Nebraska Minor League Baseball
American Assocation
Omaha Royals 1990


American Association
Standings
President:Randy Mobley
East Standings Wins--- Losses- GB Attended Manager
Nashville Sounds 86 61 -- 556,250 Pete Mackanin
Buffalo Bisons 85 62 1 1,174,358 Terry Collins
Louisville Redbirds 74 72 11.5 616,687 Gaylen Pitts
Indianapolis Indians 61 85 24.5 314,264 Tim Johnson
West Standings
Omaha Royals 86 60 -- 341,129 Sal Rende
Iowa Cubs 72 74 14 270,215 Jim Essian
Denver Zephyrs 68 78 18 433,880 Dave Machemer
Oklahoma City 89ers 58 87 27.5 282,773 Steve Smith
BA:Mark Ryal, Buffalo, .334
Runs:Joe Redfield, Denver, 87
Hits:Skeeter Barnes, Nashville, 156
RBIs:Juan Gonzalez, Oklahoma City, 101
HRs:Juan Gonzalez, Oklahoma City, 29
Wins:Chris Hammond, Nashville, 15
SOs:Chris Hammond, Nashville, 149
ERA:Chris Hammond, Nashville, 2.17
Pct:Chris Hammond, Nashville, .938

 

What a great year. Owner Gus Cherry and manager Sal Rende put together a great team and a great year for the fans and for the players. The Royals won their first American Association title in 12 years.

The Royals started fast and never looked back. By the all star break the Royals were 54-36 with an 11 game lead over the Iowa Cubs.

Gene Walter pitched a no hit game on Friday July 13th against the Iowa Cubs. It was the fifth no hit game by a Royal in the franchise history.

The Royals drew 341,000 fans for the year. This put Omaha 8th in attendance for all minor league teams.

In the playoffs the Royals defeated the Nashville Sounds 3 games to 2 to take the American Association crown. They then defeated Rochester of the International League 4 games to 1 to take their first Triple-A Classic Championship.

With the outstanding season and postseason the Royals accumulated quite a few honors. Owner Gus Cherry was named American Association Executive of the Year and manager Sal Rende was named American Association and Sporting News Manager of the Year.

Roster:
Bob Hamelin played 90 games at first for Omaha in 1990. The 22 year old lefty averaged .232 for the games he played in Omaha. He made it to the Kansas City Royals in 1993 and had a six year major league career.

Bobby Meacham Paul Zuvella was a regular in the infield for the Royals in 1990. He averaged .283 for the year. He made his major league debut in 1982 with the Braves and played for four different major league teams.

Thad Reece Tommy Hinzo

Tim Spehr was the regular catcher for the Royals in 1990. He averaged .225 in 102 games. He made his major league debut as a 24 year old in 1991 and played in the major leagues through the 1999 season.

Kevin Burrell returned in 1990 as a catcher for the Royals. He played in 65 games and averaged .219 for the year. The tall lanky 27 year old from Fayetteville Georgia played for 8 different minor league clubs from 1981 through the 1990 season.

Omaha Royals 25th Anniversary Team
Luis Delos Santos averaged .280 in his fourth year in Omaha. He led the Royals with 135 games played and 146 hits. At the end of the season the 23 year old was waived by the Royals. He played a few games for Detroit in 1991. He spent most of the 1992 season in the Mexican League.

Outfield

Russ Morman was a 27 year old from Independence Missouri. He played 121 games for Omaha in 1990 and averaged .298. He led the Royals in triples and RBI's. He also played in 12 games with the parent Royals. He played in the majors for 9 seasons.

Harvey Pulliam led the Royals in runs scored in 1990. He crossed the plate 72 times during the 1990 season.

Gary Thurman led the Omaha Royals in hitting in 1990 with a .331 average. He was honored with the Bill Wood Lancer Hustle Award from the Omaha fans for his efforts on the field. The Indianapolis born outfielder was a first round pick of the Royals in 1983. He also played in 23 games for Kansas City in 1990. He also led the Royals with 39 stolen bases. He had a nine year major league career starting in 1987 and ending in 1997.

Chito Martinez

Mike Loggins

Jacob Brumfield from Bogalusa Louisiana played in 24 games for Omaha in 1990. His .325 average led to him being kept in Omaha for the 1991 season. He made his major league debut in 1992 and had a 7 year major league career.

Pitchers:
Pete Filson led the Royals with 12 wins and a 2.78 ERA in 1990. He also had a cup of coffee with the parent Royals in 1990. He made his major league debut in 1982 with the Twins and his stint with the Royals in 1990 was his last major league appearance.

Gene Walter pitched a no hit game against Iowa on July 13th. The Chicago born lefty had played for San Diego, the Mets and Seattle from 1985-88. He missed the entire 1989 season after having shoulder surgery. He joined the Royals on June 18th after a tryout with Appleton.

Dera Clark was a 24 year old starboard side flinger who was born in Monahans Texas and called Norman Oklahoma home. In 1990 he had an 803 record with the Omaha Royals.

Greg Everson had a 4-0 record and a 2.35 ERA for Omaha in 1990. He also pitched for Memphis during the year.

Daryl Smith

Jim LeMasters had an 11-10 record for Omaha in 1990. He led the Royals with 25 games started and 154 innings of work.

Tony Ferreira Jay Baller

Dennis Moeller pitched for Omaha and Memphis during the 1990 season. He was 5-2 for Omaha and 7-6 for Memphis. He had a cup of coffee with the Kansas City Royals in 1992 and was with Pittsburg in 1993.

Ray Chadwick

Jim Campbell pitched 27 innings for Omaha in 1990 and had a 2-2 record for the Royals. He also pitched for Memphis and Kansas City during the season.

Mike Magnante had a 2-5 record with Omaha and a 4.11 ERA in 76 innings.

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