Art Stewart - The Art of Scouting

Art Stewart has done it all: Stadium clean-up kid, sandlot baseball manager, professional scout, Major League executive and hilarious storyteller. For example, one of Arts tricks was to hide me from competing scouts by pitching me exclusively against the Joliet and Statesville, Illinois penitentiary teams. The next trick was to making it out of there. And eventually I made it to the Yankees. Thanks, Art.

Jim Bouton, 20-game winner for the New York Yankees and best-selling author of Ball Four

Eat a good meal and sit down for a while, because youre going to hear a lot of great stories. Hes an encyclopedia of great stories and facts. His memory is incredible. Hes just a wonderful source of entertainment, stories, knowledge and information.

Denny Matthews, Ford Frick Award winner from the Hall of Fame and voice of the Kansas City Royals from the teams inception in 1969

Art Stewart represents the greatest era in the baseball scouting profession. His expertise, experiences, and stories as a baseball man are to be cherished. He is simply loved and respected by all who know and work with him.

Dayton Moore, general manager Kansas City Royals

Art is a legend in baseball. Hes passionate about the game, and hasnt lost that passion. Hes rare. You dont see people involved in the game often with that length of service, and stay as involved as he does. He can talk baseball forever. Hes that rare individual who will never tire of it, and bring up great points and great discussions, from a historical or contemporary perspective.

Dave Dombrowski, general manager of the 1997 World Champion Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers GM since 2002

Passion, loyalty, integrity, work ethic, competiveness, friendship. This would be the scouting report on Art Stewart. Having signed 70 major leaguers and traveling millions of miles evaluating thousands of players, whom is more qualified to tell the scouts story?

Pat Gillick, Hall of Fame general manager for the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies

Three of the most influential men who really put the Royals on the map are Ewing Kauffman, George Brett and Art Stewart. Art is like a doctor at the Mayo Clinic, at the top of his field, but also like your grandfather, someone you just want to sit with and listen to his stories. Henry Ford brought to life the automobile, and Art Stewart brought to life scouting. The proof of that is in his stories, his connections, his life.

Mike Sweeney, five-time All-Star and 2007 winner of the Hutch Award

Art is a pioneer. He believes what he sees, what those eyes tell him. He has a real gut feel for it, and a real passion for people. Hes just a tremendous, tremendous person and obviously a very talented baseball man. Ive always had the utmost respect for him. Hes one of the originals.

Jim Leyland, three-time MLB manager of the year and world champion with the 1997 Florida Marlins

Art is among the greatest whove been part of our game. He has a wonderful smartness about who can play and how they should play. He learned so much from so many great experiences, and has a terrific personality so hes always around people who want to share their knowledge and love for the game. And the thing that puts him over the top is longevity, because hes accumulated all of this over decades and can pass it along in a book about our modern game.

Tony LaRussa, Hall of Fame manager and three-time world champion with the Oakland As and St. Louis Cardinals

Art Stewart is an icon in the scouting world. Art is the ultimate pro. His focus during games, complete concentration, and knowing when to approach coaches and players after the game is a model for scouts young and old. Times have changed around him, but Art excels under any circumstance. His book is educational and entertaining on all levels.

Roland Hemond, three-time MLB Executive of the Year winner and the first person other than the namesake to win the Buck ONeil Lifetime Achievement Award

Art was always there for me from day one when I signed with the Royals and he took me to Memphis to start my baseball career. Ive never seen anyone who loved the game more. He gave his life to it. His wife, Donna, was like a second mother to me and I could always hear her voice even if there were 40,000 people in the stadium..

Bo Jackson, Royals All-Star, NFL Pro Bowler, Heisman Trophy winner and ESPN Sports Sciences greatest athlete of all-time

His passion and his fervor and love of baseball is so obvious. This is his life, his dedication. He brings an energy that is beyond measure. He is a goer, a digger, he gets information about where the players are and who they are. What stands out to me is his passion, energy, vigor and complete, total-body-experience dedication to baseball. His wife, too. Youd see Donna with her radar gun and stopwatch, they were a real baseball family. A baseball couple. And he still has the same passion today. For a guy to be working 60-some years with no diminished light in the eye or interest or reverence for the game, every breath he takes in and out is about finding players and keeping the pipeline filled.

John Schuerholz, Atlanta Braves president and two-time World Champion general manager with the Braves and Kansas City Royals

I first met him in 1970, because Mr. K wanted to know what kind of prospects he had in the Baseball Academy. When you go through the years, and you see the players he had contact with, the guys he found and signed, those players look at Art like a father figure after a while. Hes been in the game so long, and remembers everything about them. You dont get that from a lot of people. That tells me he didnt just sign guys. He took a personal interest in who they were.

Frank White, nine-time Gold Glove winner and one of only three Kansas City Royals with their number retired

I scouted against Art. We had the same area and he was one of the veteran scouts even back then that youre competing against and you knew Art was always a threat. He was one of those guys, if you saw him at the park you knew it would be a battle to get that player. A guy scouting as long as he has, thats almost unreal. He is a well-rounded, efficient scout who could close deals. And thats the trick. If he was at the game you went to, you knew you had some issues. The Bo Jackson thing didnt happen by chance, you know.

Terry Ryan, two-time executive of the year and former general manager of the Minneosta Twins

Ive known Art since I was 16 years old. Hes been with the Royals almost since their first day, and his opinion has been important for the team, and the game of baseball. When I think about Art, I think of love and passion. The only thing he wants to do is make a difference in peoples lives, whether theyre baseball players or otherwise. Hes always making certain he can do the best he can to put a smile on your face.

Ron Washington, winningest manager in Texas Rangers history and two-time American League champion

Copyright 2014 by Art Stewart
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