Gibson Reportedly Joins Royals : Baseball: Free agent expected to sign a two-year contract worth $3.3 million today.

Kirk Gibson, who led the Dodgers to the 1988 World Championship with the most dramatic home run in Los Angeles history, will quietly end his three-year association with the team today by signing a two-year, $3.3-million contract with the Kansas City Royals.

According to a report in today’s Kansas City Star, Gibson will join the Royals as an outfielder and designated hitter, with the announcement being made in a news conference today.

Doug Baldwin, Gibson’s agent, did not deny the report late Friday. “I can just have no comment,” Baldwin said.

Gibson, 33, spent a stormy three seasons with the Dodgers after being signed as a free agent on Feb. 1, 1988.

His departure was a foregone conclusion after he asked to be traded during the middle of last season.

Because of frustrations over not being traded or moved from center field where he was unfamiliar, Gibson later engaged in a shouting match with Fred Claire, Dodger vice president. After Gibson declared free agency in October, the Dodgers made no attempt to sign him.

Gibson’s tenure with the Dodgers was highlighted by his first season, when he had 25 home runs and 76 runs batted in and was named the National League’s most valuable player.

The season both began and ended in typically stormy Gibson fashion.

In his first appearance in a game for the Dodgers in spring training, he ran off the field in anger after teammate Jesse Orosco played a practical joke by placing eye black in his cap. Many Dodgers felt that incident set the tone for the successful season.

Then in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against Oakland, Gibson ended his season by cementing his place in baseball history. He hobbled to home plate on a bad left leg with two out in the ninth inning and hit a two-run homer off Dennis Eckersley to give the Dodgers a 5-4 victory that led to a stunning four-games-to-one Series win.

He spent much of that year playing in pain because of hamstring and knee problems, injuries that quickly caught up with him. After 1988, he had a total of 17 homers and 66 RBIs in his final two seasons with Los Angeles. His .213 batting average in 1989 was the lowest by a returning MVP since Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax in 1964.

After undergoing knee surgery on Aug. 29, 1989, Gibson did not return last season until June 2. After hitting .337 in July to lead the start of the Dodgers’ late-season surge, he slumped in September, batting .159 with no homers and four RBIs in the season’s final full month.

“If he goes, it will be sad, really,” teammate Orel Hershiser said earlier Friday when discussing the likelihood of Gibson’s departure. “Gibby was one of the main parts that turned this organization around.”

Hershiser agreed, though, that Gibson’s injuries hurt not just his playing time, but his ability to be the leader that he was in 1988.

“When you are hurt, it is hard to lead a team,” Hershiser said. “It is hard to go out there and be energetic and think about leading everyone when you have to be worried about yourself.”