So I started looking back, year by year, at old All-Star games to see how the Royals have done in the past and I came up with ten notable performances. Five of those stand out as very good, but here, I want to glance at five that were solid, though maybe lacking in impact of the game or in Royals history. The All-Star Game is where some stars shine brighter and it’s always great to see your team’s representative(s) doing well on that stage.

1972 – Cookie Rojas

Rojas was coming off of an All-Star year in 1971 where he’d hit .300 and appeared in his first All-Star Game as a Royal. In 1972, he was a reserve and entered the game in the top of the eighth inning. Pinch-hitting for Rod Carew and with Carlton Fisk on first, Rojas homered to left to put the American League up 3-2.

He looked primed to be named the MVP of the game, but Wilbur Wood came in for the bottom of the ninth and gave up a tying run and the National League won in the bottom of the tenth.

Rojas went on to play in two more All-Star Games in 1973 and 1974 in the latter stages of his baseball career.

1990 – Bret Saberhagen

Bret Saberhagen.

Saberhagen was coming off of a Cy Young season in 1989 and made the All-Star team in 1990 with a 2.98 ERA in 121 innings.

He threw two perfect innings, facing Chris Sabo, Mike Scioscia and Barry Bonds in the first inning, striking out Scioscia. In his second inning of work, Saberhagen got flyouts from Shawon Dunston, Lenny Dykstra and Ryne Sandberg. In the following inning, Julio Franco drove in two to break a 0-0 tie and Saberhagen ended up being the pitcher of record and the first Royal to be named the winner of an All-Star Game.

The honor came with a price – Saberhagen made only three more starts in 1990 due to ligament damage in his right elbow. He made his first post-ASG start on July 15 but didn’t resurface until September.

1986 – Frank White

Frank White.

In 1986, the All-Star Game was in the Astrodome, and for the second time ever, featured a Royals manager as Dick Howser led the American League squad after winning the World Series in 1985.

George Brett was selected as a reserve, but due to injury didn’t play in the game.

That left White as the only Royal to represent the World Champion Royals. Earlier in the game, Lou Whitaker, the starting second baseman for the AL, had homered off of Dwight Gooden. White replaced him in the seventh inning and hit a homer of his own off of Mike Scott. White got another at bat in the ninth but flied out against Mike Krukow.

White was an All-Star five times, but 1986 was his final selection. The home run was his only hit as an All-Star in seven at bats.

2009 – Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke in the 2009 All-Star Game. Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

2009 was a special year. The Royals started out 18-11 and were three games up in the AL Central in early May. While that success eventually faded, Zack Greinke made every fifth day an event.

Greinke started the year by giving up just four earned runs in his first 60 innings pitched en route to one of the best pitching seasons in Royals history. As the All-Star Game approached, it looked like Greinke could be the game’s starter in St. Louis but Roy Halladay started instead.

Nonetheless, when Greinke’s turn came up, he flashed the same brilliance he’d shown in the regular season.

He only threw one inning, and it’s difficult to judge an All-Star Game performance on just one inning, but he started out by inducing a weak foul out from Raul Ibanez to third on the first pitch then striking out David Wright on a 1-2 pitch (looking) and finishing off a perfect inning by getting Shane Victorino on a 1-2 pitch on his own for a second strikeout.

Greinke of course went on to win the AL Cy Young Award after 229.1 innings with a 2.16 ERA.

1995 – Kevin Appier

Kevin Appier.

Despite being one of the best pitchers in the 1990s, this was Kevin Appier’s only All-Star selection. Despite surpassing a 100 ERA+ every year from 1990 to 1997, and being the best candidate for the 1993 Cy Young Award, Appier never got the recognition he deserved.

In 1995, he made his one shot count.

Appier had a 3.04 ERA in 121 innings going into the All-Star Game and came into the game after Randy Johnson started for the AL and dominated. In the third inning, he retired Barry Larkin, struck out Vinnie Castilla and finished off Craig Biggio, then continued into the fourth, mowing down Lenny Dykstra, Tony Gwynn and Barry Bonds. That’s four Hall of Famers (or deserving Hall of Famers) and two of the best of the early 90s in that group, and Appier cut them all down in order.

Every batter but Castilla grounded out, in Appier’s impressive showing.

Appier faded a bit as the season wore on, finishing with 201.1 innings and a 3.89 ERA, but he was still one of the best starters that year.

These are performances worth pointing out, but I’ve decided on five performances by Royals in the All-Star Game that stand out even better.

The Royals had a great start to the homestand, taking 2 out or 3 from the Athletics and we were joined by KCTV 5′s Brad Fanning to break down the series. Brad also talked to us about his story on the Royals Baseball Academy that graduated players such as Frank White and Texas Manager Ron Washington to the big leagues. His full ten minute story can be found on KCTV5′s website.

Then we were joined by Wilmington Blue Rocks starting pitcher Jason Adam who talked to us about needing run support and life on Twitter.

We got into a discussion about the Royals ability to develop prospects and their philosophies entering the draft tonight.

We finished the show with Royalman’s Rant and what may or may not be a picture of Fake Ned underneath a Kansas flag.

Don’t forget the Royalman Report is on every Sunday at 7 and catch our new show, The Kansas City Baseball Vault on ESPN 1510 AM Thursday’s at 6.

You can listen below or download the mp3 directly.

The Royalman Report is hosted by Troy “Royalman” Olsen with co-host Michael Engel and features Chris “Fake Ned Yost” Kamler and 610 Sports blogger Jeff Herr and airs  live Sundays at 7 p.m. central time at RoyalmanReport.com as well as on Livestream.com/RoyalmanReport.

Subscribe via the RSS feed and get updates when new episodes are uploaded.

Stuck in a cubicle, on a road trip, or using your smartphone?  Stitcher is a multi-platform radio app that’s available on Apple products, Droid, Blackberry and other phones.  Find us here on Stitcher.

You can also subscribe via iTunes: JUST CLICK HERE (and iPad, iPhone, iTouch users can get the Livestream app here to watch live or archived shows).

Follow the Royalman Report on Twitter.  While you’re at it, track down Kings of Kauffman on Twitter as well.

We had a pretty fun show on Thursday, talking about the Royals solid road trip and their return home. We pitched the idea of the Melky Cabrera trade from the offseason and if it was a mistake or not – opinions were divided. Also we played a little trivia and gave away a suite pass to Saturday’s game against Oakland. Along with those updates, we checked in with a minor league and T-Bones update.

Then we brought in Rene Lachemann, former catcher for the Kansas City A’s and asked him about his time in Kansas City and just what made the A’s such a hotbed for future managers. Tony LaRussa, Tommy Lasorda, Lachemann and others went from the A’s to managing in their careers. He also gave us some info on Rockies prospects as he’s the hitting coach for their Triple A affiliate, the Colorado Sky Sox.

Our final guest was Andy from High Heat Stats to discuss building a Royals Mount Rushmore. He explained his approach to the project and covered the voting results and his thoughts about the players nominated. It was an interesting discussion since there are so many different ways to evaluate who to put on the mountain. I selected my four players earlier in the week.

We’ll be back next week with more discussion of Kansas City baseball, past, present and future on ESPN 1510 Thursday at 6 p.m. CST.

You can catch up on old episodes of the Kansas City Baseball Vault here on Kings of Kauffman. Episodes of the Royalman Report are available on the site as well.

Follow the Kansas City Baseball Vault on Twitter and Facebook for future programming updates. Also follow Kings of Kauffman for article updates, discussion and other information.

A project over at High Heat Stats has been taking this to another level, determining by vote which players are deserving of landing on a “Mount Rushmore” and commemorating their teams’ best. Recently, HHS put the Royals up for discussion. Voting has been open for a week and ends today.

I like this sort of thing because there are some obvious choices and some tough choices.

The criteria someone could use is entirely up to them. You can lean entirely on stats. You can look at overall impact. You can try to balance all of that with how they represent the franchise.

Here’s my Royals Mount Rushmore:

George Brett

This is the obvious first choice. The only reason someone might leave Brett off of their vote is because they’re looking to add a fringe candidate, knowing that Brett is a lock.

As the franchise’s best player, their only Hall 0f Famer and holder of multiple offensive accolades, Brett’s also a lifelong Royal and still involved with the team. He hits every criteria one could examine. He’s got the numbers, was always the key player in the lineup to stop and is recognized as a Royal by baseball fans and writers.

Frank White

White hasn’t fared as well in this poll as one might imagine. He was lagging at one point, but after more Kansas City folks saw the discussion, he’s landed within safe territory.

Frankly (no pun intended) there’s an argument that White fits all the criteria better than Brett. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star said on the Royalman Report back in December that Brett could have been a star in Seattle, New York, Houston, anywhere. White could have only made it in Kansas City. He literally helped build Kauffman Stadium. He’s the most famous of Ewing Kauffman’s Baseball Academy graduates, winning eight Gold Gloves, playing in two World Series, and making five All Star teams. Without the opportunity, he probably wouldn’t have made it into the majors at all. After retiring, he helped coach in the Royals minor league system and stepped into the broadcast booth until his split with the team this past winter.

He’s also the only other player besides Brett with his number retired by the club.

Bret Saberhagen

Steve Busby and Dennis Leonard were among the best starters in Royals history, but to me, Saberhagen’s run as a Royal would be impressive for nearly any club.

A two-time Cy Young Award winner before the age of 26, Saberhagen was also the 1985 World Series MVP, a two-time All Star, a Gold Glove winner and threw a no-hitter in 1991. His 3.21 ERA as a Royal is the best of any starter in team history, as is his 1.134 WHIP (which leads all pitchers, regardless of role). He’s among the club leaders in complete games, innings and shutouts, but didn’t play for the Royals as long as some, like Leonard and Paul Splittorff.

That may be one way to keep Saberhagen off the mountain. He only played for the Royals until 1991, after which he was traded to the Mets (which still hurts to this day).

Saberhagen was among the best in the game while with the Royals and his resume makes him an easy choice for me for a third spot on Royals Mount Rushmore.

Here’s where it gets tricky. There are many good cases to be made. Amos Otis, Freddy Patek, Hal McRae, Willie Wilson, Mark Gubicza and others could be a fit. Even Bo Jackson or the vastly underrated Danny Tartabull could make it.

Part of my difficulty is that players like Otis, Busby and Leonard played in those dark ages when I knew Bert and Ernie better than any Royals. Some of these players were on the team until the mid-80s, but were past their prime. Royals baseball didn’t come to my hometown’s TV schedule until 1988 as I remember it, so I missed out on a lot of those who have since been inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame.

It comes down to two players for the last spot: Kevin Appier and Dan Quisenberry.

Kevin Appier

My favorite Royals pitcher of all time. I mimicked his pitching motion as closely as I could when I started pitching in summers – which is not advised to anyone wanting to try it.

Appier leads the Royals in WAR according to Baseball-Reference. He leads the franchise in strikeouts, is third in wins (despite trailing the next closest starter by more than 300 innings pitched as a Royal), and put up a 130 ERA+ as a Royal. He’s one of the most underrated pitchers of the 1990s and was robbed of the 1993 Cy Young Award after logging a better ERA (by three quarters of a run) and WHIP than both Jack McDowell and Randy Johnson, who ended up ahead of him in the voting.

Dan Quisenberry

Quiz was instrumental to the Royals success in the 1980s. His 2.55 ERA is the best mark by any Royals pitcher who qualifies (500 IP at least).

Quisenberry filled the role of the fireman as well as anyone during his stretch with Kansas City. He led the league in appearances three times. He led in saves five times. As a Royal, he finished in the top five in Cy Young voting five times. Also, he landed in the top eleven of MVP voting five times. Only Brett has more such finishes as a Royal.

A character in every sense of the word, Quisenberry’s great performance on the mound was mirrored with his involvement in the community, and the Royals recognize a player every offseason with the Dan Quisenberry Award for their outstanding achievements and service within their community.

That’s the clincher. Kevin Appier was a great pitcher for the Royals, but he doesn’t have an award named after him.

It’s only fitting that Quisenberry closes the discussion by landing on the last spot on the mountain.

That makes my Royals Mount Rushmore the quartet of George Brett, Frank White, Bret Saberhagen and Dan Quisenberry. There are many cases to be made for other players, but those are my four.

You can weigh in by voting today at High Heat Stats, and we’ll be discussing the final results on the Kansas City Baseball Vault Thursday night at 6 p.m. on ESPN 1510 AM.

Better duck your head when Jonathan Broxton is pitching. He might hit you to force in the winning run. Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

It may surprise you to learn what I am most aggravated about after the first few series of this young season.  It’s not the losses, although that is beginning to wear on me somewhat.  Not the new broadcast team.  Not the smug looks on the Indians’ faces after they stole three straight wins in Kansas City and beat us again in Cleveland last night.  Not Broxton’s 12th inning meltdown consisting of 2 walks and 2 HBPs in 2/3 of an inning in Oakland that started the whole death spiral, not the mighty Hosmer reduced to weakly flailing at pitches two feet out of the strike zone, not the injuries that have robbed us of our talented young starting players, not the “first time in 30 years triple play,” and not even the site of the Yunibomber jogging out to second base night after night.  (Although I have to admit, seeing Yuni in a Royals’ uniform does push me perilously close to the edge.)  The way the team has played, the poor coaching, the epic baserunning blunders and defensive lapses are all causes of our seething frustration and anger.  But none of these things are what have me most perturbed.  The thing that aggravates me most right now, is the fans.

Now I realize it’s Royals fans who keep this web site up and running, so I need to watch my words carefully.  And please note that I am one of you – as hard core and blue blooded as they come.  I also realize that the serious fans who read this site probably haven’t fallen prey to the issues I want to discuss, so there is no reason for anyone here to take my comments personally.   But for the rest of the Royals’ fans that jumped on the bandwagon this Spring because it was a trendy thing to do the past few months – I have a few issues I’d like to get off my chest about you.

Rex Hudler has taken the brunt of Royal fan angst this year. Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

First of all, I really don’t get all the vitriol over Rex Hudler.  (Yes, vitriol is a real word – look it up.)  And I don’t understand why so many people want to connect Rex to the loss of Frank White from the booth, who let’s face it, is not the greatest broadcaster ever.  (Yes, I said it, because it’s true.)  Now don’t misunderstand me – If I was picking an all-time MLB team, Frank is my second baseman, no doubt.  I’d take him before Joe Morgan, before Ryne Sandberg, and certainly before Roberto Alomar and all of his excess spit.  Meeting Frank in a hotel lobby when I was 17-years-old and speaking one-on-one with him for 15 minutes is possibly the sports highlight of my life next to watching Darryl Motley squeeze the final out of Game 7 in 1985.

But really folks, whining about losing Frank from the broadcast team is the same as saying you’re upset that Denny Matthews, possibly the greatest radio man in the history of sports, is not permitted to pitch for the Royals.  Yes Frank “tells it like it is”, yes he is a beloved and treasured Kansas City icon, but he’s about as uncomfortable behind a microphone as Jeff Montgomery.  (Oops!  Did I just say that?)  Playing baseball and broadcasting – it’s two completely different skill sets.  Doing one of them well shouldn’t give you an automatic license to do the other.

And all the grumbling about Rex Hudler is really just complaining for complaining sake in my opinion.  I think everyone is just piling on because they’re frustrated and they need someplace to point their rage.  I’m absolutely certain that the majority of people who are griping about Rex are only doing so because they’ve heard everyone else do it and they’re jumping on the “We hate Hudler” bandwagon because all the cool kids are doing it.

And what is the main complaint about Hudler anyway?  “He’s too positive.”  Sheesh.  Is that really something to complain about?  Change is always difficult and listening to a different voice on TV after all these years is no different, it’s something we all need to get accustomed to.  I think it’s only fair to give Hudler a chance to find his voice rather than bust his chops before the man even has an opportunity to get his feet on the ground and learn the players and Royals’ history.   I’m not necessarily saying he’s a great broadcaster either.  But, I am saying we need to back off and give the man a break.

I also have a beef with the Royals fans who’ve already given up.  They’re complaining about “Our Time”, blaming Dayton Moore for fooling us into thinking the Royals were going to win this year, announcing they aren’t going to watch another game or spend another dollar on tickets until we field a winner, etc., etc.  Bunch of spoiled rotten babies.  Do you know how long the Cubs fans have waited to field a winner?  About a thousand years.  And how many Cubs fans are there in the world?  About a million jillion – more than all the BBQ ribs eaten in Kansas City since the dawn of time.   How many of these fans have given up and forsaken their team?  Almost none of them.  I’ve never ever heard of a Cubs fan giving up.  Take a lesson from the Northsiders of Chicago and those who proudly wear their old school “C” caps all around the world, put on your big boy pants and suck it up.

Baseball is a business that requires millions upon millions of dollars, and a substantial amount of luck and good timing to be successful.  (The less money you have, the more luck and good timing you need.)  The small market Royals must be smarter, more efficient, more strategic than almost any other team in order to have even a speck of a chance at winning.  Even the slightest mistake in drafting, or a bad contract, or injuries, etc., could set the team back for years.

Count your blessings that little ole Kansas City even has a major league team and that it wasn’t contracted a few years ago.  It almost happened, right before our eyes.  Just imagine Kauffman stadium sitting empty, covered with dust and cobwebs, every night this Summer.  How would you like that?  I know about the severe blow your pride has suffered while rooting for a loser.  My pride has suffered too.  But wouldn’t it be much much worse if you didn’t have a team to root for at all?  It would stink, times infinity, beyond your imagination.

And I don’t want to hear about people switching their allegiance to Sporting KC.   To even consider that your allegiance can just be switched on an off is one of the top five stupidest things I’ve ever heard.  Oh the Missouri Tigers didn’t make the final four?  That’s OK, you should just root for the Jawhawks now.  Stupid, stupid, STUPID!  Never going to happen!  Stop asking me not to root for the Royals.

Yuniesky Betancourt demonstrating his cat-like moves at second base. Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

And yes, I do have several bones to pick with the Royals too, such as how in the world they reached the brainless decision that it would be better to have Yuniesky Betancourt playing second base than Johnny Giavotella?  It boggles my mind, boils my blood, and makes my head want to explode – so don’t even get me started on that.   I could fill an entire book with my opinion of the stupid, dim-witted, and virtually unforgivable moves I’ve watched the Royals make over the years, but I won’t waste your time with that right now.  (I list a few of these moves here, including the one they made on December 11, 1991, in my opinion the darkest day in the history of Royals baseball.)   Call me a Homer at your own risk.

I’ve been a Royals fan since June 13, 1969 when I attended my first game with my father and uncle sitting behind the first base dugout in old Municipal Stadium.  And wouldn’t you know it, the Royals lost 6-0 to the Tigers.  I fell in love with the Boys in Blue on a night when they not only lost the game but were shut out, only had 4 hits, and were knocked 9 games below .500 into next to last place – and no other team has ever since occupied the same cherished and beloved space in my heart.  I don’t follow this team year after year after year after year because they are winners (obviously not), I follow them, and root for them, and cheer them on because they are MY team, and nothing is ever, ever going to change that.

I’ve followed the Royals faithfully for 42 years and I’ve only seen one lonely championship.  There is quite literally no one anywhere who has endured more as a Royals fan than I have.  My hopes and dreams have been raised time and time again, only to be dashed on the rocks of quarter-billion dollar opposing team payrolls.  It isn’t fair, we don’t deserve it, and for all I know the stress has shaved a few years off my life.  If anyone anywhere has earned the right to complain about this team or desert them, after four decades of futility and frustration, it’s me.   But in my wildest dreams I can’t imagine myself ever rooting for any team other than the Royals.

I like the direction we’re heading, I believe the plan is sound, and I have great respect for the talent, attitude, and integrity of our budding young stars.  And after all these many years, I’m willing to be patient a little longer.  I’d like to encourage you to stand with me and be patient just a little bit longer too.  And when the Royals eventually win it all  (and they will win it all in the not terribly distant future, trust me), we can say that we were here from the beginning, with our heads held high, long before people in Florida and Utah, and yes even New York decided it was cool to wear a KC cap.

Now you know exactly how I feel.  #BuryMeARoyal.

Thanks for visiting Kings of Kauffman. You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.  You can also send your questions to our mailbag at KoKMailbag@gmail.com and follow Alan Barrington on Twitter to be notified each time he posts a story and receive his incredibly insightful sports commentary.

In December, the Royals and Fox Sports Kansas City informed Frank White that his contract wasn’t being renewed and he would not return to the broadcast booth in 2012. Obviously, with a Kansas City legend involved, the fanbase reacted with a mix of surprise and outrage.

The Royals should soon take one of many steps to move past that episode by at least filling White’s position on the TV broadcasts. There was speculation that former players like Mike Sweeney or David Cone might fill in. My personal choice would have been Angels broadcaster and Royals Hall of Famer Mark Gubicza.

Rex Hudler. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Hudler was a color man for the Angels until 2009 when he was let go from what was then a six man crew. Hudler played parts of 14 seasons in the big leagues for the Yankees, Orioles, Cardinals, Cubs, Angels and Phillies. He played nearly every position at various points in his career.

His style is different than Frank’s. Diane Pucin described Hudler as having ”little-boy joy. He was a fan and wasn’t ashamed to admit that.” She also stated that there may be times where he’ll say something off the wall. Some fans might roll their eyes and others might really enjoy his style. Will that make people forget about Frank White or feel better about the Royals and FSKC? Probably not, but they have to move forward and this is the next part of that.

Hudler has also lent his voice talents to the Playstation series “MLB: The Show”  from 2006 to 2010 and has hosted shows in the Los Angeles area since leaving the Angels broadcast team and, with a child who has Downs syndrome and autism, does a lot of community work to raise awareness of the conditions.

37 – Sean O’Sullivan- Yes it’s his number but how will Sully be used this year? He spent time in Omaha last year plus came out of the bullpen at times in Kansas City. Many fans are still waiting on him to do something productive for the organization since he was acquired.

(more…)

The Royalman Report, LIVE Sundays at 7 pm CST

There was no regular show in studio this week due to Christmas, but we have two never-before-released bonus interviews for you from the Royalman Report.

First, Chris Kamler talks with minor league signee Tommy Hottovy who signed with the Royals in November. He’s from Kansas City and made his major league debut last year with Boston.

Second, Troy Olsen got a couple of minutes with former World Series hero Joe Carter. The interview is from the Buck O’Neil birthday celebration last month.

We finish up with a collection of segments from Joel Goldberg, Sam Mellinger and Rustin Dodd discussing Frank White’s dismissal from the Royals.

It’s been a great first year for the show and we greatly appreciate everything we’ve gotten from our loyal listeners. Included are holiday wishes from many listeners.

There will be a special live event at Kelly’s Westport Inn from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. CST on New Year’s Day. Come out and meet the hosts, talk some baseball and enjoy drink and pizza specials!

Click the embedded player below to listen to this week’s show or you can download the mp3.

If you want your business featured during breaks on the Royalman Report, contact us at 816-394-9578 or email royalmanreport@gmail.com.  

Kelly's in Westport - official sponsor of the Royalman Report

If you’re the type that prefers to see the in-studio video stream…check it out below:

(more…)

The Royalman Report, LIVE Sundays at 7 pm CST

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star came into the studio to discuss the state of Kansas City sports with us on the Royalman Report. Usually, we’re focused entirely on the Royals, but a large part of this episode dealt with the happenings a few hundred feet across the parking lot, where Mellinger commented on the Todd Haley firing, where the Chiefs go from here and the criticisms of ownership.

Mellinger coined the “Mission 2012″ concept, so we had to get into that, discussing how close the Royals are to true contention, what would be a disappointment this year, the excitement of the city, the fans and the players themselves, plus the perception of David Glass as an owner and the Frank White/Kevin Shank issue.

We had a packed house with the usual cast of characters that you’re used to, and Sam Sapenaro from the K Crew was in the house as well helping us out.

Click the embedded player below to listen to this week’s show or you can download the mp3.

If you want your business featured during breaks on the Royalman Report, contact us at 816-394-9578 or email royalmanreport@gmail.com.  

Kelly's in Westport - official sponsor of the Royalman Report

If you’re the type that prefers to see the in-studio video stream…check it out below:

(more…)

Chris Kamler, Mike Engel, Joel Goldberg and Jeff Herr

With all the talk about Frank White over the weekend, we had some great timing to have Joel Goldberg on the Royalman Report.

Goldberg, you likely know, is the in-game reporter for Royals broadcasts on Fox Sports Kansas City and the host of the Royals Live pre- and post-game shows.

He shared an hour of his time talking about the Royals, Frank White, Bruce Chen, the role of social media and Twitter in sports and baseball, as well as some of the upcoming stories in the remainder of the offseason.

And yes, he even talked about the fake Guy Fieri incident.

You should follow Joel on Twitter at @goldbergkc.

Click the embedded player below to listen to this week’s show or you can download the mp3.

If you want your business featured during breaks on the Royalman Report, contact us at 816-394-9578 or email royalmanreport@gmail.com.  

Kelly's in Westport - official sponsor of the Royalman Report

If you’re the type that prefers to see the in-studio video stream…check it out below:

(more…)

Back when White first started helping out as a voice for the telecast, I wasn’t too sure of his ability to handle being a television commentator. As the year progressed, however, I found myself kind of enjoying his take on different aspects of the Royals. I certainly don’t consider him the “Gus Johnson/Jim Nantz/Insert favorite commentator here” of T.V. personalities, but I thought him somewhat insightful and a refreshing contrast to Ryan Lefebvre. (more…)

A man who was a key part of the most successful years in team history, a member of the 1985 championship team, the best defender in franchise history with eight Gold Gloves has been let go from his position with the team.

He literally helped build Kauffman Stadium, and this is how he goes out? Dumped for being “too negative”. Fans are upset, and understandably so.

(more…)

The Royals stated that they wanted to go “in a different direction”. No replacement has been named.

Kevin Shank, producer for the broadcasts, was also let go. The same reason was given for his ouster and no replacement was named for his position either. The hinted reasoning was that White was “too critical” of the organization.

Earlier in the offseason, Ryan Lefebvre interviewed for the Twins radio announcer job but was not offered the position and is slated to return to the booth next year.

There’s more to come, as Frank was on Nick Wright’s show on 610 sports this evening. I haven’t heard the interview, and want to hear it in full before commenting. I don’t think it’ll be pretty, though.

There’s a full transcript and audio available on Chris Kamler’s Rambling Morons.

• In light of the collection of Eric Hosmer, Johnny Giavotella, Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas in the Royals current infield, Jeff Parker at Royally Speaking set out to determine the best overall Royals infield in history.  It’s a nice piece of work, and Jeff is as solid as they come among Royals bloggers.
• I hope you saw Jeff Francoeur‘s throw to third to nail Jhonny Peralta in the Detroit series.  If not, great news! ESPN’s Sports Science named it the play of the week.  If you were amazed at the perfect strike from right field to the glove of Mike Moustakas while watching live, when Sports Science breaks it down, it’s even more amazing of just how perfect of a throw it was.
• Monday at 11 p.m. marks the deadline to sign draft picks from the June amateur draft and Bubba Starling still hasn’t signed.  But don’t panic.  Dayton Moore expects negotiations will go down to the “final hour” - and that’s the norm, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.*
• Finally, the custom card above was made by Aaron Stilley of I-70 Baseball and Royal Heritage.  I think the 1986 Topps design, while awful, is also remarkably simple, and, as a bonus, my first George Brett baseball card was a 1986 Topps.  So it will always be a special set to me.

*Incidentally, Goldstein has agreed to join us on an episode of The Royalman Report in the near future. AND the show has picked up an official sponsor, so if you happen to be in Westport, stop by Kelly’s  Westport Inn and tell them Royalman sent you.

I’m excited, you’re excited.  Royals fans all over are excited.

Attendance should be pretty strong tomorrow night to see his major league debut.  Think of how many eight-year-olds can say in twenty years that they were there for Eric Hosmer’s major league debut.  If this group of prospects leads us to the promised land, that’s going to be a special memory.

I went digging to find some other prominent Royals (and some who are just scary) to find out how their major league debuts went.  I stuck with hitters, as I figure there are opportunities later this year to examine pitchers’ debuts.  Also I only looked at a few players who made debuts as a Royal, so that knocked out Amos Otis and Cookie Rojas among others.

Hopefully, Hosmer’s debut goes as well as Mark Quinn‘s where he went 3-4 against the Angels, hitting two homers and driving in four.  Hopefully, Hosmer’s career fares better.

(more…)

• In regards to the Francis signing, Dave Cameron at FanGraphs calls it the “best free agent signing of the winter” and congratulates Dayton Moore.
• On Friday, an odd anniversary occurred.  Sometime around 8:50 p.m. Central time, the billion second anniversary of a beanball breaking Frank White‘s hand in 1979.  Later in that game, the same pitcher, Ed Farmer, beaned Al Cowens, breaking his jaw.  Chris Jaffe and The Hardball Times did all the counting on that one.
• It’s Steve Balboni‘s birthday today (happy 54th!) and Baseball-Reference looks at his career as the ultimate for a three true outcomes player.  Balboni, of course, still holds the Royals single season home run mark of 36, which has stood since 1985.  C’mon Moustakas, wipe that off the board…
• This is an older article I stumbled upon at Mental Floss: Ten Overhyped Baseball Players Who Fizzled.  Sadly, the Royals don’t have just one player on the list, but two.  They also acquired one more and a fourth was involved in a significant trade in the Royals past.  Scary.
• In 1980, George Brett never went more than two games without a hit.  Baseball-Reference has a list of nine other crazy statistics about the Hall of Famer.

Happy Sunday!

You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us onTwitter,Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed.

Royals starters Danny Jackson and Charlie Leibrandt have combined for 15.2 innings and until Jack Clark’s RBI single with two outs in the ninth on 10/20, they’d given up a combined two runs and thrown 11 perfect innings.  And still the Royals are down two games.

So now what?

Now we call on Bret Saberhagen.  Ron Guidry’s fine and all, but Sabes should take the Cy Young over him.  But then, I keep hearing people say Don Mattingly will win MVP over George Brett, which is just ridiculous to even consider.

Anyway, let’s look at Game 3.
(more…)