Inductees
Mike Moustakas
The first time he played in the Show-Me State, he arrived with bat in tow as a prospect hitter for a Kansas City Royals farm club.
This was 2010, and Mike Moustakas was 21 years old, college age but having been drafted in the first round out of a California high school and eager to help the Royals in their next Golden Era. At the time, he was in the Double-A Texas League, playing for Northwest Arkansas, a team about 90 minutes south of Joplin.
Royals fans flocked to that ballpark and the one in Springfield as Moustakas made his way through and, in short order, he connected on his promise.
What a career it was, and his success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Moustakas with the Class of 2025.
Wearing No. 8 and playing third base, Moustakas became a fan favorite in his eight seasons with the Royals – highlighted by the club winning the 2015 World Series a year after coming within one victory of winning it all.
Overall, “Moose” played 13 seasons in the big leagues and helped lead a revival in Kansas City, which hadn’t won a World Series since 1985.
A first-round draft pick in 2007 – and the second selection overall – as the California high school home run champion, Moustakas’ positive attitude and all-out hustle fueled the rise of the Royals.
He hit 215 career home runs, 139 with Kansas City, as part of 1,252 hits, with 858 coming in his time with the Royals. He also collected 683 RBI, or 441 in a Royals uniform.
In club history, he ranks ninth in home runs, 18th in hits, 12th in slugging percentage (.443) 15th in doubles (184), 14th in RBI, 18th in hits and 25th in batting average (.251).
At his retirement ceremony in May 2025 – when he signed a one-day contract to retire as a Royal – the club unveiled a painting his signature play: leaning over the third-base dugout before tumbling over to catch a pop fly in the 2014 American League Championship Series.
“Kansas City!,” Moustakas told the crowd in 2025. “Being here again, on this field, brings back so many memories. Whether it was getting clutch hits or making diving catches, you guys were always there for me.”
“And I can still hear it – now batting, playing third base, No. 8, Mike Moustakas. It still gives me I knew every person in this stadium was with me,” Moustakas continued. “There were days I wasn’t sure what to do at the plate and wasn’t feeling good walking up to the box. But I knew the Royals faithful had me.”
Die-yard Royals fans have long pulled for Moustakas, as he and slugger Eric Hosmer (MSHOF 2024) were in the same draft class and rose through the farm system together.
In 2010, Moose opened the year in Double-A and stayed a half a season, and then went to Triple-A before Hosmer was promoted to Double-A. Royals fans followed them daily, reading box scores and looking up stories online. After all, the franchise had experienced tough and challenging years since the mid-1990s.
Moustakas never forgot who helped along the way. He later played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels.
“I’ll be forever grateful that this organization drafted me and the relationships that I’ve had and continue to grow,” Moustakas said at this retirement ceremony, pointing out the Glass Family and current ownership under John Sherman.
In his retirement speech, Moustakas thanked many, including clubhouse staff and media, youth coaches for teaching him how to be a great teammate and professional coaches guiding him as a big-leaguer. He also thanked George Brett (MSHOF 1994) for setting a high standard, one that Moustakas strove to reach.
And he made certain to point out the two men who impacted his life as a big-leaguer – manager Ned Yost (MSHOF 2020) and then general manager Dayton Moore (MSHOF 2022).
“Thank you for believing in me when not too many people did,” Moustakas said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better leader to follow into battle.”
“Dayton, in 2007, you took a chance on drafting a kid out of Chatsworth High School. From that day on, I knew it was my responsibility to do give everything I could to repay you, with a World Series,” Moustakas said. “You helped me grow into a man my parents could be proud of.”
The truth is, Moustakas made Royals fans proud.