U.L.’s Toothpick: The Year Of The Card–Kevin Appier, 1993

You probably can’t guess who has the highest WAR of any pitcher in Royals history, according to Baseball Reference. Actually, since you’re an astute reader (or you wouldn’t be here, right?), you’ve probably already guessed it’s not Dennis Leonard or Paul Splittorff or Bret Saberhagen. Nope, it’s Kevin Appier. Frankly, I was surprised to realize that when I began researching this post. And that underscores just how underrated Appier was: I was a teenager when he reached the majors, not a little kid.