Reeves Wiedeman, Kansas City native, is on the editorial staff at the New Yorker. You can find his writing on a variety of topics at reeveswiedeman.net. Follow Reeves on Twitter @wiedemar.
From 1992 to 1995, he was fine but never great in his role as the Royals’ first baseman. Fine but never great is basically what being a Royals fan felt like from 1992 to 1995. Squeezed between George Brett and Mike Sweeney, Wally Joyner was also the first basemen of the formative years in my life as a sports fan. I chose basketball.
As a KC native, I also recall the brief stint of Mr. Joyner before/after his time with the Angels. Even Sweeney wasn’t able to cast away the shadow of George Brett, whose pine tar yell-fest makes great youtube viewing in the annals of sports history.
You must judge great by RBIs. Dude played gold glove defense and was a terrific hitter. Actually had 3 great years (93-95).
Brett’s career OPS .857
Joyner’s OPS from 1993-1995: .842, .835, .842
Add gold glove defense to those numbers and “fine but never great” undersells his years in KC.