Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

I remember reading Joe Posnanski’s article that seemed to confront Allard Baird with the reality of Jeremy Affeldt first making the KC Royals in 2002.  I had listened to his Spring Training debut on the radio and was fascinated by the hard-throwing left-hander with a sweeping curve.  I quickly became a fan.

I remember the fingernail-blister problems that developed in his rookie season.  I remember listening to all the post-game questions and newspaper commentary about ridiculous solutions for the problem.

I remember wanting Affeldt to be the Opening Day starter in 2003, and couldn’t believe that Pena decided on Runelvys Hernandez on the basis of a coin toss.

I remember going to a game against the Yankees for my birthday and watching Affeldt pitch a couple of innings out of the bullpen relieving Kevin Appier.  The Royals won the game by the historic score of 11 – 0.

Affeldt was traded by the Royals to Colorado, where he got his first World Series experience, and then to Cincinnati.  Affeldt experienced the trials of injury and the ups and downs of a major league career before landing in San Francisco.

In 2009, Affeldt was awarded the Set-Up Man of the Year Award and won the World Series with the Giants the following season.  He has now started his own non-profit organization called Generation Alive and engages younger fans in helping to feed the hungry and provide clean water for people around the world.

Last summer, as part of the Blue Crew package, my daughters received a voucher to go take a tour of the stadium.  We picked a random day when the team was out of town and ended up being the only people in the last tour.  The woman giving us the tour shared numerous stories about the inner-workings of the stadium as well as experiences she had had with players over the years.  We sat in locker rooms and dugouts and in the interview room.  We saw everything. Trevor Vance even invited the girls to step on the sacred grass.  At the end of the tour, there was a box of autographed baseballs, and the tour conductor let my daughters each pick one ball.  Both girls chose a ball with Affeldt’s autograph.

“Dad, do you remember anything about Jeremy Affeldt?” my oldest asked.

We stopped at Krispy Kreme and, while eating fresh doughnuts, spent time remembering together.

The optimist-dreamer part of me still thinks that we can play the “remembering” game later this season.

“Do you remember (fill-in-the-blank’s) injury?”

“Do you remember when they lost 12 in a row?”

“Do you remember when Duffy was removed from the game?”

“Do you remember when Perez joined the team?”

“Do you remember…?”

We’ll look back and remember all the struggles and trials the Royals went through as they learned to play together while celebrating their push to get into the post-season.

If you’d like to check out the entire column and see where the other teams ranked and who led the way for each of them, go ahead and check out Draft Currents: Rounding up the Thirds.

Before we get into the links, I wanted to mention the two new writers have joined the FanSided MLB team this week.  The first, if you read this site daily you already know about.  Michael Engel has joined me on staff here at Kings of Kauffman as a contributor.  The second new writer is Lawrence Barreca who is joining Michael Worley over on our Orioles site, Birds Watcher.

Birds Watcher:  Will Mazzone’s Philosophy Fix Guthrie’s Problems?

Blog Red Machine: No new posts.

BoSox Injection: Sox Sign Veteran Lefty

Call to the Pen update:  will the site be up by this time next week?  Will my life get even more crazy as a result?  Stay tuned …

Chicken Friars: Erik Davis – Sleeper Prospect or Non-Prospect?

Cubbies Crib:  Cubs Quick Hits – Colvin, Frasor, and the Rotation

Deep Left Field: So Who’s the Guy the Indians Got to Pitch for Fausto?

Frisco Fastball: Giants Lock Up Affeldt For Two Years

Halo Hangout: No New Posts.

Jays Journal: Top 5 Jays SP Prospects

Lasorda’s Lair: No new posts.

Marlin Maniac: No lefties, no difference for Fish

Motor City Bengals: Bonderman, Willis Make Final Push Today

Nolan Writin‘: Edwar Ramirez had a short stop with the Rangers before being traded …

Rayhawk Review: Wade Davis Takes the 5th Spot

Redbird Rants: McClellan, Hill, or Garcia for the Fifth Spot?

Reviewing the Brew is still in need of a lead,  email us if you are interested in covering the Milwaukee Brewers.

Rising Apple: My Take on the Ike Davis Demotion and Jenrry Mejia Going Back-to-Back

Rox Pile: No new posts.

Rum Bunter: Ten Positives for the 2010 Pirates Grapefruit League

SoDo Mojo:  Cliff Lee’s Injured, But Don’t Freak Out

Southside Showdown is our new Chicago White Sox site.  We have a lead writer lined up and content should be coming soon.

Swingin’ A’s: A‘s Analysis – Bullpen

That Balls Outta Here: Reunion with Phillies Costs Brett Myers a Groin.  I really enjoyed this tidbit from Justin’s story:

Anybody catch A-Rod starting a completely routine double play that somehow made it into the highlights of the Orioles-Yankees game? That the O’s won EIGHT TO FUCKING ZERO?! Way to make it subtle, ESPN.

Teddy Never Wins is still in need of a lead, email us if you are interested in covering the Washington Nationals.

Tomahawk Take: Jason Heyward Gets Nod For Braves

Twinkie Talk: Twins Sign Mauer

Venom Strikes: Getting to the Heart of the Order

Yanks Go Yard: A-Rod to meet with Feds today

(Wally Fish is the lead blogger for Kings of Kauffman and FanSided’s MLB Director.  Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)