Former manager Jim Frey died Sunday. He brought the Royals their first AL Pennant:

In 1980, the Royals finished 97-65 and regained the top spot in the West. In the ALCS, the Royals finally got past the Yankees, sweeping New York in the five-game series. George Brett punctuated the win with a towering three-run homer off Yankees relief pitcher Goose Gossage that turned the tide in Game 3.

“The owner said, ‘You know why we hired you? We hired you to go to World Series,’ ” Frey told the Florida Times-Union in 2013. “So we went. We had a helluva team.”

KansasCity.com

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Frey would prove to be good at taking a good team to the next step, as he pushed the Cubs to their first division title in 1984. Overall, his record as a manager stood at 323-287, a .530 winnings percentage. Once would have thought Frey would have gotten more work in the role, but he later moved into front office work.