March 12, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals coach George Brett before a spring training game against the Oakland Athletics at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

I, like many a Royals fan, grew up with George Brett in mind as the quintessential ballplayer.

I remember reading a quote from before his playing days were over about how he envisioned his last at bat as a big leaguer:

I want to hit a routine grounder to second and run all out to first base, then get thrown out by a half step. I want to leave an example to the young guys that that’s how you play the game: ALL OUT.

July 8, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Major League Baseball legend and former Kansas City Royals player George Brett at bat during the 2012 Legends and Celebrity softball game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Say what you want about grit, moxie, the intangibles. They’re overrated and overemphasized when the player isn’t actually that good. They’re offered as a consolation. “Well he can’t hit but look at him get dirty!” George Brett wasn’t that player. He was down the line on the close plays and looking for a spot to turn a double into a triple on the gappers. That’s a hell of an example to a young kid in the midwest and I always felt kind of okay with my last organized baseball at bat being a grounder to second where I ran all the way through. It fit after years of following Brett’s career.

But c’mon. I’m not alone. There are hundreds of kids named Brett in Kansas City who are graduating high school or college today simply because their parents were caught up in Brett-mania in his heyday. I’m pretty sure he really could have outdrawn Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election.

May 15th is George Brett’s birthday – his 60th – and for all the scatalogical references, the weird spring training interviews, and the stories of busted clubhouse sinks, he’s the player I would look to when I needed an example of how to play the game.

So I’ve promised some trivia, and below is a table showing what George Brett’s batting average on his birthday every year as a big leaguer as well as what he had hit on the day of the occasion in each season. In many cases, Brett was injured and thus, did not play on his birthday, so in the 20 possible years, he only played in 12 possible birthday games, and one of those days was a double header (though he did go a combined 4-9 that day).

Happy Birthday #5. Lay off the crab legs…

Everyone in Kansas City has heard stories of the two George Bretts. The first, a larger than life hero of the Midwest. The 1985 World Series Champion and leader of a Royals team across three decades.  The other, a gruff recluse refusing to sign autographs for those in wheelchairs spouting stories about Las Vegas restrooms and bad crab salad.

Brett talks with Greg Pryor (center), Jeff Logan (to Brett’s right) and others before the event. (Photo: Chris Kamler)

On a cold night in January, I was not sure which George Brett I’d come to see, only that I needed to go see it.  What we got was an intimate, humble Brett. One whose perfect day includes playing a round of golf, catching a Royals game and BBQing.  A Brett who still looks up to his brothers and who says his late brother Ken beat him in home run hitting contests throughout his active playing days.  It was a George Brett I hadn’t heard speak before.  One who praised the future of the current Royals and one who wasn’t shy about talking about the past.

What a couple of hundred members of the Kansas City Baseball Historical Society witnessed Thursday night, was a very personal look behind the curtain of Hall of Famer George Brett and a look at the man who happens to be the greatest Kansas City athlete that we will ever see.

Brett was a guest of the monthly meeting of the Kansas City Baseball Historical Society, an organization devoted to keeping the history of baseball alive.  Previous guests of their monthly meetings have included Bill James, George Toma and Kevin Seitzer. But Society President Jeff Logan has had his sight on Brett for a while now and once he got ahold of Brett’s e-mail address, the weekly e-mails began to flow asking for Brett to do an event.  “I finally said yes just so Jeff would stop bugging me!” Brett told the crowd assembled in the Diamond Club at Kauffman Stadium against a backdrop of the sun setting beyond the third base Brett patrolled for 21 years.

Brett told stories that spanned his playing days, his days growing up in El Segundo, California and what life is like as a Hall of Famer.

Here’s a few snippets of stories from George’s 90 minute sit down with KCBHS’s David Starbuck:

On Dick Howser: “Dick lost his first 8 playoff games he ever managed.” [Howser was 0-8 after being swept by the Royals (as manager of the Yankees) in the 1980 playoffs and Tigers in the ALCS in 1984 as manager of the Royals. Then, losing the first two games of the 1985 ALCS to Toronto.] “I caught the final out from Lloyd Mosby, great player, for Toronto. He hit a high popup to me and I actually caught it. Which made me feel good. And I’m running off the field and I see Howser who goes to stick his hand out to shake it and I took the ball out of my glove and I said ‘here, you deserve this ball more than I do, because you’d never won a playoff game.’ So I gave him the ball after that game.”

On 1985 ALCS Game 3: When asked about his performance in that Game 3 of the 1985 ALCS, a coy Brett said, “Well I don’t remember quite anything about that game, but I hit a home run my first at bat, a single off the top of the wall in my second at bat, a three-run homer in the third at bat and I singled and scored the winning run in the 8th inning.” And without missing a beat he said “But I really don’t recall too much else.”  When a fan also reminded Brett that he made a critical defensive play in that game to throw Damaso Garcia out at home plate in the fourth inning, Brett also said “Best play I’ve ever made in my life.”

On his brother Ken: “He was always a fun loving guy. Played for 10 different teams. He was totally out of baseball and came here in 1980. In his first game in Kansas City, they opened up the bullpen door and he comes running in like an airplane. He really loved to play the game. He competed as well as anybody, but he had fun competing.”

On his most memorable home runs: “The one in 80 [off of Goose Gossage in Game 3 of the ALCS] because I knew if we lost that game we were going to blow it. We had lost in ‘76, ‘77 and ‘78. But for me as a 23-year-old kid playing in that series in ‘76 [In the deciding Game 5], to come up down three runs to tie it in Yankees Stadium kind of set the tone for what I was going to be able to do the rest of my career. We’re down 6-3 in the last game. I remember Charlie Lau telling me this guy, Grant Jackson, has a hard time keeping the ball away from left handers. I want you to move up about 2 inches on the plate and just hit it. And sure enough, he threw a ball right down the middle. And if I was 2 inches off the plate, the ball would’ve flown to center field where it’s 440’. But I hit it right down the line and as a result, it was a home run.”

On Rickey Henderson: “I hated that guy, but we are now very cordial. I don’t send him Christmas Cards, he don’t send me Christmas Cards, but we get along.” Brett then relayed a story about the final days of the 1990 Batting Title race where Henderson had ducked four pitchers down the stretch of the season and then called Brett a “weenie” in his book for only playing half of the final game of the season. “He called me a ‘weenie!’”

On Morganna, the Kissing Bandit: “Somebody showed me that picture the other day. That was strange. But not as strange as when I retaliated later that night down in the River Quay.”

On Pranks: “I remember one really hot day here and John Shulock was umpiring second base and he was asking the ball boy to bring him out some water. And I went up to Dick Howser’s office where the hard liquor was kept and I got a bottle of vodka. I said ‘give this one to John Shulock.’ And I’m watching and he takes a big old gulp. It’s 130 [degrees] on the turf, Sunday afternoon game and he just starts downing it and then he starts choking and spitting it out. And the reason I did it to him because I ran into him at Strouds the night before and we both left about 3:00 in the morning. Thought it’d be good for him.”

George Brett holding court. (Photo: Chris Kamler)

But the highlight for me was easily the final comments by Brett when he went on a five minute soliloquy about the state of the 2013 Royals and how all cosmic signs are pointing to this year being a special one.

On The Wil Myers Trade: “You gotta remember, Wil Myers is only 22 years old and struck out 155 times last year. He’s gonna struggle.It’s gonna take him a few years.”

On Eric Hosmer: “Hosmer had the worst season he’s ever going to have last year. He has nightmares every night. I talked to him 2 weeks ago. He bought a home in Miami, and he put a batting cage in the back, and his living room is a gym. All he does is hit and workout.”

On The Royals: “They had to do something to keep those guys around. Because if you continue to lose 90 games a year, you know what’s going to happen. They’re leaving.  We have to try to keep the Hosmer’s, the Moustakas’s and the Perez’s around. The only way to do that is get competitive. And that’s what Dayton did.  And he did it with prospects. They’re still prospects.  I applaud him for the bold move. The people in Tampa are so pissed. They’re gettin’ three guys they’ve never heard of.  But they gave away a ton to the Kansas City Royals.”

I didn’t know which George Brett I would come to see at the January meeting of the Kansas City Baseball Historical Society, but this George Brett made me leave inspired about the future of this Royals team and extremely nostalgic about the Royals of the past.

Kamler is the host of The Ballgame on ESPN 1510 AM as well as a columnist for the Platte County Landmark and also writes on Rambling Morons and for the EKOH Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheFakeNed.

Billy Butler just completed his age 26 season so I thought I’d take a look to where his offensive numbers rank compared to the other 26 year olds in Royals history. While I’m a big fan of OPS+ I decided against it being the determining stat. Instead I looked at each player’s numbers across the board and came up with what I feel are the 10 top seasons.

1. John Mayberry

This would be Mayberry’s finest season and his last truly great year. He led the American League in walks and OPS+ and his 34 home runs broke Bob Oliver‘s club record. He would hold the record until Steve Balboni would break it in 1985. Balboni has famously held it ever since. Mayberry followed his best season with his worst. At age 27 he hit just 13 home runs while posting a 94 OPS+.

but there were several question marks. Butler was not one of them. I figured he’d be good for 60+ extra base hits and an on-base percentage north of .360. He accomplished both numbers for the fourth straight year.

September 25, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals designated hitter Billy Butler (16) hits a single during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

George Brett

In 1978, Brett was two years removed from his first batting title and the key bat in the Royals lineup. At the All-Star break, he was hitting .319/.366/.500 with just four homers, but 28 doubles. In 303 plate appearances, he’d struck out 13 times. Total.

He started the game at third base, batting second behind Rod Carew. Vida Blue was the National League starter.

The AL jumped on Blue right away. Carew led off with a triple and Brett drove him in with a double to left-center. He moved to third on a groundout and scored on a sac fly. In his second time at the plate, Carew had just tripled again off Blue and Brett hit a fly ball to deep left-center and drove him in again.

Steve Rogers faced Brett his third time up but Brett singled. A groundout concluded Brett’s day in his fourth at bat. The final line was 2-3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. Not too bad.

In 1983, Brett again got the start at third base after starting the year off on a tear. He had missed three weeks in June, but his .364/.447/.701 line with 14 homers was enough to get the votes. He’d been back in action for about a week before the All-Star break, just in time to take part.

Brett came up in the first with the bases loaded after a single, walk and error put Carew, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice on base. Brett hit a sacrifice fly to get Carew home. In the third inning, Brett followed a Rice homer off Atlee Hammaker with a triple. He scored on a single by Dave Winfield.

He fouled out and struck out his next two times up, but doubled of Lee Smith in his last at bat and scored. The day ended with Brett going 2-4 with a double, triple, two runs scored and the RBI sac fly.

Neither game earned Brett MVP honors, but he was a key figure in both games. Brett never won an All-Star MVP award. That would go to another Royal…

Kauffman Stadium and the Kansas City Royals take center stage this weekend and here is a quick guide for you the visitors. Photo Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Outside of fan fest we hope that you get a chance to check out our fine city which includes going to the Power & Light District downtown, check out the college basketball experience. See the Plaza and Westport in addition to checking out any of the fine places to eat.

Sunday you’ll want to check out the futures game where you can check out the best young talent in the game and stay for the celebrity softball game following. Monday is the annual AL/NL workout day at the K before the homerun derby.

On Tuesday night, baseball looks to Kansas City and it’s our time to shine. If you’re going to the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, here’s a quick primer on Kauffman Stadium. Gone is the grass that used to be around the fountains in the outfield. After renovations, outfield seating had been expanded to include more great seats.

If you want familiarize yourself with the franchise’s history (which I strongly suggest that you do) visit the Royals Hall of Fame located in leftfield. After the tour in rightfield we’ve got Rivals, a sportsbar that you can cool down with food and drinks.

Mike McCarthy is the silky smooth voice of Kauffman Stadium and you’ll be hearing him all night long. Before hearing anything you’ll probably notice crown vision in centerfield aka the big crown video board. It’s one of the biggest video boards in the country and can be seen no matter where you are (unless you’re in the outfield experience somewhere which is a tad harder)

Between innings we’ve got a few things that might not be done in other ballparks so they might be KC-centric. Our in-game race features the hot dog derby where three contestants start from the RF bullpen and end in front of the Royals/AL dugout dressed as Ketchup, Mustard and Relish.

Sluggerrr and his mascot buddies will also be at the K for the All-Star Game. Photo Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Over the last five seasons or so more teams have added in-stadium cheerleaders if you will and we’re no different. We call our ladies the K Crew and they will hopefully be leading you to root on the AL, sing the 7^th inning stretch plus will be around the stadium should you have any questions.

Sluggerrr will be another friendly face as he plays host to his other mascot friends over the weekend. We like out lion and consider him the king of the jungle when it comes to others in MLB, so be on the lookout for him being active from interacting or shooting off t-shirts/hot dogs.

A second in-game feature occurs after the top of the sixth inning when Garth Brooks “Friends in Low Places” plays, featuring a video of Brooks in a Royals jersey. Many KC fans will sway and sing along. If you don’t know the words they are displayed on screen. Honestly, the song might be a bit tired but many seem to still enjoy it when it plays at the stadium.

I highly suggest that during the game you take advantage of the concourses and walk around the stadium to check out the view from behind the fountains in the outfield. The K is known for its outfield fountain display and you should check out the view if you’ve never been to our beautiful stadium.

While walking around you’ll notice that we’ve got a little bit of everything in terms of food selection. Of course the stadium had the ballpark essentials and being KC we’ve got BBQ covered. However, if you want other options we’ve got that covered with out of market food. May we suggest that you enjoy a local brew of Boulevard from right here in Kansas City.

Another food option is the .390 Bar & Grill located on the lodge level of the K which is an AC option should you decide to get out of the heat. 390 is a celebrated number for us as our HOF’r George Brett came close to Ted Williams 400 batting average. One last thing to experience in the stadium is the outfield experience which has several kid friendly things, such as the little K, carousal, face painting and a few other options.

Following the game, another tradition features the song “Kansas City”. When the Royals win at Kauffman Stadium (which hasn’t been as often as we want), you’ll hear the Beatles Kansas City playing the team off. On the flipside, after a loss Wilbert Harrison’s slower version is played.

I think that covers pretty much everything that a first-time visitor will be experiencing at Kauffman Stadium. We hope that you like the experience and find our fans to be courteous and welcoming. Hopefully, we’ll see you back in October soon (one of these years) for a playoff series against our Boys in Blue.

We’re all gearing up for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, so we started out by discussing some of the things Chris and I saw on the FanFest media tour Thursday morning, including some comments from Royals publicist Toby Cook as well as Hall of Famer George Brett, the ambassador for this year’s All-Star Game.

We continued by talking with the Kansas City representative in the All-Star Game the first time the event was in Kansas City. Bud Daley was a pitcher for the Kansas City A’s and was the lone All-Star representative in 1960 when the game was held in Municipal Stadium. He talked about his reception from the fans and facing down Vada Pinson, Ken Boyer and Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Clemente.

We also talked with Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, about their events over the weekend. He has a lot going on and mentioned that players like Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn and others will be in town at various NLBM events.

The show finished up by going around the minors and looking at a few players recent performances including Chris Dwyer, Yordano Ventura and Bubba Starling.

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.

Tonight we continue an exciting new venture for Kings of Kauffman and its podcast, the Royalman Report.

Jeff Logan of the Kansas City Baseball Historical Society joins forces with us to form the Kansas City Baseball Vault on Kansas City’s ESPN 1510 AM from 6-7 p.m. every Thursday night. Listeners can tune into traditional radio or streaming live on 1510.com.

There is a ton of stuff going on in Kansas City right now and for obvious reasons. The 2012 MLB All-Star Game is just around the corner and Kansas City is the center of it all.

Tonight, we’ll talk to Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum about events at the museum for All-Star weekend (including the Baseball Prospectus/Royalman Report event on July 8). Bob is always a joy to talk to and he should share a story or two about the Monarchs while we have him on.

We’ll also talk with Bud Daley, the A’s All-Star in 1960 when the game was held at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City.

Finally, we’ll have some audio from the media tour of FanFest at the Kansas City Convention Center from earlier on Thursday morning that features Hall of Famer and 13 time All-Star George Brett.

Just like last week, we plan to have a trivia question and a giveaway, so be sure to listen in. Last week, listeners won free ticket packages to go see the Kansas City T-Bones. You like winning things, right? That trivia question can happen any time, so you have to listen to be ready.

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.

Let me give you an example.  I was recently looking at the Royals team history page and discovered something interesting.  If you review the column of “Top Players” you’ll see a number of recognizable names of athletes that contributed mightily to the success (or relative success) of each specific season.  You’ll find Alex Gordon, Amos Otis, Bret Saberhagen, Carlos Beltran, David Cone, Johnny Damon, Kevin Appier, Zack Greinke, John Mayberry, Dan Quisenberry, Willie Wilson, Joakim Soria, etc. and of course George Brett – a veritable who’s who of Royal’s history.  You’ll also see Jose Offerman, Mark Teahen and a couple other mild surprises.

This made me think…  What is, or what should be, the definition of the Top or Best player?  Baseball Reference defines the Top Player as the individual with the highest WAR (Wins Against Replacement) rating of any player on the team.  WAR is a tangible analysis that takes both offense and defense into account, but it doesn’t make any attempt to measure leadership or intangibles, and it seems to favor pitchers slightly in my opinion.

5 time All Star Mike Sweeney was never the best player on the Royals according to Baseball Reference (Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

Let me give you an example of the lack of leadership skills and intangibles in the WAR calculation.  Remember Mike Sweeney?  There is a lot of mixed opinion about Mike, and deservedly so, yet he put up some dynamite offensive numbers for a few years combined with the ability to hold his own at first base, and he was the undeniable leader of the Royals during his time as Captain.  Yet this 5 time All Star who hit .333 with 144 RBIs, 71 walks, and a league leading 15 HBPs in 2000, and a 2002 season that saw him hit .340, .563 slugging, and 148 OPS+ was never the “Top Player” for the Royals according to Baseball Reference and his WAR rating.  In 2002, that honor went to Paul Byrd.

What do you think of that?  Was Paul Byrd a more important piece of the puzzle for the Royals in 2002 than Mike Sweeney and his .340 batting average? (.340 is 2^nd only to George Brett’s .390 in 1980, and how would you like to have a .340 hitter on the Royals right now?)  In 2002, Paul Byrd was 17-11 with a 3.90 ERA and he led the league with 7 complete games – he was definitely a very valuable pitcher, but I don’t think his performance could be defined as “dominating.”  Paul Byrd appeared in 33 games.  Mike Sweeney played in 126 (less than a full season due to the beginning signs of his many recurring back issues), had the first straight steal of home by a Royal in over 20 years, was named to his 3^rd consecutive All-Star game, led the league in defensive assists by a 1^st baseman – and he was the Captain of the team.  But this wasn’t good enough to be the Royals “Top Player.”

Obviously, my definition of the best player on the team is going to differ from other fans, and from other experts as well.  My subjective definition simply asks, “Who was the player the Royals could least afford to do without?”  In 2002, I believe the answer has to be Mike Sweeney.

Before the 2012 season began, who did you think the Royals’ best player would be this season?  If you’re like most of the rest of us, you may have thought, or at least hoped, it would be Eric Hosmer.  If so, those hopes were dashed weeks ago as we’ve witnessed one of the most dramatic sophomore slumps in recent memory.  A few of you may have predicted Alex Gordon, or maybe Joakim Soria prior to his injury.  Predictions are based on hopes, and as a Royals fan you certainly know that hopes are often dashed.

If you said Billy Butler, you were pretty much on target.  (Although according to WAR rating, Alex Gordon is on top for the second year in a row – I don’t agree in 2012.)  However, I am hesitant to name a DH as the best player citing the same reservations many have for naming a pitcher as MVP.  And unless a Royals pitcher is completely and utterly dominating (see Steve Busby, Dennis Leonard, David Cone, Zach Greinke, or Bret Saberhagen) I have similar misgivings.

For 2013 we have several potential candidates for best player.  I’ll list my nominations below and include the odds that I think I’m right.  And, I’ll also acknowledge that there’s no possible way any reader will agree with me 100%.

Could Mike Moustakas become the best player on the Royals? (Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE)

Mike Moustakas:  The improvement Mike has shown from 2011 to 2012 has been nothing short of breathtaking.  He is much more comfortable at the plate this year, and in the field he doesn’t even look like the same player.  I believe Mike’s personality has many leadership qualities and he’s maturing into a presence that will almost certainly make him the best player on the team at some point in his career.  For 2013, I’d say the odds of Mike being the Royals best player, the guy they can least afford to do without, are about 3 to 1.

Eric Hosmer:  Although he hasn’t come close to fulfilling our expectations this year, Hosmer’s potential is so tantalizing that I have to put him near the top of the list.  I believe Eric is just a tweak or two away from “righting the ship” and getting back on track to becoming the offensive powerhouse we all know he can be.  His defense is still solid, but it may take a while for his personality to mature into a true clubhouse big dog.  I’ll put Hosmer’s odds of being the best player in 2013 at 5 to 1.

Alcides Escobar:  If you told me I could only watch one play from each Royals game, I would pick the inevitable web gem that Esky turns in virtually every night.  It is truly a thrill to watch Alcides display his otherworldly defensive skills while protecting the left side of the diamond.  I’ll go out on a limb and say that after watching him for less than two seasons he may not be the absolute best defensive shortstop I’ve ever seen, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anyone better than him.  Escober is hitting around .290 at a premium position and I believe the only thing that could potentially limit his ability to be a great club house leader are his English language skills.  Alcides is my dark horse candidate for best player in 2013 and he’s my favorite to watch play in 2012.  I’ll put his odds at 10-1.

Jeff Francoeur:  I believe Jeff is the closest thing the 2012 Royals have to a clubhouse leader and his rocket arm and intangibles are great.  Who’s the guy you see chest bumping his team mates every night and cheering them on with one of the most upbeat personalities in the majors?  It’s Frenchy.  Who else tosses baseballs wrapped in $100 bills and gets into hilarious mock disputes with opposing mascots?  Frenchy’s power numbers are way down this year and his average has dipped, so his on-field performance is not trending in the right direction which makes him a risky wager.  I also wouldn’t bet on Jeff being “da man” in 2013 due to the fact that he may not even play in a Royals uniform.   If he is still wearing Royals blue in 2013, I would put Francoeur’s odds at 15-1.

Wil Myers:  At some point in 2012, no matter how hard the Royals brass try to hold him back, he’ll force his way to Kansas City.  And he may light it up offensively when he arrives, but his defense still needs work and there’s almost no way anyone can be a true clubhouse leader in his first or second year.  Odds 30-1.

Billy Butler:  Great DH, one of the best in baseball.  But as I explained earlier, I just don’t think a DH can be the best player.  If a DH is your best player, then your team is in trouble.  Odds 30-1.

Jake Odorizzi:  See “Wil Myers.”  Odds 50-1.

Alex Gordon:  Gold Glove defensive left fielder who has been a disappointment at the plate this year.  He’s a solid contributor and I want him on my team, but he’s not a vocal clubhouse leader and has little chance to be the best player on the team in my rating system.  In 2013, I’d rate him at 50-1.

There are a few other players who have a shot at being the best player, but all of them have significant question marks either because they may not recover from injuries (Joakim Soria and Danny Duffy), they haven’t played in the majors long enough for us to get a good sense of their performance (Salvador Perez), or because Dayton Moore hasn’t traded for them yet or signed them as a free agent (Zach Greinke – hint, hint…)

And don’t get me started about relief pitchers.  Unless you are Mariano Rivera, Dan Quisenberry, or Joakim Soria in his prime, you can’t even be considered the Top Player on the team.  It would be the same as voting the field goal kicker as the top player on an NFL team – it’s not going to happen.

Could Yuniesky Betancourt be the best player? Haha, just kidding! Almost got you, didn't we? (Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE)

Yuniesky Betancourt:  I’ll just skip straight to the odds.  10,000,000,000 to 1.  I had to throw him in just for kicks.

The biggest reason we have difficulty selecting the potential top player is because the Royals are so young.  Most of the time I believe that’s a good thing and not a bad thing, but it causes them to be inconsistent as they go through the struggles of figuring out how to succeed in the big leagues, and most of them simply have not matured into the true leaders that they will hopefully one day become.

I still believe that we are two solid starting pitchers away from being a contending team and I’m holding on to hope that we find these hurlers somewhere, either in the farm system, through trades or free agency, before the start of the 2013 season.  When this happens, we’ll find our team playing in October, and this is the time when true clubhouse leadership emerges and performance on the field has a historical impact on your team and your legacy.   When we play in October, that’s when we’ll definitely learn who is the best player on this team.

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.

In every game, the first baseman will make several putouts.  With the exception of the few times each game that the first baseman may catch a line drive, or beat the catcher back to the base on a grounder, most of these outs are preceded by another defensive player snagging the ball and throwing it to the first baseman.  If it wasn’t for Alcides Escobar, aka #ShortStopJesus, and Mike Moustakas, aka #Moose throwing leather all over the left side of the infield, Eric Hosmer wouldn’t be credited with nearly as many putouts.

Jeff Francoeur puts fear into the hearts of opposing baserunners (Image: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE)

For all their short comings, one thing the Royals have in good supply is strong defense.  The left side of the field is covered by Gold Glover Alex Gordon, future Gold Glove shortstop Escobar, and the most improved third baseman in baseball, Moustakas.  When Salvador Perez returns at catcher I believe he will significantly solidify our only current position of defensive weakness.  Eric Hosmer plays strong defense, and Chris Getz, Jarrod Dyson / Lorenzo Cain can hold their own with the best of them.  But there is one aspect of our defense that nearly outshines the others with consistently stunning and noteworthy performances – Jeff Francoeur and his lethal ability to gun down unsuspecting baserunners.

When I began writing this story, I started to research all the records for outfield assists so I could compare Francoeur to the great Carl Yastrzemski (he lead the league in outfield assists 7 times) and Roberto Clemente (led the league 5 times and many say he had the best arm ever), or talk about how some of the “so called” greatest players, such as Albert Belle and Barry Bonds were the easiest outfielders to run on, etc., etc.  And then, I decided against it.

If given the choice, would you rather read about the history of the Grand Canyon, or would you prefer to stand on the edge, peering down into the magnificent canyon below while the sun set in the surrounding desert?  Endure a tedious classical art lecture, or gaze opon the timeless face of the celebrated Mona Lisa?  I decided not to engage in a boring discussion of defensive assists and simply pause for a few moments while we take in the majesty of the greatest outfield arm of our generation.

One of my all-time favorite baseball highlights is the video of Francoeur’s perfect, perfect, perfect throw to nail the Tiger’s Jhonny Peralta at third base on August 7 last year.  Apparently, Peralta didn’t get the memo about Frenchy’s ability to throw runners out.  I challenge you to find a more beautiful, almost breathtaking defensive play – Francoeur running toward the line to pick up the ball, whirling and launching a rocket to 3^rd, capped by the ho-hum nonchalant tag made by Moustakas as if it happened every day.  And check out the Tigers 3^rd base coach’s reaction as he hangs his head during the slow motion replay, it’s classic.  Click here to see perfection.

Then, fast forward to this season, May 1, 2012 and apparently Peralta was suffering a memory lapse evidenced by his ill-advised attempt to test Francoeur’s arm again.  (Peralta would make a great subject for an SNL Weekend Update “Really?!?” skit.)  Click here to see the result, as if you don’t already know.  Don’t you just love watching Jhonny Peralta run the bases against the Royals?  On the downside, this highlight would be a lot more enjoyable if the Royals weren’t losing 9-0 in the 4^th inning.

Another of my all-time favorite defensive highlights is from September 7, 2011 when Michael Taylor of the Oakland A’s came to bat in only his 4^th game and lined what appeared to be a sharp single into right field.  Well, bad luck for Taylor, Jeff Francoeur was playing right field and as a baserunner you can never take anything for granted on a ball hit to Frenchy.  Even more amazing to me is the fact that Hosmer went to first base to cover the throw from Francoeur.  That is the definition of heads-up.  Click here to see the embarrassing moment.  Welcome to the big leagues rookie.

Last year, the ESPN blog ranked active outfielders’ throwing arms and came up with a virtual tie for the number one position between Francoeur and Shin-Soo Choo.  In 2012, Choo has one assist, Francoeur has 5.  End of discussion.

The difference between those who have the ability to throw out runners from the outfield and those who don’t is absolutely huge.  In 2012, Francoeur is tied for the AL lead with 5 assists and only 16 other guys have two or more.  Everyone else has one or none.  Francoeur’s ability to throw out runners is similar to Willie Wilson’s ability to steal bases, or George Brett’s ability to hit for average, or Humberto Quintero’s ability to swing at the first pitch and tap a dribbler back to the pitcher – it’s far above the abilities of almost any other player in the league.

One thing worth mentioning in this story is that with all his talent, Jeff Francoeur didn’t lead the Royals in outfield assists last year.   In 2011, that honor went to Alex Gordon.  Remember this when you hear someone talking about an unfair arms race, they may be talking about the Royals rather than the Russians.

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.

Happy Birthday Billy Butler. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

April 18 is Billy Butler‘s birthday. As of today, he’s 26 years old.

He’s hitting the ball all over the place and has been one of the rare bright spots in an otherwise dreary start to 2012.

To honor the birthday of “Country Breakfast” below are a selection of my favorite Billy Butler-themed articles on Kings of Kauffman. He’s an oddly polarizing figure for some fans, considering his consistency and success.

• June 10, 2010 – Bam Bam: Billy Butler and Power - comparing Butler’s early years to those of Paul Konerko, Mike Sweeney and the easiest comparable player to his skillset, Edgar Martinez.
• March 29, 2011 – Can Billy Butler Change? Should He? - taking a look at the balls Butler puts into play to determine if his spring training of 2011 led to more line drives.
• June 13, 2011 – Don’t Put Billy In a Corner - where Kevin Scobee compares Butler to other designated hitters in the league and asks Royals fans not to ask him to be something he isn’t.
• June 20, 2011 – We then talked to Kevin Scobee about the article on the Royalman Report.
• July 10, 2011 – 3,000: Derek Jeter, George Brett and … Billy Butler? – shortly after Jeter reached 3000 hits for his career, I took a look at what kind of pace it may take for Billy Butler to hit the milestone.
• July 21, 2011 – Choosing More Than Just Home Runs – a tale of two players, both of whom could be criticized for their lack of home run hitting.
• July 31, 2011 – The Royalman Report talked to Ross Martin (@PCBearcat), the originator of the Country Breakfast nickname.
• January 16, 2012 – Rumor Mill: Billy Butler to the Yankees – Scobee responds to a pretty absurd trade rumor that went all over the place that would have sent Butler to New York for Phil Hughes.

Butler hasn’t received nearly as much criticism as he did last year. At least to this point, that is. He’s got his faults – he’s not going to be solid defensively and he doesn’t have speed, but there’s no more prepared hitter on the team and watching him work at the plate is a positive in any game.

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Is winning games all a team must do to capture the imagination of its fan base?  Winning is obviously extremely important because nothing else matters if you don’t see a big number in the win column.   However, in my opinion, winning or at least the hope of winning is only half the equation.  The other half is based on the emotional investment the fans have in the team and particularly in the players.

I couldn’t be a Yankee fan because as Jerry Seinfeld once said, they’re “rooting for the clothes.”  The Yankees are substantially made up of players who established their careers on other teams.  Mark Teixeira originally from the Rangers, A-Rod originally from the Mariners, Curtis Granderson from the Tigers, Nick Swisher from the A’s, CC Sabathia from the Indians, etc.  With a few notable exceptions (see Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and potentially Robinson Cano), the Yankees are a super star team cobbled together from pieces that became too expensive for other franchises to afford.  They’re mercenaries.  How do you root for mercenaries?  I couldn’t do it.

How did you feel about Joe Montana when he took the Chiefs to the AFC Championship game?  If you’re like me, you jumped out of your seat with every touchdown he threw and cheered for him and the Chiefs at the top of your lungs.  But in your heart, you knew he wasn’t really a Chief – he was a 49er that we borrowed at the end of his career.  It’s fun to cheer for your team when they’re winning, but it’s just not quite exactly the same when you aren’t emotionally invested in the players as well.

The great Royals teams of the 70’s and 80’s instilled an extra dose of pride in the fan base because they were homegrown players.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  Many of these legendary Royals including Amos Otis, John Mayberry, Freddie Patek, Hal McRae and a few others played a handful of games while wearing different uniforms prior to coming to KC.  However, with the possible exception of Darrell Porter and Jim Sundberg, none of them will be remembered for anything other than playing in Royal blue, and white, and a little bit of powder blue.  None of the core players for these great old Royals teams had established themselves in other cities before coming to the Royals.

In 2003, I was just as excited as everyone else when the Royals jumped out to an astounding 9-0 start.  Much of the excitement was due to the fact that their strong performance was unexpected.  The prior year in 2002 the Royals record was 62-100, their first ever 100 loss season.  They had lost 21 of their first 29 games in 2002.  Even the most optimistic Royals fans (myself among them) had very low expectations for 2003.  I rooted hard for their surprising performance to begin the season, but it wasn’t with the same heartfelt fervor as when I was fighting to get a seat in the upper deck of a filled-to-capacity Royals stadium to watch a team stocked with homegrown players back in 1977.  Back in ‘77, we knew this experience was just a taste of what was yet to come.

Now think about who was on the team in 2003.  Carlos Beltran was the only potential perennial All-Star in the group.   Some of us were holding out hope that Mike Sweeney would become the next George Brett, and although he was a very good player, he never completely reached the career potential we all dreamed of.  Sweeney’s annual back injuries, for which he inexplicably refused surgery (maybe it could have been explained, but it was never explained to us, the fans), torpedoed a career that might have made him the 5th or 6th greatest Royal ever, in my opinion.

After Beltran and Sweeney, who did we have?  Carlos Febles, Angel Berroa, Brent Mayne, Ken Harvey, Michael Tucker, Joe Randa, and Raul Ibanez.  Not exactly murderer’s row.  Ibanez turned out well, but we had to claim him off the Mariners’ scrap heap.  Runelvys Hernandez was the opening day pitcher after winning only four games in 2002.  Four games!  Who starts a pitcher on opening day with four career victories?  This roster was much more likely to inspire frustration and disappointment than confidence and optimism for the future.

How many of these guys from the 2003 roster did you dream could be key pieces of a pennant winning ball club?  Please don’t say Angel Berroa.  Joe Randa was a solid player on the downside of his career.  We saw flashes of what Raul Ibanez was to become, but history taught us if he performed well he’d be rewarded with a long-term contract by a team that could afford it – aka not the Royals.  If you believed anyone else on this roster could consistently compete at a high level, you were kidding yourself.  Don’t even think of looking up the list of pitchers we had in 2003, it will make you cry.

We were all excited when the Royals unexpectedly won a bunch of games to begin the 2003 season, but even in the midst of a winning streak when the Royals found themselves in first place, the experience wasn’t everything we wanted it to be.  We wanted to believe that our players had the potential to sustain and even improve their performance over several seasons, we wanted to believe if one or more of our players grew into a super star that we could sign him to a long term contract and prevent him from moving to the coast, and we wanted to believe in the direction the team was heading.  If you’re honest you’ll say that you couldn’t believe any of these things in 2003.  So all you were left with was a quickly fleeting winning record, and that’s not enough.

Today, something is different.  The Royals had a losing record last year and you were still reading about them in the dead of winter, possibly for the first time in your life.  You listened to the sports channel in December to hear the news about the Winter meetings, right in the middle of football season.  You know something is different, don’t you?  You can sense it like all the rest of us.

Salvador Perez blocks the plate and establishes himself as a difference maker for 2012.

A couple of years ago, there was a little spark – some news about a home run hitting high school kid named Moustakas being drafted, and you watched Alex Gordon get moved from 3^rd to the outfield to make room.  You heard another younger kid named Hosmer was hitting the cover off the ball and making a mockery of minor league pitching.  Then you learned that Wil Myers was also being moved to the outfield to make way so some A-ball stud named Salvador Perez could catch.  (And yes, he will catch again.  Probably around the All-Star break.)  The Royals drafted multi-sport star Bubba Starling, and Nebraska boy Alex Gordon shot laser beams all over the park last summer and gunned down nearly everyone who dared challenge his arm.   And the list goes on, as the spark begins to erupt into a roaring fire.

There are many other reasons to love this Royals team, but I think you get my point.  The Royals are trotting out athletes that you believe have potential to play key roles on a championship club, players who haven’t yet reached their potential, players you’ve heard about and rooted for since they were in Rookie league, and players who are either homegrown or didn’t establish themselves on other teams.  (I don’t care if Frenchy played for a few other clubs.  That smile, hustle, and attitude of his are infectious and I think he was a great addition.)

And above all, you believe the club is headed in the right direction.  We’ve stopped signing over-the-hill veterans to fill positions because we had no major league ready talent available.  We signed Billy Butler,  Alcides Escobar, Alex Gordon, and Salvador Perez to long-term contracts and we have many other players tied up for several years into the future.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.  This Royals team is different, and it’s not because they’re winning, because they aren’t winning yet.  It’s because they have the potential to consistently win, because we believe in them, and because we’re emotionally invested in them.  That’s why 2012 feels different.

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.

My friend Mark surprised and spoiled me, taking me for a two-day vacation to Surprise,Arizona.  From our first take-off to our final landing, the entire trip was phenomenal.  For the first time in my life, I wasn’t strip-searched, poked, or prodded passing through security in the airport.  Both of our flights actually arrived early.  The weather in Arizona was perfect.  There is no possible way to fully share my experiences at Spring Training.  However, here are some highlights from that 48-hour pilgrimage:

*Being in the right place at the right time out of pure ignorance and getting the opportunity to witness the PCL Champion ring ceremony.

*Having conversations with Dick Kaegel, Toby Cook, and Bob Dutton.

Kaegel, “There’s always a good story to find out here.”

Cook, “I got this job because I was a TV anchor who emcee’d a Royals’ Charities event and got a serendipitous call from Mr. Glass.  How can you ever plan that?”

Cook’s son, “I want to be the GM of the Royals when I grow up.”

Dutton, “Right now, we’re looking at a .500 team.  With a little luck on the pitching mound, some good things could happen this year.”

*Getting pictures with Duffy, Hosmer, Moustakas, Wathan, and Brett.

*The sound of wooden bats echoing all over the complex.

*George Brett giving hitting lessons to Wil Myers.

Brett and Myers were working on balance.  Brett took his stance like he was getting ready to field a ground ball and then picked up his bat, demonstrating the importance of remaining balanced throughout the swing.

*Omaha manager Mike Jirschele hitting blistering backhands to Billy Butler at first base.

*Calling out to Aaron Crow with “M-I-Z” and having him respond “Z-O-U, baby!”

*Conversations with Kevin Seitzer, one of my childhood heroes.

*Watching Seitzer’s “extra-batting practice game.”  On day one, Seitzer pulled Billy Butler, Johnny Giavotella, Lorenzo Cain, and Yuniesky Betancourt aside to play the game.  The rules were simple: five swings to hit the ball to the opposite field with power.  One point for a single; two points for a gap shot that rolled to the fence; three points for a ball that landed on the warning track; four points for a home run.  Anything pulled, hit too high, or that could potentially be fielded by the most amazing infield ever was an out.  After ten rounds, Gia and Yuni tied for the victory, one point ahead of Cain andButler.  I called out to Cain as he was leaving the field, “That’s a great number you’re wearing for your position.”

He smiled and responded, “You better believe it.”

On the next day, the players were paired up for the game—Hosmer and Jarrod Dyson against Mitch Maier and Clint Robinson.  The wind was blowing out slightly; Hosmer and Maier were hitting bombs.  Hosmer once scored 10 points in 5 swings.  On the following at-bat, Maier scored 11.  Dyson proved to be the critical difference, helping solidify the victory in his final at-bat.  As they gathered the balls on the field, thanking Seitzer for the time, Dyson called out, “Me and Hosmer take on anyone, Seitz, anyone.  We are unstoppable.”

I called out to Dyson and told him that he was in my Royals book from last year.  “Lemme guess,” he said, “it was the game when I scored on the pop-out to the shortstop.”

“You got it, dude.”

“I gotta use my speed every chance I get.”

*Meeting Elliott and his family.  (See that story here.)

*Watching an outfield-assist game.  The players were Gordon, Maier, Cain, and Francoeur.  Each player got two throws to each base.  Points were awarded on the “friendliness” of the hop and the accuracy.  Gordon took a quick and impressive lead.  Frenchy could potentially catch him if his final throw to home plate was perfect.  Frenchy released a cannon-like throw that short-hopped Perez and tailed up the third-base line.  He the cussed loudly and conceded the victory to Gordo.  Then he demanded a one-throw rematch later that day.

During that day’s game, Alex recorded his first assist of the season on a play at the plate.  I bet that’s the throw he submitted for the rematch.

*Hosmer’s ridiculous defensive plays at first base—one of them made ESPN.

*Witnessing Gordon’s second home run of the spring.

*Meeting Darren and Tyler, Bob McClure’s nephews. Tyler will be one of the ball boys for the 2012 All-Star Game.

*Driving by Luke Air Force Base and watching the jets practice “touch-and-go’s.”

*As we were walking into the stadium, David Glass was walking right behind me.  I slowed down for a minute and said, “Mr. Glass, thanks so much for the gift of baseball in KC.”

He looked at me, nodded, smiled, and replied, “You’re welcome, son.  So good to see you out here supporting the team.”

*On the way back to the airport, I ate my first In-N-Out Burger—it was incredible.  Someone really needs to bring that franchise to KC.

I know that numerous KoK readers have also made the sacred pilgrimage to Surprise.  What are some of your highlights?

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.

The Royals will likely ask Gordon to leadoff and aggressively run the bases in 2011 (Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE)

What is the job of a leadoff hitter?  His job is to get on base and score runs by any means possible.  It doesn’t matter if he gets a hit, a walk, forces an error, lays down a bunt, is hit by a pitch, bite, scratch, slash, burn, dive – anything to turn himself into a potential RBI.  Then, job number two is to move his way around the bases by getting good leadoffs, watching the pitchers’ moves, avoiding a pickoff, stealing when appropriate, taking the extra base when he can, and being aggressive.  Generally, the prototypical leadoff hitter is also fast, very very fast.

Who fits this description on the Royals roster?  Jarrod Dyson fits many pieces of this description, but his projected batting average is less than optimal, and he may not even make the major league roster.  Lorenzo Cain has the potential to fit the description, but he hasn’t demonstrated elite base stealing skills in the minors and we haven’t witnessed his abilities first hand for an extended period at the big league level yet.  How about Alcides Escobar?  Maybe, but then again, maybe not.  The Royals don’t currently have a player in the Willie Wilson mold, and they aren’t projected to have one for the foreseeable future.

So, why is Alex Gordon batting leadoff?

Alex Gordon is batting leadoff because last year he hit .303, he took 67 walks, he stole 17 bases (but was picked off 8 times), he banged out 45 doubles, he was hit by pitches 7 times, and he scored 101 runs.  (Plus 23 homers – Bonus!)  Alex knows how to get on base and he knows what to do once he gets there.  He isn’t the fastest guy on the team, but he’s not the slowest either, and he’s a good solid choice to hit leadoff.

The sight of Alex Gordon batting leadoff reminds me somewhat of former Royals coach Whitey Herzog’s decision to regularly place George Brett at the top of the order from 1977 – 1979.  Herzog’s theory was that nobody got on base more frequently than Brett and this would lead to increased opportunities for other batters to push him around and score runs.  I was an avid Royals fan in the 70’s and I must confess I wasn’t very excited about Brett batting leadoff.  Without conducting any research, my bias against this decision clouded my memory and I had assumed the Royals probably under-achieved with this approach.

I was skeptical of the decision to bat Brett at the top of the order because first of all we know George was able to hit for more than just average and on base percentage, he had power and the ability to stoke clutch base hits.  I assumed the Royals weren’t able to take advantage of this talent when placing him in a leadoff role with nobody on base.  And later in the game when he typically wasn’t leading off, he was hitting behind the batters in the bottom of the order who didn’t present as many RBI opportunities.  You would think that his RBI count would have gone down while batting first, but you’d be wrong.  Brett had 88 RBIs in 1977 (about average for his career) while playing in only 135 games, which projects to nearly 100 if he had played 155 games that season.  So, it doesn’t appear that batting first had any significant impact on his RBI total.

Brett was no slouch running the bases, but he wasn’t a burner either, so it would seem plausible that his run total would be reduced due to the difficulties he would face with scoring from first on a double, stretching a double into a triple, or challenging a strong outfield arm at the plate.  Once again, that thought would be wrong.  Brett scored the 3^rd most runs in the league in 1977.

While leading off 58% of the time (he only played in 139 games), Brett scored 105 runs in 1977 which was good for the 3^rd most in the American League that year behind Rod Carew who batted 3^rd for the Twins at 128 runs (in 155 games) and Carlton Fisk who started the season batting 8^th and finished the season batting 5th in the Red Sox order at 106 runs scored (in 152 games played.)   Hal McRae also scored 104 runs that year while batting primarily 2^nd in the order.  Brett and McRae – now that was a one/two punch!

Do you know what is conspicuously absent from a list of the American League top 8 in runs scored from 1977?  Prototypical leadoff hitters!  (None of them even batted at the top of the order!)  I don’t think anyone ever accused Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, or Bobby Bonds of burning up the base paths.  Rod Carew was fast, but not that fast.  These guys scored runs because they hit for average and they knew what to do when they got on base.  Their hitting skills and base running expertise permitted them to overcome their lack of blazing speed.

And how about the leaders of the 2011 season?  Of the Major League top ten in runs scored last year, only two of them regularly batted in the leadoff position or could be considered prototypical type leadoff hitters.  The rest of them were just like George Brett, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, Bobby Bonds, and Rod Carew in 1977.  You may recognize some of their names from 2011: Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Braun, and Jose Bautista.

Alex Gordon is following in the footsteps of many great leadoff hitters and run scoring leaders who didn’t quite fit the “perfect” mold and characteristics of a prototypical top-of-the-order athlete.  Gordon may not be the Royals leadoff hitter forever and my guess is his tenure in this role depends on what Lorenzo Cain does with the bat over the next few months.  Until then, I’m happy to watch Alex Gordon stride to the plate immediately after the umpire yells, “Play ball!”

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.

Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

One player that keeps getting attention by the fans, front office, and the media, is Eric Hosmer, and deservedly so.  There is a lot of hype surrounding the third overall pick from 2008, as he emerged on the scene last year in Kansas City, and found a home in the heart of the order.  As a Royals fan, I am extremely pleased that he is with this organization, and thankful the front office was able to sign him minutes before the deadline in August of 2008.  His signing could go down as one of the most important deals in club history.  Hosmer was mere minutes away from not getting a deal finished and pursuing a collegiate career at Arizona St. University.  If that would have been the case, he would have been an afterthought for the Royals and their fans.

Hosmer seems to have an aura about him that makes him a very special, charismatic player.  He has been a spark plug ever since his much anticipated debut last May, and seems to have single-handedly rejuvenated and captivated the Royals fan base and the entire organization.  He displays just the right amount of confidence and swagger for the young talented star he is becoming.  I find it amazing, watching him handle himself in games and in interviews, as he always seems to be at ease and is very comfortable no matter what the situation.  When I watch this guy play, I see an instant star and someone who can handle the attention of the national media.  He carries himself the way a ballplayer should carry himself on and off the field, and is a great person for young ballplayers to look up to as a role model.  At 22, Hosmer is already the face of the franchise heading into his sophomore year.  On top of that, he is the featured Royal in the “Our Time” commercial.  It’s fairly evident, when Hosmer goes, so does this franchise.

Another thing I have noticed are the comparisons Hosmer receives to several other young stars in the game today.  One that stuck out to me was the comparison of Hosmer to Cincinnati Reds slugger, Joey Votto.  I have seen this one several times, and I believe it is a great fit.  Both are left-handed hitters who are known for their sweet swings and great defensive play at first base.  Votto has progressively improved his play at first base throughout his career, and even won a gold glove last season.  I know there are some people out there who would agree with me, that Hosmer is already a better defensive first baseman than Votto, and is on his way to winning a few himself.  Hosmer is also capable of putting up the same type of numbers Votto has recently rattled off at the plate. I firmly believe ”The Hoz” will be in contention for an MVP award for several seasons to come.  This comparison alone should help people understand what type of star Hosmer is becoming.  He’s being compared to a recent National League MVP and he hasn’t even played a full major league season yet.

Coming into 2011, Hosmer was the number 8 rated prospect by Baseball America, and for his first month in Triple-A all he did was rake, and finally forced the Royals hand to call him up.  In his first season, Hosmer slashed .293/.334/.465 and I believe he will improve on all these numbers this season.  His slugging percentage should see the largest jump, but I also expect him to walk at a slightly higher clip, which would raise his OBP.  This year will be another great year and a stepping stone for Hosmer to propel himself into elite status as a Major League ballplayer.  He has already established his name in baseball circles around the country and is on his way to becoming an icon in Kansas City, following in the footsteps of Hall of Famer, George Brett.  The Royals should take some major steps this year toward becoming a contender for several years, and they will be led by the man we all call ”Hoz”.

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The Royals need a Darth Vader type Rival. (Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE)

Have you seen the New Era Cap commercials?  The ads that say Rivals are Frustrating, Infuriating, Exciting, Unwatchable, Annoying, Thrilling, Exasperating, Maddening, Bitter, Sweet, etc.  In my opinion, all these comments are true.  Rivals are one of the things that make sports so much fun, and not having a true rival is one of the things I miss most during the Royals soon to end period of mediocrity.

There are several bullet points on the checklist of what makes a team great.  The obvious items on the list are talented hitters, fielders, and pitchers.  A few of the less obvious are a loyal fan base, a productive farm system, clutch hitting, some might say classic uniforms, and a storied history.

I believe the key determining factor that characterizes all great teams is their rivalries.  If your team doesn’t have a clear rival whose fans despise you and would give anything to see your lineup go down in flames – then your team is nothing more than a wannabe.  Until the fans of the Indians, Twins, Tigers, and White Sox burn up Twitter with vitriolic expletives about our Royals, or show off Eric Hosmer voodoo dolls to the TV cameras in their stadiums, we haven’t arrived yet.

There is a mistaken notion about the competition between two teams located near one another.  I believe geography can create a marketing opportunity to sell more tickets, but in my opinion, it doesn’t automatically create true rivals.  A true rival stands between you and your goal, and they are talented enough to potentially prevent you from succeeding regardless of where they might be located.

Once upon a time the Royals had a rivalry, and it was real and passionate and consuming beyond anything I can remember in sports.  Alongside the utter hatred the Chiefs and Raiders shared 40 years ago, and possibly the revulsion Cornhuskers felt for the Sooners in times past, the adversarial loathing shared by the Royals and Yankees is one of my favorite sports memories.

If you’re too young to recall how the Royals and the Yankees became bitter rivals, then in all likelihood you probably have difficulty believing that it’s true.  How could the lowly Royals and big market Yankees ever develop a mutual distaste for one another?  Sit back for a moment and I’ll tell you a tale of how sports legends and history are born.

Waaaaay back in the olden days, in 1976, the Royals won 90 games which was good for the second best record in the league next to the Yankees’ 97 victories.  The Royals won the season series with the Yankees 7 games to 5.  The Royals and Yankees played each other in the American League Championship Series, going blow for blow, and splitting the first four hard fought games.  After four games, the Royals had proved they belonged in the championship series.

Chris Chambliss circles the bases after his walkoff home run against the Royals in the 1976 ALCS (xfinity)

In game five of the 1976 ALCS, the score was tied 6-6 going into the bottom of the 9^th inning.  As you can imagine, it was a nail biter and my blood pressure is going up just thinking about that night.  With Mark Littell on the mound for the Royals and 56,000 hysterically screaming arrogant Yankee fans pounding their feat in the iconic house that Ruth built, Chris Chambliss launched a shot into the right center field bleachers abruptly ending the Royals season and their first real championship run.  Next to the day the Royals traded Bret Saberhagen, no sports event has been more personally devastating to me.

Then one year later in 1977 the Royals fielded arguably their best team ever and concluded the season with 102 wins to the Yankees 100.  The American Leagues’ two best teams (Yes, it’s true – the Royals were one of the American Leagues’ two best teams for several years) met in the ALCS, once again going down to the wire in dreaded Yankee Stadium before the Yankees won again in five games.

Do you have any idea who played each other for the pennant in 1978?  Déjà vu, the Yankees and Royals.  This time, the Yankees dispatched George Brett and crew after 4 games with a close fought 2-1 victory in the final game.

After an “off year” in 1979 which saw the Royals finish just 3 games out of first place, would you be surprised to learn who met again for the ALCS in 1980?  By this time, the Yankees thought they had the Royals number.  They were certain the Royals were jinxed and unable to overcome the greatest franchise in the history of baseball.  The Royals were just one more hurdle on the Yankees’ road to the World Series again, right?  Wrong.

Let’s skip the details and get right to the good stuff.  The Royals won game one, and game two, and all they needed to sweep the hated Yankees was one more tiny little victory in the big white house in the Bronx.  In the 7^th inning of game three, George Brett faced Goose Gossage, one of the most feared relief pitchers in the history of the game.  With the Royals losing 2-1 and Willie Wilson and U.L. Washington on base, Brett saw just one pitch from Gossage.  That was all he needed to crush a 3-run homer and send the Royals to their first World Series.

The Yankees and their fans were left gasping for breath after this game.  You could have heard a pin drop throughout New York.  How could that unsung team from the Midwest have spanked the Yankees in their own house?   Yankee fans believe they have a birthright to go to the World Series every year.  In 1980, after meeting in the ALCS in four out of five consecutive years, our Royals brought them back down to earth with a thud.  They hated us, we hated them, we wanted to beat each other so badly we could taste it – it was one of the most awesome feelings a true sports fan can experience.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s, I hated Thurman Munson.  I hated Goose Gossage.  I hated Bucky Dent.  I hated Ron Guidry.  I HATED Reggie Jackson.  I hated Catfish Hunter.  Well, I hated Catfish until George Brett lit him up for three home runs in one playoff game in 1978 and then I just felt sorry for him.

I’ve always held a special measure of hatred (sports translation: hatred = respect) in my heart for Chris Chambliss.  You’ll remember he’s the Yankee who hit the game winning walk off home run against the Royals in the bottom of the 9^th of the fifth and deciding game of the 1976 ALCS.  To this day my blood boils when I hear his name.  On the occasions when I see this event replayed on TV, I want to throw my shoe at the set.

Think of a baseball player you hate right now for something more than taking steroids or for being an egotistical or sexist dirt bag.  You can’t think of one, can you?  There is no athlete you hate for plunging a knife into the Royals playoff hopes because for years the Royals haven’t had any playoff hopes to destroy.  Your team has to be competitive first, then having a real rival comes second.

We need more great moments, like the Pine Tar game, which contribute to a great rivalry.  How do you think the Yankee fans felt about George Brett after the Pine Tar game in 1983?  They hated him.  And they loved him.  People flocked to Yankee stadium when he was in town.  I know, because I lived in New Jersey for a period of time in the early 90’s and we (Royals fans) would actually turn huge swaths of Yankee Stadium blue on game day – the same thing they do to us at Kauffman stadium now with their ugly pinstripes.  Sounds unbelievable doesn’t it – huge numbers of Royals fans in the NYC area?  But it’s true.  When real rivals are playing, fans come out of the woodwork.

Special note – Yankee fans flock to Kauffman stadium now, but not because the Royals are their rivals.  They fill up the seats because their bandwagon fans think we’re patsies and an easy victory for them, and because the Royals haven’t played well enough the past few years to sellout the stadium to their own fans.  But times they are a changin’.  After we punk them a few times in 2012 and 2013 and send them home with a bloody nose, Yankee fan will stay away from Kauffman in droves.  I can’t wait.

Back to my point, are the Twins or Tigers our rivals?  They’re our competitors for the Central Division crown, but I wouldn’t call them rivals.  You absolutely must play in some meaningful games together before a rivalry can be created.  You must knock the other team from contention, ruin their chances at the playoffs, storm out of the dugout when they point out your pine tar indiscretions to the umpire, or do something memorable that burns your image into their hearts and minds and stokes the fire of their passions.

I remember traveling to Florida back in the late 70’s and wearing my Royals cap to the beach.  A group of Yankee fans, probably on vacation, started yelling at me and telling me how much the Royals stunk (well, they actually used a more colorful metaphor which I’ve edited out – this is a family blog after all) and strongly suggested what George Brett, Frank White, Bret Saberhagen, and Willie Wilson could all do to themselves.  And as you know, to a true sports fan these insults were a sign of respect, an acknowledgement that the Royals were talented and in contention for the same prize as the Yankees.  I loved it.  I miss this soooo much.

You aren’t a truly great franchise until the fans of other teams hate you.  Do you hate the Twins or White Sox?  No, I’m certain you don’t, and they don’t hate us either.  We don’t have any reason to hate each other, at least not yet.

Over time, after the Royals failed to make the playoffs for several years, the rivalry between the Royals and Yankees faded away.  Everybody knows the Yankees rivals now are the BoSox, right?  (The Rays may have something to say about that.)   If you ask a young Royals fan about the Yankees vs Royals rivalry, they won’t know what you’re talking about.  If you ask a young Yankees fan, they’d probably scoff at the notion that the Royals could ever be their rival.  But trust me, it’s true, I remember it clearly as if it was yesterday.

Can you picture the fans of the Twins, or Tigers, or Indians, or Red Sox, or the Yankees HATING Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, Danny Duffy, Jake Odorizzi, Alex Gordon, or Mike Montgomery?  Hating them because as a collective group they created memorable moments and destroyed another team’s playoff hopes on the way to their own championship?  I can’t quite picture it yet, but I believe it’s possible, and I sure hope this day comes soon.

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.

I was flipping through the Royals 2011 Media Guide, looking for information on another piece, when I came to a listing of every Royal who’s ever accomplished the feat. Some of the names made me stop and think “I forgot he was ever on this team” while some I can remember seeing the game in  which the grand slam happened.

So if you’re okay with a little bit of trivia while waiting for the NFL Conference Championships (it’s okay, you’re allowed to like other sports – as long as baseball isn’t in season), here are some interesting finds:

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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.

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George and Mike - All Dressed Up (kcroyals.com)

With that, I was bouncing around the internet and dug into my hotmail inbox. Sitting in there untouched was an e-mail from the Royals. This had to be it – my long awaited invitation to Spring Training…

OK – it wasn’t that. What it was, was an invitation to the 2012 Royals Awards Luncheon.

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George Brett, even at 36 years old and still injury-prone as ever, put up a 123 OPS+ (though, of course, nobody really knew what OPS+ was back in those dark ages). Bret Saberhagen was winning his second Cy Young Award before his 26th birthday. And they had a not-so-secret weapon in Bo Jackson.

The Royals finished 92-70, their third-best record in franchise history. They also finished second behind eventual World Series champions, the Oakland Athletics.

The 1989 Royals record would have won the AL East and only the Chicago Cubs (and the A’s) had a better record in the majors than Kansas City that year. With Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza (who had finished third in Cy Young voting in 1988 and was an All-Star two years in a row) and youngster Tom Gordon, fresh off of a second place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting, the Royals felt like they were a few pieces short of making a serious run to dethrone Oakland. They also had the underrated Danny Tartabull, a promising closer of the future in Jeff Montgomery, and a catcher with some pop in Mike Macfarlane.

They entered that winter feeling like they needed to make a big move and that doing so would put them over the top.

Enter: Mark Davis.

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I hated – HATED – the Melky Cabrera signing last December. Mere hours after Dayton Moore did the inevitable and signed Jeff Francoeur, they signed Cabrera as well.

Two former Braves coming off awful seasons.  It felt like another Jason Kendall/Mike Jacobs stopgap deal to me and at the time, the issue of blocking Lorenzo Cain wasn’t even applicable, because the Royals hadn’t traded Zack Greinke yet.

We’re in the last week of the season and I think I finally have to say it.

Dang.  I was way off.

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• Continued development of the key prospects
• Alex Gordon plays all year in Kansas City
• Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera aren’t OBP sinkholes
• Alcides Escobar hits. At all.

Let me relate to you my story… (more…)

• 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.

For this exercise, you get to play General Manager.  Your task: take a young team and build a contender.  You’re located in the fine baseball town of Kansas City where fans have seen loser after loser and are yearning for a reason to hope.

You’re basically starting from the ground up but you see players with talent and have more on the way.

One problem.  One of your hitters at a power-hitting position doesn’t seem to hit a lot of homers.

What to do?

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*Though he also had 185 hits in the playoffs, which don’t “count” towards career milestones, other than playoff hit records and such of course.

I’m immediately reminded of the night George Brett, my favorite player growing up, reached the 3,000 hit mark.

The Royals were on the road at the end of the 1992 season.  Brett, 39 at the time, was at 2,996 hits and, after years of hustling, hard play, was clearly at the end of his career.  He missed two games in Anaheim but finally returned on September 30.  The Royals would head back to Kansas City for the final series of the year the next day, so it seemed as if he’d have opportunity to share the achievement with the hometown crowd.

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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.

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He doesn’t, really.  He’s been a fine performer since making it up full time with the Royals.  Among players under age 26, he ranks fifth in the majors in OPS (behind Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria and Colby Rasmus).  He was tied for third in the AL in base hits last year and among esteemed company like Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano and Carl Crawford.

It’s not that anyone’s dissatisfied with Butler’s production thus far in his young career.  Far from it.  The Royals were convinced and gave him an extension that will keep him in Kansas City for a long time.

It comes down to expectations about a player like Billy.  He’s a big kid and a first baseman.  People expect him to club 30 homers with ease and yet, that’s not who he is.  He hits a lot of balls on the ground, notably turning many of them into double play balls.  The idea has been that if he can get a bit more loft in his swing, he can be more of the prolific power hitter you’d expect from a first baseman.  More loft means more line drives and fly balls, and more chances to get the ball out.

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They could not name one Royals player.

Take a look at this year’s roster.  This past off-season was a killer for name recognition.  Two of the franchise’s most known players over the past several seasons now have new homes – Zach Greinke – now pitching in Milwaukee, and David DeJesus – now playing right field in Oakland.  This team also lost Gil Meche to retirement and traded Jose Guillen to the Giants late last season.  Even recent favorites such as Alberto Callaspo, Willie Bloomquist, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Brian Bannister are gone.

So who’s left?

Now, as a die-hard Royals fan, I don’t really expect my friends to throw out the names of guys like Mike Aviles & Mitch Maier.  But even I had to think a bit to be able to name guys who were on this year’s active roster.  Even then, they weren’t that impressed when I named Bruce Chen, Wilson Betemit, and Kila Ka’aihue.  It led me to think, “Geez, who is the face of this Royals franchise?”
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Mike Sweeney presents the Mike Sweeney Award (thanks MindaHaas.net)

After signing a one day contract today, Mike Sweeney announced his retirement from baseball.  He left as he came in – a Royal.

Thus ends one of the more surprising, promising, frustrating, disappointing and yet enjoyable careers in Royals history.

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By the way, while I’ve watched the NCAA coverage all weekend, a few things jump out at me:

• Advertising executives are the most overpaid people on earth.  I am about to tear down every NAPA Auto Parts store I find brick by brick because of this stupid NAPA Know How campaign.  I guess it does its job by being memorable, but it’s the bad kind of memorable.  On that note, my hatred of Miller Lite commercials grows every day.
• The fouls in the Butler/Pittsburgh games were fouls.  Period.  Dumb fouls, but fouls nonetheless.
• If the scientific world ever does perfect cloning technology, they should create a Gus Johnson for every televised sports broadcast in the world.  I’d replace Bob Davis with Gus with ease.

Now, Royals baseball time:

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It didn’t disappoint.

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I’m not sure how I should start this letter. I’m sure by now you no longer have the same feelings for me as I do for you. I don’t blame you. We’ve had our struggles in the four years we’ve been together. It’s never really been easy for us, and it seems like once things do start to turn around, something always gets in the way.

But I can’t begin to express how much I miss you, or better put, I miss the “you” I know you can be. I miss the “us” I know we can be together. No one else looks at you like I do, Alex. No one else believes in you like I do. Not that jerk DL and certainly not that floozy Omaha. I think now needs to be the time we put our past behind us and look at the future; our future, together.

I still remember the first time we met. All I’d heard about was how great this sure-fire superstar was playing for Nebraska. Everyone told me how amazing you were, how you were the perfect “ballplayer”. You were just so special, and everyone was telling me that you and I would be perfect for one another because not only were you a fan of my team, but your idol growing up was my old flame, George.

It felt too good to be true. I don’t mean that as a negative, Alex, you just have to understand where I’m coming from. I’ve had my heart broken – a lot – since George and I split up. Heck, even the last few years of that relationship were filled with more tears than laughter. It took me a long time to love again, Alex. (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!

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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.
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But Game 2 is another day, right?

Right?
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This is always a bittersweet day for me.  Since I can remember, I’ve been a baseball fan, and even in the long haul that is the major league baseball season, I’m comforted knowing that there’s a game going on somewhere.

Until there isn’t.
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First a reminder, due to the alternating DH rules, the Royals will be without a DH during the World Series.  I think this puts us at a disadvantage as it takes Hal McRae out of the lineup for the most part.  Sure, he only had a .259 batting average, but he drove in 70 runs.  That’s a big bat out of the lineup.  He’ll have to pinch hit mostly.

Another concern going into this series is how Bret Saberhagen will react to getting smacked around, literally and figuratively, in Game 3 of the ALCS by the Blue Jays.  He gave up five runs in just 4.1 innings and took a shot off his right side. While he still pitched in Game 7, I’m concerned.

But Game 1 has come and gone, so what’s my first reaction?  Read on…
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His most recent trip brought him to Kauffman Stadium, and as a longtime Royals fan, I’ve seen the stadium enough times that I probably take it for granted.  You should definitely check out his latest article about his visit.  It’s both well-written and provides a perspective of a newcomer’s take on the stadium.

It got me to thinking about while, even if the team is awful, we might be the luckiest fans in baseball.
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