Famous Amos
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Saw a nice shout out today on Pardon The Interruption to Royals great Amos Otis, as he celebrates his 75th birthday.
One of the best deals the franchise ever made…Joe Foy to the Mets for Otis in 1970. Amos would go on to be an All-Star center fielder in his first four seasons with the club. (Foy, meanwhile, battled drug problems and was out of baseball the next year.)
Otis scored the last run ever at old Municipal Stadium in 1972. He sometimes got lost in the shuffle among all the players on those great Royals teams of the '70s and early '80s, but still managed to make his mark and helped lead the team to four division pennants and a trip to the World Series in 1980, where he hit .478 with three homers. He had great speed too…once stole five bases in a game.
Happy Birthday Amos !
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@nwhawkfan One thing I remember about Amos was that he had a reputation of looking very nonchalant fielding center. He was one of those players whose smoothness always made it look easier than it was, so people thought he could do more “if he tried.” Cursed by having extraordinary gracefulness and speed. Always liked him, but wondered if he ever got bitter about it.
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@mayjay He may have gotten bitter late in his career as his defensive skills started to erode. Eventually he left the team after being replaced by Willie Wilson, and played one last season with the Pirates before retiring.
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As a boy I watched Amos Otis a lot playing the Yankees whom I liked while growing up outside NYC. He was a terrific part of those great late 70’s Royals teams.
