Seitzer batted .318 over four minor league seasons and facilitated the Royals' move of George Brett. Seitzer would have been a certain Rookie of the Year in most seasons, but in 1987, Mark McGwire hit 49 home runs and Seitzer settled for second. He led the AL in hits, and was only the 13th rookie in history to collect 200. Seitzer had good speed, and although not known for power in the minors, he muscled up for 15 home runs and 83 RBI his first full season. A good batting eye enabled him to draw numerous walks, keeping his on-base percentage near .400. With Kurt Stillwell joining Seitzer in 1988, the Royals had a young, exciting, and productive left side of the infield. His finest game came August 1, 1987, when he clobbered Red Sox pitching for six hits and seven RBI.
Seitzer spent the better part of five seasons with the Royals, but his batting average steadily declined from his standout rookie campaign. The Royals released him late in spring training 1992, and he was picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers eight days later. He successfully revitalized his career with the Brewers, batting over .300 from 1994 through 1996, and made his second All-Star team in 1995.
Seitzer was dealt to the Cleveland Indians mid-1996 for Jeromy Burnitz, and batted .386 down the stretch for them, helping them into the playoffs. However, he received limited playing time in the postseason in both 1996 and 1997. Despite offers to re-sign with Cleveland and play for other teams, he chose to retire after the 1997 season, leaving the game with a solid .295 lifetime batting average.
(FO/GL)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»August 2, 1987:
Royals rookie 3B Kevin Seitzer goes 6-for-6 with two home runs and seven RBIs in a 13–5 rout of the Red Sox, tying the American League record for hits in a 9-inning game. Seitzer will add two hits tomorrow, and four on the 4th: his total of 12 in three games is the 3rd highest in AL history.
»September 28, 1987:
Kevin Seitzer goes 2-for-4 in Kansas City's 5–1 loss to Seattle to become the first rookie since Tony Oliva and Dick Allen in 1964 to collect 200 hits.
»May 4, 1989:
Cleveland's John Farrell no-hits the Royals for eight innings before Kevin Seitzer singles. Doug Jones nails down the 3–1 one-hitter.
»August 28, 1992: The third place Brewers set an AL record with 31 hits in their 22-2 rout of the Blue Jays at SkyDome. It is the most hits in a game by a major league team in 91 years, and this time there were no fans on the field to add to help the hit total. The 26 singles sets a new AL mark. Kevin Seitzer and Scott Fletcher each get five hits, combine for eight RBIs and seven runs. Milwaukee fails to score in just one inning as they record their first win on the road for the Brewers in 11 games.
»February 1, 1993: The Athletics sign free agent 3B Kevin Seitzer.
»July 14, 1994:
The Twins lose to the Brewers, 6-4, in the Metrodome. During the course of the game, two balls hit off the ceiling of the stadium—a Kent Hrbek fly ball which drops for a double, and a Pedro Munoz popup, caught by Milwaukee 1B Kevin Seitzer.
»August 28, 2001:
Seattle OF Ichiro Suzuki reaches 200 hits for the season as the Mariners fall to the Devil Rays, 6–0. By going 2–for–3, Suzuki becomes only the 3rd AL rookie to reach 200 hits since 1964. KC's Kevin Seitzer reached the mark in 1987 and Boston's Nomar Garciaparra ten years later.
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