THOUGHTS ON THE ROYALS The first several MLB games I ever went to as a lad were as a fan of the Kansas City As. I was in the three, four and five-year range. Dont remember much, but I do remember the most important thing for a kid my age -- frosty malts eaten with wooden spoons, some goofy mule mascot named Charlie-O and a weird mechanical rabbit named Harvey that would pop up out of the ground near home plate to deliver new baseballs to the umpire. Strange indeed. The other thing I remember was the feeling of emptiness and betrayal that a five-year-old kid would feel when his team left town. Two years later, a new team called the Royals came to town. They werent very good, an expansion team. They lost a lot those first few years, but I remember listening with blind devotion to this team with my dad on hot summer nights over a crackling old transistor radio. I remember names like Patek, Rojas, Mayberry, Otis, Splitorff. They got better -- quickly -- much better. There was some new kid named Brett, who always came through in the clutch. There were other guys like White, Wilson, Wathan, McRae, Saberhagen, Quisenberry. And then the crown in 1985 -- thank you Don Denkinger. Its been a long drought since all the playoff games in the late 70s and mid 80s. There were a lot of lost years...100-loss years. Now its time for a Royal resurgence. Win or lose, I cant wait to watch the game Tuesday night. Guys like Gordon, Hosmer, Perez, Cain, Aoki, Shields and Holland. Its been far too long. And maybe...its time for some retribution against the As on behalf of a five-year-old kid who really did not understand the realities of major league sports back in the simpler days of 1967. Wish I could get my hands on one of those frosty malts with a wooden spoon.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 01:25:29 +0000
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