MLB Writer Lists Royals Mount Rushmore Since 2000, Featuring Franchise Legends

The Kansas City Royals are entering a new era of baseball that includes more winning than in years past. Their last window came in the previous decade when they reached two World Series' and won a title in 2015.

10 years later, the Royals are back in business. After an 8-14 start, they have now won 17 of their last 23 games.

Regardless of results, the Royals have had their fair share of legends grace the franchise over many years. Recently Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report listed the four best players the franchise has seen since 2000, or in other words, their Mount Rushmore.

"Carlos Beltrán (1999 AL Rookie of the Year) and Zack Greinke (2009 AL Cy Young) both took home significant hardware while playing for some bad Royals teams, and laid the foundation for their standout careers during their time in Kansas City," Reuter notes.

"The left two spots for players from the 2014 AL pennant and 2015 World Series winners, and Salvador Perez was the logical first pick as a franchise icon and one of the best catchers of his era. Standout left fielder Alex Gordon, who was a three-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner, claimed the final spot over Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas."

These four players certainly made their mark in Kansas City. Beltran is now on the Hall-of-Fame ballot, and while he hasn't gotten in yet, he could very well find himself in Cooperstown soon, perhaps even with a Royals cap on his plaque.

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