Those of you who haven’t been paying close attention to the Kansas City Royals – not an uncommon occurrence these days – may have been confused when the Rollbacks hired a new manager Tuesday.

It wasn’t Bud Black and it wasn’t Buddy Biancalana. It was Buddy Bell, a serviceable bench tender who became the first K.C. skipper with an alliterative name since Bob Boone.

Nearly 600 players have toiled for the Royals over the years, and did you know that 35 of them – mostly pitchers – have alliterative names?

And, if you were so inclined, you might pick a Royals All-Alliterative team.

First base – Bill Buckner. Vilified while with the Red Sox for the wicket error that stoked the flames of Bambino’s Curse, he logged two seasons (1988-89) with the Royals. If nicknames counted, my choice would be Tony “Samoan Strongboy” Solaita.

Second base – Biancalana. Cult hero of ’85 World Series champions. Switch-hitter with lifetime .205 batting average. No relation to Roseanne Roseanadanna. Circle Aug. 27 on your calendar. That’s Buddy Biancalana Night. No, not at Kauffman Stadium. At the T-Bones ballyard.

Shortstop – Greg Gagne. Spent first 10 seasons with Twins, but gave Royals three good years (1993-95) before opting for Los Angeles Dodgers’ dollars. Hit career high .280 with K.C. in ’93.

Third base – Gary Gaetti. Like Gagne, spent first 10 seasons with Twins. In 1995, at age 37 and supposedly over the hill, he slugged a career-high 35 homers and drove in 96 runs for Royals.

Utility infielder – Rico Rossy. Rico Rossy??? Who’s Rico Rossy??? Reportedly played for Royals in 1992 and 1993.

Left field – Willie Wilson. Better known as a center fielder, but also played left while Amos Otis patrolled center. Incredibly fast. Made the Road Runner look like Elmer Fudd. Lacked power and had a below-average arm, but, oh, those wheels.

Center field – David De Jesus. Arguably, the second-best position player on the current Royals roster (after Mike Sweeney). Good speed, but doesn’t steal many bases. Good glove. Average bat.

Right field – Kevin Koslofski. Reserve picket of the early ’90s. Spent more time in Omaha than the Nebraska Furniture Mart. Beat out Brandon Berger, another Rosenblatt Stadium habitue.

Catcher – Mike Macfarlane. Friendly, personable and smart, I thought Mac would become a manager some day. Solid behind the plate. Bat packed some wallop. But he couldn’t outrun Muriel Kauffman.

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Starting pitchers – Dick Drago, Bud Black, Gene Garber, Bill Butler and Rick Reed.

Drago – An original Royal, this durable and dependable right-hander averaged 32 starts in five K.C. seasons, posting a career-best 17-11 record in 1971.

Black – Quintessential stylish left-hander who fashioned 17-12 record in 1984. Now pitching coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Orange County by way of Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm but not including Rancho Cucamonga.

Garber – Bearded right-hander with a sidewinder delivery who had two stints in K.C., one as a starter and one as a reliever.

Butler – Another original Royal. Big left-hander who lasted three years until management finally realized he had a better chance of finding gold in Brush Creek than he did of finding home plate. Not related to current minor-league prospect Billy Butler.

Reed – Royals gave up on him after he started 19 games in ’93 and posted 3-7 record with 3.68 earned-run average. Went on to win 85 games over the next 10 years with Mets and Twins.

Relief pitchers – Mike Magnante, Scott Service, Mike MacDougal.

Magnante – Situational left-hander who couldn’t throw without his neck tucked into his shoulder or without braces on both knees.

Service – Like many recent Royals bullpen denizens, Service made us nervous, no more so than in 1999 when he pitched in 68 games and logged a 6.09 ERA.

Mike MacDougal – When this red-headed right-hander notched 27 saves in 2003, they called him a flame thrower. Now his game is mostly blame.

Coaches – Frank Funk, Joe Jones, Mike Mason.

Funk and Mason – Of the scores of K.C. pitching coaches who have been fired over the years, these are two of them.

Joe Jones – Baseball lifer who has learned to live with the loneliness of a Royals’ base coach.