Memorable Moments: Cocaine Scandal Rocks 1983 Royals

One of the darkest times in Royals history, at least off the field, happened forty years ago this month. While it was not as tragic as the deaths of Dick Howser or Yordano Ventura, or even the too-early passings of retired but still beloved Dan Quisenberry or Paul Splittorff, the scandal was a shock to the fanbase, which had grown accustomed to an organization that did not embarrass itself on or off the field. A federal investigation into a cocaine distribution ring, stretching from Dodge City to Overland Park, ensnared four players and tainted the rest of the organization in the eyes of many fans.

The 1983 Royals were not having a fun season anyway, as injuries and ineffectiveness wracked a veteran pitching staff. Still, even with a 48-49 record at the end of July, they were only three games out of first in the AL West. Then, on August 9, the story broke. Five players were being questioned by the FBI regarding cocaine use, including possibly buying or selling the drug. 

“The thing was that it caught everyone so totally by surprise. Kansas City and this organization, they weren't places anyone would have thought would have had this sort of problem.”--Dean Vogelaar, Royals vice president for media relations, quoted by Mike DeArmond, The Kansas City Star, August 8, 1993

But there had been some warning signs. FBI agents had conducted a pregame meeting with the team one day in June, telling them they would not be treated any differently if they were charged. The meeting came across as a not-so-thinly veiled admission that there was an investigation, and some players’ names were coming up over and over again.

The Kansas City Star, when they broke the story, mentioned five players: first baseman Willie Aikens, pitcher Vida Blue, outfielder Jerry Martin, outfielder Willie Wilson, and shortstop U L Washington (who was later cleared of any wrongdoing). U.S. Attorney Jim Marquez wouldn’t confirm these names, but inadvertently admitted that Blue was one when he mentioned “current players” and reporters reminded him that the Royals had waived Blue on August 5. General manager John Schuerholz said that the investigation had nothing to do with Blue’s release, and his 0-5 record, 6.01 ERA, and squabbles with Schuerholz and Howser certainly gave the GM some plausible deniability.

The players named, of course, were not admitting anything right away. Except for Wilson.

“I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is that I’m not a dope addict. That’s all I’ve got to say.”--Wilson, quoted by the Associated Press, August 10, 1983

While the wheels of justice turned slowly, the Royals’ season unsurprisingly fell apart, although it didn’t help that the first-place White Sox couldn't lose. By the end of August, the Royals were 10.5 games out and the race was over.

“Once it broke, the biggest problem that we had was dealing with the normal problems of the game, such as making bad pitches and striking out, and making errors and the stigma that came with you making mistakes afterward. Every time we didn't play well and made mistakes everyone seemed to have that feeling that everyone would look at you as if it was related to that particular problem. And the thinking of the general public seemed to be that ‘How many is it? Is it the whole team or just a few fellows?’ It created a sense of urgency to play well, and it went back to the harder you try the worse you do. I think the whole team fell into that.”--second baseman Frank White, quoted by Mike DeArmond, The Kansas City Star, August 8, 1993

The Royals finished the season in second place, but a whopping 20 games behind Chicago. It wasn’t until after the season that the players learned their punishments. All four pleaded guilty to federal misdemeanor charges in October (possession for Blue, attempting to obtain for the other three). All four were sentenced to a year in prison, although the judge suspended nine months of those sentences. Aikens, Blue, and Wilson were each fined $5,000; Martin’s fine was $2,500. And all four received two years’ probation. That was all unfortunate enough, but commissioner Bowie Kuhn got in on the act by suspending all four for the entire 1984 season, although he promised their cases would be reviewed in mid-May, but by a new commissioner as Kuhn was set to retire before March 1.

For the Royals, that didn’t matter in three of the cases. They had already released Blue, as mentioned. After the season, they told Martin, who had only played 13 games before a hand injury ended his season, that he would be released. And following the guilty pleas, the Royals made it clear that Aikens was not in their plans for 1984; he would be traded to Toronto for Jorge Orta. That left Wilson, who would be reinstated by commissioner Peter Ueberroth in mid-May and continued his Royals Hall of Fame career. Wilson maintained that he was only trying to buy the drug for a friend

Not to excuse these players, but frankly all of baseball had a cocaine problem in the early 1980s. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Steve Howe was also suspended a year by Kuhn on the same day the four Royals players were suspended; Howe hadn’t even been arrested but had two drug-related absences from the team during the 1983 season. Across the state, former Royals manager Whitey Herzog had dealt with his leadoff hitter, Lonnie Smith, checking into rehab after he reported feeling jittery and unable to play before a game in June. Herzog’s Cardinals also had Darrell Porter, who had missed some of the 1980 season while in rehab; his book detailing his substance abuse problems became available early in the 1984 season.

In 1985, the Pittsburgh drug trials showed just how deep the problem was. Keith Hernandez estimated in court that 40% of players were using cocaine. Other star players like Dave Parker and Tim Raines were involved.

In retrospect, it’s easy to see how this all happened. The 1970s and early 1980s were something of a heyday for the drug. Baseball was hardly the only profession where young men with lots of spending money were enjoying the drug, but a stockbroker getting arrested for attempting to purchase coke was probably not going to make the newspaper. Even at the time, it was easy to see the factors.

“We produce the blueprint of a user—young, wealthy, unaccountable for his behavior because of his athletic ability, unable to handle pressure.”--Montreal Expos president John McHale, quoted by Jim Kaplan, Sports Illustrated, May 28, 1984

“Stress management is at the heart of the problem. There's stress at every level: making it to the majors, staying in the majors, making money, continuing to make money.”--Schuerholz, quoted by Jim Kaplan, Sports Illustrated, May 28, 1984

“It's a society problem, not a baseball problem. When you go to the seminars I've been to and learn how unusual it is for a child to get through the fourth grade without having had contact with (narcotics), you don't blame the players so much. They've been introduced early . . . then the big money falls in their lap.”--Herzog, quoted by Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post, September 28, 1985

Of course, the aftermath of the scandal affected the Royals in positive and negative ways. Owner Ewing Kauffman, through the Kauffman Foundation, established Project STAR, a drug prevention program that would have more than 100,000 students eventually participating. On the field, the team ushered in a youth movement, which paid off in a division title in 1984 and a World Series title in 1985. But Aikens was caught up in an addiction that ultimately cost him his freedom; after he sold crack cocaine to an undercover officer, he was sentenced to 20 years and eight months in prison in 1994 and wasn’t released until 2008.