At the end of the 1989 season, the team boasted a powerhouse pitching rotation, including the AL Cy Young Award-winner Bret Saberhagen (who set franchise record 23 wins that year), two-time All-Star Mark Gubicza (a 15-game winner in 1989) and 1989 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Tom Gordon (who won 17 games that year). But the organization felt it was still missing a few necessary pieces to give its divisional rival Oakland Athletics a run for their money. For one thing, the Royals had been without a high-caliber closing pitcher since All-Star Dan Quisenberry was dropped in 1988. So prior to the 1990 season, the Royals acquired Mark Davis, the 1989 National League Cy Young Award-winner and league leader in saves, signing him to a four-year $13 million contract (the largest annual salary in baseball history at the time). The Royals also signed starting pitcher starting pitcher Storm Davis, who was coming off a career-high 19-game win season (third-best in the AL), to a three-year $6 million contract. Finally, the team also added pitcher Richard Dotson and traded for 1988 All-Star first baseman Gerald Perry. Kansas City's milestone off-season in 1989–1990 was its biggest commitment to free agents in the club's entire history.