In 1986, the Royals fell suddenly from contender status. They also made one of the worst trades in franchise history, trading native Kansas Citian and future perennial All-Star David Cone for Ed Hearn. Hearn played for less than a month in Kansas City. The Royals were the trendy pre-season pick to return to the World Series in 1987, but the season proved bittersweet for the Royals. The team won 83 out of 162 games (a seven win improvement from 1986), and wound up finishing two games behind the eventual World Champion Minnesota Twins in the Western Division. Further, on June 17, 1987, Dick Howser died after a year-long battle with brain cancer. Howser's #10 soon became the first number that the Royals retired. Also in 1987, the team released longtime star Hal McRae and selected John Wathan as its new manager in midseason after firing Billy Gardner.