following Andujar’s memorable melt-down & ejection, Balboni was standing at the plate when Forsch’s first pitch of the night skipped by Porter, plating the 11th (and final) run of the game.
kcemigre - January 16, 2012
Totally missed it
Sorry.
Jeff Zimmerman - January 16, 2012
No offense taken...
…I was just looking for an excuse to talk about Game Seven.
Saberhagen is rightly praised for his performance that night and Tudor and Andujar are often remembered for the opposite reason. But you never see anyone mention what Balboni did. I suppose that if your job description just says “hit bombs” and that’s not what you do, people tend to overlook the rest…
kcemigre - January 16, 2012
Balboni was before my time
but I “proved” my Royals fandom to some guy at work, who questioned my loyalty and asked me who was the Royal’s single season HR leader. That stat and story is literally everything that I know about Balboni.
Loose Seal - January 16, 2012
Wait, how can you post a write-up on Balboni without...
…some reference to BYE, BYE, BALBONI! …Travesty.
timlacy - January 16, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Royals Review to post a comment.